X Games League Standings: XC Tokyo Secures Top Spot in Team Championship Race Heading Into Hometown Chiba Stop

The fiercely individualistic era of professional skateboarding is officially sharing the stage with franchise strategy. Following the conclusion of the inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) event in Sacramento, a new season-long championship race has taken shape, fundamentally altering how athletes approach the podium.[1]

Emerging from the 18-event opening weekend, XC Tokyo sits atop the newly minted club leaderboard with 980 points. They hold a razor-thin margin over XC São Paulo and XC New York, who are deadlocked in second place with 950 points each. XC Los Angeles rounds out the standings with 810 points, leaving the hometown club with significant ground to make up as the tour prepares to head overseas.[1]

The XGL format represents the most significant structural shift in the event's three-decade history. Rather than operating as a standalone summer festival, the competition now functions as a season-long, co-ed league. Forty athletes were drafted into four city-based clubs, accumulating points across skateboarding and BMX disciplines to crown a unified team champion at the end of July.[1][2]

XC Tokyo’s early lead was anchored by a series of historic performances on the ramp. Australian prodigy Arisa Trew delivered a massive points haul for the Tokyo squad, securing gold in the Women’s Skateboard Park final with a 92.66 and adding another gold in the Vert Best Trick contest. Her execution of a switch McTwist—a 540-degree rotation in her unnatural stance—tied the all-time record for X Games gold medals by a female athlete.[1][2][3]

Tokyo’s depth was further bolstered by Japanese skater Mizuho Hasegawa, who contributed 80 crucial club points with a silver medal finish in Women’s Vert. The combined efforts of the international roster allowed XC Tokyo to survive a late surge from the South American and East Coast franchises.

XC São Paulo kept the race agonizingly close, driven by the relentless dominance of 17-year-old Brazilian Gui Khury. Khury extended his reign in the halfpipe, capturing his sixth consecutive Vert Best Trick title with a kickflip body varial 900, before adding another gold in the Men’s Skateboard Vert final. His 94.00 run ensured São Paulo remained within a single trick's margin of the overall lead.[1][3]

Tied with São Paulo, XC New York utilized consistent podium finishes across both skateboarding and BMX to quietly amass 950 points. While they lacked the viral, multi-gold sweeps of Tokyo and São Paulo, New York’s roster strategy prioritized high-floor competitors who reliably advanced to the finals, proving that depth is just as valuable as individual brilliance in the new league format.[1]

Despite sitting in fourth place, XC Los Angeles showcased flashes of brilliance that suggest they are far from eliminated. Eleven-year-old Australian Mia Kretzer shocked the field to win Women’s Skateboard Vert, securing 100 points for the LA club, while 31-year-old veteran Nyjah Huston added a silver medal in the Men’s Street competition with an 89.66 run.[2][4]

The introduction of the club leaderboard is already altering the risk-reward calculus on the course. In traditional contests, a skater sitting in fourth place during their final run might attempt a highly dangerous, low-percentage trick to snatch gold, risking a crash that drops them to eighth. Under the XGL system, securing a safe, high-scoring run to guarantee fourth-place points for the franchise is often the mathematically superior choice.[1]

The championship race now shifts to Chiba, Japan, for the second stop of the summer season. XC Tokyo will carry the overall lead into their designated hometown event, bringing immense pressure to defend their top spot in front of a domestic crowd.[1]

Following the Chiba stop, the four clubs will travel to New Orleans in late July for the season finale. With only 170 points separating first from fourth, the inaugural X Games League championship remains entirely up for grabs, setting the stage for a highly tactical and fiercely contested summer stretch.[1]