Snowboard halfpipe superstar Scotty James has delivered a career highlight performance under lights at the prestigious Laax Open in Switzerland, winning gold in the World Cup final and leading a memorable double‑podium result, with fellow Aussie Valentino Guseli claiming bronze.
In the best‑of‑two‑run night final, Scotty James opened with a score of 84.00 points on his opening run. He then produced one of the finest performances of his illustrious career, as the last rider of the night and needing a score better than 91 points to win.
With a pure pressure performance James soared to the top of the leaderboard with a spectacular second run scoring 98.75 points. The victory is the eleventh World Cup win of his career, and third consecutive Laax halfpipe title, and fifth career triumph at the iconic venue.
James began his winning run with a switch frontside triple cork 1440 indy, then a frontside double cork 1260 stalefish, a backside double cork 1080 stalefish, a switch backside double cork 1440 mute, and ended with a backside double cork 1260 mute on the sixth and final hit. The final two trick combination had never been done in competition before.
It was a memorable podium for the southern hemisphere, with New Zealand’s Campbell Melville finishing in second place, and fellow Australian Guseli earning the bronze medal.
Image: Scotty James mid-air on his final run at the 2026 Laax Open World Cup (credit: FIS / David Tributsch).
“It’s honestly one of my favourite events on the calendar, huge shoutout to Laax, they are a visionary when it comes to freestyle, and they give us the platform to come here and ride every single year and do what we love, “said the 31-year-old James from Warrandyte in Victoria.“To put it down in my last run is a bit of a dream come true and feeling good so I just have to keep it up.
“I have been working on some things, and this year is a tough year, its amazing competition, and I want to give a shout out to the ANZAC’s, two Aussies and a Kiwi on the podium which is unbelievable. The Japanese are also riding amazing, so you must put your best foot forward this year to try and get a chance or a sniff of the podium, and I am just grateful to be here, so I am pumped.
We are probably going to be in for one of the most exciting, thrilling and competitive Olympics in history amongst the whole field in the halfpipe, it’s exciting for me and I hope it’s exciting for everyone, and I can’t wait to go to battle with everyone.
Next for James and Guseli is the prestigious X-Games event in Aspen, USA, where James will be aiming to win an incredible fifth straight gold medal.
Article credit: Olympic Winter Institute Australia (Andrew Pattison)
