iouri-podlatchikov-wins-men's-x-games-hp-qualifiers
I-Pod post win, very stoked | P: Susie Floros

Men’s Superpipe Eliminations went off tonight at X Games 2014, the bright lights blaring down on the walls of Aspen’s Buttermilk Superpipe. The pipe was looking icy, as rider after rider slipped out on their runs, resulting in a surprisingly low-scoring qualifier. Not one rider broke into the nineties, and it was Iouri Podlatchikov, aka I-Pod, who won the night with an 88.00.

Of the 15 riders who dropped into the pipe this evening, only 8 came out on the other side with a spot in Sunday night’s finals.

Ben Ferguson topped the leader board after first runs wrapped, but was bumped down into second after I-Pod threw down a huge second run and took over the top spot. Danny Davis sent a solid, stylish first run, securing himself a third place finish.

Danny Davis, strumming that Burton guitar straight into 3rd place | P: Susie Floros
Danny Davis, strumming that Burton guitar straight into 3rd place | P: Susie Floros

Davis comes into X Games fresh off of securing himself a spot on the US Olympic team last weekend, alongside fellow US Olympic team rider Greg Bretz, who has been topping podiums all season long, but finished the night surprisingly low in the rankings, qualifying through to finals in 8th place.

Shaun White, who is the six-time defending X Games Superpipe gold medalist, announced Wednesday that he would not be competing in this year’s X Games as he wants to focus on preparing himself for Sochi, where he will be competing in both halfpipe and slopestyle.
Iouri

Full Results
1. Iouri Podlatchikov — 88.00
2. Ben Ferguson — 80.00
3. Danny Davis — 77.00
4. Benji Farrow — 75.00
5. Louie Vito — 72.00
6. Scotty James — 70.00
7. Yiwei Zhang — 68.33
8. Greg Bretz — 67.66
9. Christian Haller — 64.00
10. Shuhei Sato — 63.00
11. Taku Hiraoka — 60.66
12. Gabe Ferguson — 36.66
13. Scotty Lago — 35.00
14. Taylor Gold — 33.33
15. Mason Aguirre — 32.66