Patti Zhou continued her meteoric rise in women’s snowboarding with a victory at The Snow League’s second stop, while Ayumu Hirano won a men’s contest that showcased the level of progression in store for this Olympic season.

The Snow League is a new contest series developed by Shaun White. It uses a unique contest format which features a head-to-head bracket and best-of-three runs. Athletes must drop in from opposite sides of the pipe on their first two runs.

This week’s event, which is being held at the 2022 Beijing Olympic venue, is the second of four events in The Snow League’s inaugural season. Recaps and results from the first day of finals, which featured snowboard halfpipe contests for men and women, are below.

The Snow League’s unique format produced several dramatic moments, many involving 14-year-old Patti Zhou, who pushed Mitsuki Ono to a third run in the final before claiming the win in the women's event.

The day started with another young star, 17-year-old Gaon Choi, matched up with Zhou in the quarterfinals. Although Choi posted the highest score of the quarterfinals with her first run, she fell on her second run, which enabled Zhou to take the win and force a decisive third run. That third run was one of the day’s highlights, with both riders throwing down big tricks before the judging ultimately went in Zhou’s favor.

Sena Tomita, the winner of the first Snow League event, was supposed to be Zhou’s next opponent but pulled out of the contest after crashing during the pre-semifinals warmup session. That automatically advanced Zhou to the final, where she faced the top-seeded Ono.

After splitting the first two runs, Zhou applied the pressure with a solid third run that included a frontside 1080 and a switch backside 900. Ono responded with a full run of her own but had a couple execution issues. Both riders then endured a dramatic wait for the score reveal before Zhou was named the narrow victor.

"I'm just so happy," an excited Zhou said afterward. "This exceeds my goals for Snow League. I'm just happy to be snowboarding with all my idols today."

Zhou is a rising star who was born in Beijing but relocated to Colorado with her family several years ago. Her breakout moment came at the 2023 Dew Tour, when she placed 2nd in women’s halfpipe as an 11-year-old. Given her trajectory so far, Zhou could be one of the sport’s biggest names by the time the 2030 Winter Olympics roll around. However, due to her age, she’s not eligible to compete at the upcoming Milan Cortina Games.

Athletes must have turned 15 before the start of the 2026 calendar year to meet the minimum age requirements for snowboarding at these Olympics. The same rule prevented Chloe Kim from competing at the 2014 Games.

Kim, the two-time reigning Olympic champion, has not participated in either Snow League event.

American Maddie Mastro, who finished 2nd at the debut Snow League event, was on the start list in China but opted not to compete in qualifying. She recently tweaked her ankle and, after taking some practice runs, said she decided not to risk further injury.

Results

1. Patti Zhou (CHN)
2. Mitsuki Ono (JPN)
3. Rise Kudo (JPN)
4. Sena Tomita (JPN)

For the second Snow League event in a row, Japanese riders swept the podium, but this time it was reigning Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano defeating compatriot Yuto Totsuka in the men's final.

The biggest story of the event, though, was the progression on display. With the Milan Cortina Olympics just two months away, The Snow League provided the first look at what riders have been working on in the offseason and what lies ahead this contest season.

Totsuka landed a frontside double cork 1620, Ayumu landed a switch backside double cork 1260, and the majority of the riders in the eight-man bracket landed a triple cork.

But as it turned out, those tricks weren’t what decided the final. Because of The Snow League’s head-to-head format, the rider who drops last holds a major advantage: If their opponent crashes, they can dial back their tricks and usually still win that run.

In the final, Totsuka dropped first on Run 1 and was putting together an incredible run before simply running out of pipe on his final hit. That allowed Ayumu to win Run 1 with a more conservative routine.

The order flipped for Run 2, and this time it was Ayumu with an uncharacteristic mid-run crash and Totsuka winning with a strategic run. That forced a decisive third run in which Run 1 essentially repeated itself: Totsuka ran out of pipe on his last hit, and Ayumu adapted his run to take advantage and take the victory.

The list of riders unveiling a triple cork this week at The Snow League included American Alessandro Barbieri and New Zealand’s Cam Melville Ives. Barbieri won his quarterfinal matchup with Ruka Hirano but finished 4th after falling to Ayumu in the semifinals and to Ryusei Yamada in the 3rd-place matchup.

Melville Ives was eliminated in the quarterfinals but not before one of the day’s most exciting moments. On Run 2 of his quarterfinal heat, he attempted back-to-back triple corks — a combination that has never been landed in a halfpipe competition. Although he didn’t quite land the second triple cork, it’s a sign of what could be ahead for Melville Ives, who continues to look like a breakout candidate this season.

Results

1. Ayumu Hirano (JPN)
2. Yuto Totsuka (JPN)
3. Ryusei Yamada (JPN)
4. Alessandro Barbieri (USA)
5. Ruka Hirano (JPN)
6. Cam Melville Ives (NZL)
7. Shuichiro Shigeno (JPN)
8. Chaeun Lee (KOR)

The final day at Secret Garden will feature freeskiers taking part in The Snow League for the first time. Eight men and eight women are set to compete in freeski halfpipe, with Eileen Gu and Nick Goepper among the biggest names on the start list.

Meanwhile, the FIS World Cup circuit is hosting a big air event nearby in Beijing. Skiers and snowboarders will both be competing.

Tune-in information is below, and a preview of The Snow League's freeski event — as well as a preview of the World Cup big air event — is available here.

The Snow League: Freeski Halfpipe

• Date: Friday, Dec. 5
• Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
• Platform: Peacock

Beijing World Cup: Freeski Big Air

• Date: Saturday, Dec. 6 (late Friday night)
• Time: 12 a.m. ET
• Platform: skiandsnowboard.live

Beijing World Cup: Snowboard Big Air

• Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
• Time: 5 a.m. ET
• Platform: skiandsnowboard.live