History Made: XC New York Captures the Inaugural MoonPay X Games League Championship in New Orleans
An Injured Daniel Sandoval Put XC New York Ahead in his Final Run to Claim the XGL Crown and $500,000; Mizuho Hasegawa Capped a Standout Season as the XGL MVP
NEW ORLEANS (July 26, 2026) – In a season that could not have been scripted any better by Hollywood, X Games Club New York (XC New York) won the first-ever MoonPay X Games League championship on the final run of the final event of the season to claim the trophy, bragging rights and $500,000.
XC New York entered the season’s last day at the legendary Caesars Superdome with a 20-point lead over XC Tokyo and, after a day of intense competition, won the championship by a razor-thin 10 points. An injury-riddled Daniel Sandoval delivered a solid performance in Stake Men’s BMX Park despite torn ligaments and a broken kneecap to seal the victory.
After events in Sacramento, Chiba and New Orleans, XC New York finished with 2,640 points, just ahead of XC Tokyo’s 2,630. XC Los Angeles took third place with 2,380 points, while XC São Paulo finished with 2,350.
“I felt like we won the draft,” said Steve Rodriguez, XC New York’s General Manager. “I always believed in this team. This group of individuals was always into it from the start. They always showed up, always hung out, always performed, and they always had each other’s backs. Mayor Mamdani, get the bus ready because XC NY is coming for the parade!”
Japan’s 15-year-old wunderkind Mizuho Hasegawa (XC Tokyo) wrapped up the XGL’s inaugural MVP award over fellow teen Gui Khury (XC São Paulo) after a tight battle that went down to the final day in New Orleans. Hasegawa finished the 2026 XGL Summer Season with eight medals (two gold, five silver and one bronze) in nine events. No previous athlete had won even six medals in the same calendar year. She finished her incredible X Games League season with 680 points, by far the most of any athlete. Ever the team player, Hasegawa said she’d rather help her XC Tokyo club than earn personal accolades.
“I’m really happy that I was able to get the MVP, but of course I’m really bummed about XC Tokyo not winning the whole thing,” said Hasegawa. “This would have never happened without the support of everyone and my teammates. I’m really happy. Thank you to all the athletes who competed and all the teams who competed. Thanks to everyone.”
The day showcased the world’s best skateboard and BMX athletes competing in seven events: Women’s BMX Park, Men’s Skateboard Vert, Women’s Skateboard Park, Men’s BMX Dirt Best Trick, Men’s Skateboard Park Best Trick, Women’s Skateboard Street Best Trick and Men’s BMX Park.
“The first championship in any league becomes part of its history forever, and this one will be remembered for the extraordinary grit of these athletes,” said Jeremy Bloom, CEO of X Games. “I’ve never seen so many competitors refuse to let injuries define them. They kept showing up, kept dropping in, and kept putting everything on the line for their teammates. That’s the culture we wanted to build with the X Games League, not just world-class competition, but teams that fight for each other until the very last run. You couldn’t have written a better ending to our inaugural season.”
Stake Women’s BMX Park
Miharu Ozawa goes three-for-three in 2026
Miharu Ozawa (XC Tokyo) has gone from virtually unknown X Games rookie to the rider everyone is chasing. She showed up to New Orleans looking like a vet in a flawless run full of speed and technicality, and adding 100 critical points to XC Tokyo in the XGL Championship race. She became the first BMX rider since Dave Mirra to win three straight BMX Park comps, and the 16-year-old’s gold joins the golds she took in Sacramento, becoming the youngest BMX medalist (male or female) in X Games history, and Chiba.
Kim Mueller (Free Agent) claimed the second podium spot with a difficult line consisting of a 360 can-can tire grab, barspin, superman seat grab Indy, cancan, tail whip, X-up, barspin and tailwhip air. Hannah Roberts (XC New York) grit her teeth and hobbled through the pain of a fractured right leg for two runs. After a strong start, she raised the bar in her second run, claiming the bronze and adding important points for her club. This was her third medal of the XGL season (in addition to two silver). Roberts has medaled in all five iterations of X Games Women’s BMX Park.
