Brazilian Monster Energy Riders Kelvin Hoefler and Rayssa Leal won last weekend’s 1st stop of the 2023 Street League Skateboarding in Chicago, Illinois.
The Men’s Skateboard Street competition introduced the knockout rounds wherein riders were divided into four heats at five skaters each. The winners of the knockout rounds, plus the second-highest overall scorer, will face the defending SLS Champion, Gustavo Ribeiro, in the finals.
Hoefler secured his spot in the finals during the knockout round with impressive maneuvers. These included a kickflip frontside nosegrind on the tall Hubba, earning him 8.6 points, a half Cab noseslide to tailslide fakie scoring 8.9 points, and a half Cab backside Smith grind 180, which garnered him 9.0 points.
In the finals, Hoefler executed a flawless run that included a nollie nosegrind on the tall Hubba, a backside tailslide on the closeout rail, a kickflip backside lipslide on the flat rail, a kickflip frontside boardslide fakie down the rail, a switch frontside tailslide on the small Hubba, and a half Cab crooked on the tall Hubba, earning him a score of 8.2 points.
Meanwhile, the defending Women’s SLS Supercrown Crown Champion, Rayssa Leal, executed a flawless routine in her first of two 45-second Line attempts–including a backside 5-0 grind on the large Hubba, a backside Smith grind on the flat rail, a frontside bluntslide down the rail, a backside tailslide on the small Hubba, and a crooked grind on the tall Hubba, earning her 7.6 points.
In the Best Trick round, Leal continued to perform well, scoring 7.4 points for a backside Smith grind on the tall Hubba and 8.0 points for a perfect backside tailslide in the same spot. However, Leal’s loss of control on her subsequent attempt opened the door for her opponents to take the lead.
Battling in third place, Leal delivered a perfect frontside bluntslide down the tall Hubba on her final attempt, scoring 8.4 points and securing her victory.
The 2nd SLS 2023 stop will be on August 12 in Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan.
Watch the full Women’s and Men’s 2023 SLS Chicago coverage below.
