Canadian freestyle skier Brendan Mackay emerged victorious in the first-ever men’s halfpipe competition at Shaun White’s Snow League event held in Secret Garden, China. The 28-year-old athlete from Calgary triumphed in a series of head-to-head matchups to claim the gold medal, ultimately besting 17-year-old Luke Harrold of New Zealand in the championship round.
The Snow League features a unique format where skiers face off one-on-one in a best-of-three contest spanning three rounds. Mackay secured victories over Hunter Hess of the United States in the quarterfinals and Nick Goepper in the semifinals before clinching the top prize of $50,000 US as the winner of the event, part of a $250,000 total prize fund for freeskiing.
In the women’s event, Eileen Gu of China, who previously excelled at the Beijing Olympics, secured the inaugural women’s Snow League title for freeskiing by defeating Zhang Kexin in the final. Gu and Mackay currently lead the Snow League standings with 100 points each, with the next competition scheduled to take place in LAAX, Switzerland in March 2026.
Gu, originally from San Francisco but representing China, is expected to be a strong contender in all three freeski disciplines at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy, having previously achieved success in halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events. Meanwhile, in the snowboard contests, Ayumu Hirano of Japan and Patti Zhou of China emerged victorious in the men’s and women’s events, respectively.
Fans can relive the thrilling moments of the competitions through video replays available online.