Miharu Ozawa: “I heard cheers from my team and that gave me the power to get this result. The team and Kevin (Peraza)’s words hyped me up so my result is because of them.”
MoonPay Men’s Skateboard Vert
Tom Schaar owns Vert in The Big Easy
Tom Schaar, the captain of XC Los Angeles, took the lead after he fell on his first run and held it for the competition. The 6’1 Californian became the first-ever double gold medalist at X Games without a 900 after his Vert Best Trick gold yesterday. Competing at X Games since 2012 at age 12, he’s won 23 medals and is continuing to rewrite the record books.
Soya Inomata (Free Agent), took silver after being unable to improve on his X Games Chiba 2024 silver, his only prior medal in the discipline, though he owns four silver and two bronze in Vert Best Trick. Luigi Cini (Free Agent) earned his first X Games medal with a bronze. Gui Khury (XC São Paulo), the heavy favorite coming into the event, had his sights set on X Games League MVP honors over Hasegawa. Unable to better his sixth-place position, Hasegawa won the MVP.
Tom Schaar: “The flip was a nod to Bob (Burnquist, general manager for XC Sao Paulo). I’m stoked he’s out here cheering us on. Prize money and the cup are motivating but I also have my whole team here. It’s just been a lot of fun. It gives you like a whole other kind of level to just…It makes you feel like a fan watching the other sports they’re competing in and cheering them on.”
Stake Women’s Skateboard Park
Sky Brown pulls out the win in her last run over the XGL MVP
It was a battle between frenemies Sky Brown (XC São Paulo) and Mizuho Hasegawa (XC Tokyo), with Brown stealing the win in her last run. Hasegawa had the lead over Brown in her second run, but after her last run, Hasegawa left the door open for Brown, with less than 1.5 point separating first and second place. Brown’s signature style was on display, as she executed a higher level of style to overcome the gap between her and the league MVP to take back-to-back golds in Women’s Skateboard Park and 100 points for XC São Paulo. She now owns six X Games Park medals (four gold and two silver), the most in the X Games’ discipline’s history.
Hasegawa wrapped up the XGL MVP with the silver. She also became the most decorated woman in Summer X Games with a baker’s dozen, topping Leticia Bufoni’s and Chloe Covell’s 12. She has the fourth-most X Games women’s medals overall. 15-year-old Helli Servio (XC New York) helped out her club with the bronze and 60 points, and along with Bryce Wettstein’s fourth place, kept XC New York in the championship lead. Sirvio has four medals from her five Park starts.
Sky Brown: “Mizuho pushed the hell out of me and I knew I had to go big.That was a hard battle, dang! That wasn’t a safety, easy run for me, and I really pushed myself. I wanted to see how far I could go. I did my front side 540, which I was the first girl to ever do in the X Games. So to be able to do that, I’ve only landed a few before in an event. That was very special. This whole time, all I could think was ‘DANG I want to do this for my team supporting me.’ I’m leaving for a surf comp tomorrow so I gotta stay locked in, but this just gave me the fire for surfing.”
Stake Men’s BMX Dirt Best Trick
Brandon Loupos triumphs and wins his first gold in eight years
Brandon Loupos (Free Agent) won his second career gold, and first since 2018, with a flawless double backflip tailwhip and double backflip. It’s the Californian’s sixth career medal.
Brady Baker (XC Los Angeles) took silver. He threw down three never been done tricks, including a twister tailwhip on his last run. He won his fourth BMX dirt gold yesterday. Kaden Stone (Free Agent) completed the podium with the bronze, which he earned by executing the biggest jump in dirt history with an incredible four rotations.
Brandon Loupos: “I’m happy to be proving to my family that if you have a dream, you can chase it. And it doesn’t matter what obstacle you have in life, that’s holding you back from it. You can achieve it. It’s been eight years since my last gold medal. So it’s been a crazy eight years of just ups and downs and, you know, this journey ain’t over yet. Keep on going and keep dedicating this one to my family – my daughter, my fiancé, Rommie, and especially my grandfather, who just joined my grandmother upstairs, so yeah, thank you, everybody.”
