Monster Energy’s Rayssa Leal Takes First Place at SLS Seattle 2022 Skateboard Contest

Monster Energy’s Rayssa Leal Takes First Place at SLS Seattle 2022 Skateboard Contest

“I want to thank God, my family, and my team. I was nervous before the last trick, but I talked to my mom, and that gave me the confidence to do it.” – Rayssa Leal

SEATTLE (PRWEB)
August 15, 2022

Rayssa is on a roll! Monster Energy congratulates team rider Rayssa Leal on taking first place at SLS Seattle on Sunday. In the second stop of the 2022 Street League Skateboarding Championship Tour, the 14-year-old from Imperatriz, Brazil, took home the win on the final attempt of the street contest inside Angel of the Winds Arena in front of a high-energy crowd. The Olympic silver medalist also maintained her lead on overall 2022 SLS World Tour rankings.

The Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Championship Tour was envisioned by pro skateboarder Rob Dyrdek as an authentic showcase for top street skateboarders. Events of the 2022 SLS Championship Tour are broadcast in the U.S. on ESPN+ and ESPN2, while viewers in 150 countries watch on YouTube live stream.

From August 13-14, stop two of the 2022 SLS Championship Tour brought the world’s premier street skateboarding competition series to Angel of the Winds Arena in Seattle. This marked the first time an SLS event was contested in the Emerald City since the last outing in 2011.

At SLS Seattle 2022, skaters took on a California Skateparks-designed course decked out with big concrete obstacles in an asymmetrical layout. As per a recent rule change for the 2022 season, overall scores are now computed by always factoring in one score from the Line section. This means: Skaters can no longer recover from a less-than-perfect Line performance on the strength of Best Trick scores alone.

When the action moved into the Women’s Skateboard Street Final, the rider to beat was Monster Energy’s Rayssa Leal. After earning a spectacular walk-off victory at the first tour stop, SLS Jacksonville, Leal ranked at the top of season leaderboards. She qualified into Sunday’s final in first place and led a field of eight riders, representing Brazil, Japan, as well as the United States and the Netherlands.

In her first of two 45-second runs, Leal put together a perfect routine including, frontside bluntslide the square rail, frontside nosegrind the out-ledge, ollie the kicker, frontside lipslide and frontside boardslide the gap ledge, as well as backside 5-0 grind and backside Smith grind the 12-stair Hubba ledge for 6.5 points and an early lead. On her second run, Leal upped the ante by finessing a kickflip frontside boardslide the gap rail and backside 180 ollie down the triple set.

Heading into the Best Trick section, Leal ranked at the top of the order with fellow Brazilian Pamela Rosa in close pursuit. But Leal found herself falling behind after missing the first two of four Best Trick attempts. With fellow Brazilian Pamela Rosa taking the top spot, Leal needed two landed tricks to stay in the contest.

Playing it strategically, Leal landed a backside boardslide the gap to rail for 5.7 points. On her fourth attempt, the Olympic silver medalist followed up by putting down a perfect backside lipslide on the gap to rail for 8.1 points to make the Super Final and receive two more Best Trick attempts.

In the Super Final, kept the tension high by missing her first trick attempt. But with everything riding on her last trick in the final, Leal proved her nerves and technical skills by clinching a perfect backside tailslide down the 12-stair Hubba for 7.8 points and the overall winning score of 22.4 points. Talk about a down-to-the-wire win!

“I want to thank God, my family, and my team. I was nervous before the last trick, but I talked to my mom and that gave me the confidence to do it,” said Monster Energy’s Leal upon taking the win in Seattle and retaining first place on 2022 SLS season leaderboards. “I also can’t wait for the Super Crown to be in Rio and skating with my friends. That’s what skateboarding is all about!”

Born and raised in Brazil, Leal first caught international attention in 2015 at the age of 6 via a viral video. Today, she ranges among the sport’s elite: In 2019, Leal made history as the youngest competitor to ever win an SLS tour stop at age 11 and took second place at the SLS World Championship in Brazil that year. In 2021, she represented Brazil in the Tokyo Olympics and brought home the silver medal in the Women’s Skateboard Street event.

Also making a strong showing in Seattle this weekend, 21-year-old Monster Energy team rider Braden Hoban from Encinitas, California, qualified into his first SLS final in what was only his second start in the series. In the Line section, Hoban put down impossible frontside 50/50 the Hubba, backside Smith grind the rail into bank, ollie up the triple set from flat, frontside boardslide the ledge into bank, kickflip frontside board slide the massive gap rail, kickflip noseslide the Euro gap ledge for 7.8 points.

Starting his Best Trick campaign on a strong note, Hoban finessed a kickflip frontside nosegrind (9.1 points) and impossible 50/50 grind (8.9 points) on the bump to Hubba. But since several top competitors came into Best Trick with Line scores above 9 points, Hoban closely missed a spot among the top four riders in the Super Final, finishing in fifth place. Not bad for second time at SLS!

Next on the 2022 SLS Championship Tour, the contest series continues with a stop at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 8-9. The stop will finalize the riders to compete for the titles in the SLS Super Crown World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on November 5-6.

For more on Rayssa Leal and the Monster Energy skateboarding team visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for exclusive updates as the action sports season continues.

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About Monster Energy

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.