Ginwoo claims the world title in Paraguay as the WST delivers another epic chapter

The World Skate Tour brought its championship event to Asuncion in Paraguay and the conditions made sure nobody had an easy ride. High heat, gusty winds, low sun and rain delays tested every rider from day one, this was a world title that had to be earned the hard way.

Qualifiers: Ranked riders fall as the rain rolls in

With 130 riders chasing 32 spots, the qualifier field was unforgiving. Several well world ranked riders failed to advance, Daiki Ikeda (13th), Rome Collyer (20th), Kelvin Hoefler (21st) and Gabryel Aguilar (26th) all packed their bags early. On a day with rain delays and pressure on every run, nobody’s ranking meant anything.

Firas Kirin, the young Thai sensation who had turned heads in Rome earlier this season, took a hard slam and also didn’t make it through.

watch the full qualifiers video breakdown here

Quarterfinals: Japan and Brazil set the stage

With the top 8 world-ranked riders pre-seeded, the quarterfinals still delivered some jaw-dropping storylines. The field that emerged from the chaos of qualifiers had a striking look to it: 7 Japanese and 7 Brazilian riders among the 40 competitors, setting up what felt like a two-nation showdown for the ages.

Some low world ranked riders even slipped through from qualifiers: Silas Aagaard-Hagen (86th), Matt Berger (91st), Kristion Jordan (114th) and Sebastian Simonetto who's not even ranked, all punched their tickets through to the top 32 and clearly, nobody had those names circled heading in.

The moment nobody wanted to see: Tommy Fynn was in the middle of a flawless run when he was inexplicably asked to restart... Whatever the reason, it felt like a steal and the crowd knew it.

watch the full quarterfinals video breakdown here

Semifinals: Top 3 decided by half a point

Six of the eight pre-seeded riders made it to the semifinals but the conditions made life miserable for everyone. Low sun and gusty winds were harsh and Nyjah Huston fell on the very first trick of his first run, putting enormous pressure on his second run, pressure he couldn’t escape and led to his day being cut short.

There was plenty left to make it interesting though. Taisei Hamamura dropped a hardflip backside tailslide NBD that immediately became the trick of the round. And when the dust settled, the top 3 were separated by just 0.53 points, the kind of margin that keeps everyone on the edge of their seat heading into finals day.

watch the full semifinals video breakdown here

Finals: Only 3 come out alive of the bail fest

Five of the eight  pre-seeded riders were still alive in the finals so the crowd was hoping for the highest level of street skateboarding but what followed was one of the most chaotic finals in recent WST memory. Twenty-seven bails out of 30 best trick attempts, pure gnarliness over strategy with everyone swinging for the fences and nobody playing it safe. Even Toa Sasaki, defending world champion, had a nightmare day and finished 8th.

In the middle of the carnage, Ginwoo Onodera and Juni Kang were putting on a two-man masterclass. The final score — 182.26 for Ginwoo, 179.32 for Juni — tells the story of how close it was, just 2.94 points between gold and silver. Taiga Nagai, described by Ryan Decenzo asthe japanese Jhanka, was the surprise of the day, taking bronze at 166.18.

The defining moment came when Ginwoo, already mathematically safe for the podium without needing to even land a best trick, stepped up anyway. The 92.12 best trick on the last trick attempt of the competition might not have been necessary for a medal but it was necessary for the win and for Ginwoo, there was never any other option.

watch the full finals video breakdown here