Stake Men’s Skateboard Park Best Trick
Tom Schaar makes X Games history with four medals in a single event
Skateboard Park Best Trick made its X Games debut as a Spotlight Event this weekend. While no XGL points were at stake, medals and bragging rights were up for the taking. After coming up short throughout the competition, Tom Schaar (XC Los Angeles) delivered in his final attempt landing a Frontside bluntslide kickflip to fakie over the channel gap to make X Games history as the first athlete to win four medals in a single event. He also became the first to capture three gold medals in one event since X Games legend Travis Pastrana achieved this feat in 2006. Schaar’s Park Best Trick gold added a seventh discipline to his hardware resumé, bringing his career total to 24 X Games medals, including a seventh gold.
Keefer Wilson (Free Agent) led the pack from the start of the competition, was momentarily jumped over by Luigi Cini (XC São Paulo) but reclaimed his position with 20 seconds on the clock to skate away with his first X Games medal. Cini also won his first two X Games medals this weekend – a bronze in Park Best Trick and a bronze in Skateboard Vert on Saturday.
Tom Schaar: “I can’t believe I made that last attempt. Keefer killed it. Everyone killed it. This was the first park best trick test and I think the format was a success, I hope they keep it. I mainly could hear my LA team cheering me on and everything, so that was awesome.”
Monster Energy Women’s Skateboard Street Best Trick
Momiji Nishiya Keeps XC New York in Prime Position
A defining moment for XC New York came when Momiji Nishiya (XC New York) landed a clutch crooked grind nollie heelflip on the 13-stair rail to overtake the XC Tokyo duo of Yumeka Oda and Coco Yoshizawa. Her gold medal run delivered crucial points to keep XC New York in the lead position of the Championship race. It’s Nishiya’s second straight Street Best Trick gold after Chiba. She now has three career golds and seven X Games medals overall, and enjoyed a great weekend, with Street silver in addition to her gold. It was a resounding return to form for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics Street champ. Nishiya remains the youngest-ever X Games Street medalist – male or female – with her silver at X Games Minneapolis in 2019 when she was 11 years old.
Silver and bronze went to XC Tokyo teammates Oda and Yoshizawa who did their best to help their club. Oda performed a kickflip frontside feeble grind down the 13-stair square rail, and Yoshizawa threw down a bigspin front board shuv-it out on the 13-stair rail.
In her last run, Chloe Covell (XC New York) landed the trick that eluded her all day to finish in fourth place with just 20 points separating XC New York from XC Tokyo heading into the last event of the weekend.
Momiji Nishiya: “Thanks to everyone who supported me. Getting the gold really means a lot to me. After winning Chiba in Best Trick, I really wanted to win here as well, so I’m just really happy. Chloe being next to me really helps!”
Stake Men’s BMX Park
Justin Dowell wings gold and Daniel Sandoval’s Heroic Performance Delivers Victory for XC New York
In the final competition of MoonPay X Games Championship New Orleans 2026, a nail–biting showdown saw two free agents claim the top two spots on the podium. Justin Dowell (Free Agent) captured his second gold medal after also winning at MoonPay X Games Sacramento, landing a 360 Twix to secure the victory. Kieran Reilly (Free Agent) earned silver, while Marcus Christopher (XC Los Angeles), fresh off a gold medal at X Games Chiba two weeks ago, took bronze. Today’s win marked Dowell’s second medal of the weekend after seizing silver in the Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick yesterday – his third X Games career gold medal and seventh overall.
Daniel Sandoval (XC NY) delivered a heroic performance after entering the final with a fractured kneecap, ribs and wrist injuries. The warrior pushed through the pain to stomp his second run, earning a crucial fourth-place finish that helped propel XC New York to the X Games League championship after Kevin Peraza and Bryce Tryon made critical errors for XC Tokyo.
Justin Dowell: “I’m happy to end the season with two golds out of three stops. I put in a lot of hard work, I train every day for stuff like this and moments like this. Shout out to all the guys out here.”
Daniel Sandoval: “45 seconds is all I needed and here we are with the championship. We got it by 10 points and it came to the last run. I’m hurting so bad right now but it’s all worth it.”
New Orleans Day Three Competition Results:
- Stake Women’s Park Best Trick
- Gold – Miharu Ozawa (XC Tokyo), Gifu, Japan
- Silver – Kim Mueller (Free Agent), Remscheid, Germany
- Bronze – Hannah Roberts (XC New York), Buchanan, MI, USA
- MoonPay Men’s Skateboard Vert
- Gold – Tom Schaar (XC Los Angeles), Malibu, CA, USA
- Silver – Soya Inomata (Free Agent), Chigasaki, Japan
- Bronze – Luigi Cini (XC São Paulo), Curitiba, Brazil
- Stake Women’s Skateboard Park
- Gold – Sky Brown (XC São Paulo), Miyazaki, Japan
- Silver – Mizuho Hasegawa (XC Tokyo), Ibaraki, Japan
- Bronze – Helli Sirvio (XC New York), Gold Coast, Australia
- Stake Men’s BMX Dirt Best Trick
- Gold – Brandon Loupos (Free Agent), Sydney, Australia
- Silver – Brady Baker (XC Los Angeles), Toms River, NJ, USA
- Bronze – Kaden Stone (Free Agent), Corona, CA, USA
- Stake Men’s Skateboard Park Best Trick
- Gold – Tom Schaar (XC Los Angeles), Malibu, CA, USA
- Silver – Keefer Wilson (Free Agent), Nyora, Victoria, Australia
- Bronze – Luigi Cini (São Paulo), Curitiba, Brazil
- Monster Women’s Skateboard Street Best Trick
- Gold – Momiji Nishiya (XC New York), Osaka, Japan
- Silver – Yumeka Oda (XC Tokyo), Nagoya, Japan
- Bronze – Coco Yoshizawa (XC Tokyo), Sagamihara, Japan
- Stake Men’s BMX Park
- Gold – Justin Dowell (Free Agent), Virginia Beach, VA, USA
- Silver – Kieran Reilly (Free Agent), Newcastle, Great Britain
- Bronze – Marcua Christopher (XC Los Angeles), Hartville, OH, USA
Full results can be found in the X Games New Orleans 2026 Media Kit.
Fans in the U.S. were able to watch all the action from New Orleans live on ABC and ESPN, as well as simulcast via the ESPN App and Disney+ for Unlimited plan subscribers. The event live-streamed globally on the Roku Sports Channel, X Games YouTube, Kick and Amazon FAST..
For event updates and the latest schedule, visit xgames.com.
About X Games
X Games is the leading action sports brand globally, showcasing the world’s best athletes across skateboarding, BMX, skiing, snowboarding, and Moto X. Through world-class competitions, innovative media, and immersive fan experiences, X Games reaches millions of fans annually across broadcast, streaming, digital, and live events worldwide.
For more information, visit xgames.com or follow X Games on TikTok, X, Instagram, or Facebook.
About MoonPay X Games League (XGL)
Launched in 2026, the MoonPay X Games League (XGL) brings an exciting new extension to the iconic X Games brand as the world’s first year-round, team-based, coed league in action sports. The League features eight Clubs (four winter X Games Clubs and four summer X Games Clubs) that fuse geographic identity with global athletic talent as they compete.
For the first time in X Games history, athletes compete in a structured season and team-based format, allowing for season-long storylines and deeper athlete-fan engagement across broadcast, streaming, live events, and digital platforms. This represents a fundamental shift in the world of action sports as XGL aims to build stronger global presence and regional connections for athletes, teams, fans, and sponsors. The formation of XGL greatly expands compensation opportunities for athletes beyond existing prize purses, with additional earning potential as part of the league’s team model.
To learn more, visit xgames.com/xgl or follow X Games on Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
About MSP Sports Capital
X Games is a portfolio company of MSP Sports Capital, a global private equity firm that invests in teams, leagues, and other businesses in the sports ecosystem. The firm pursues influential positions in mature sports companies and focuses on creating value and driving differentiated returns. MSP Sports Capital was founded by veteran investor-operators, Jeff Moorad and Jahm Najafi, whose expertise span the world’s largest sports leagues, including MLB, NBA, NFL, F1, and European football.
For more information, please visit mspsportscapital.com.
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