Eileen Gu & Luke Harrold Crowned Snow League Champions in LAAX

The Snow League’s inaugural season just wrapped up with its World Championship event in LAAX, Switzerland, and the first-ever freeski champions were crowned.

We were there on-site to see it all go down, get first-hand accounts from the athletes, and enjoy some of LAAX’s amazing skiing and, of course, an Aperol spritz or two.

Following the Snow League’s inaugural freeski event in China last December, many of the athletes returned, just weeks after the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, to defend spots in the League and keep gaining points that would count towards the World Championship title.

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In the women’s field, Svea Irving (USA), Hanna Faulhaber (USA), Amy Fraser (CAN), Rachael Karker (CAN), Zoe Atkin (GBR), and Eileen Gu (CHN) all returned following their debut appearances in China.

Irving was in contention for the World Championship as the top-ranked athlete behind Gu. Joining them were Mischa Thomas (NZL) and Dillan Glennie (CAN) as Snow League rookies. In the men’s field, Gus Kenworthy (USA), Birk Irving (USA), Brendan Mackay (CAN), Luke Harrold (NZL), David Wise (USA), and Hunter Hess (USA) returned in hopes of more Snow League points, with Mackay, Harrold, and Kenworthy sitting on the podium. Andrew Longino (CAN) and Matt Labaugh (USA) also joined in LAAX as Snow League rookies. 

Perhaps one of the most unique parts of the Snow League is that it brings a head-to-head format to halfpipe skiing. The freeski finals went down on Friday, March 20th, with the sun shining and LAAX’s legendary halfpipe in perfect spring conditions.

Snowboarders have competed in the LAAX pipe for years, but it’s been more than a decade since skiers have been able to compete in the longest pipe in the world. 

The competition started out with the women’s quarter finals round and the following skier match-ups:

• Eileen Gu vs. Dillan Glennie
• Rachael Karker vs. Zoe Atkin
• Amy Fraser vs. Hanna Faulhaber
• Svea Irving vs. Mischa Thomas

Skiers competed to win the best two out of three runs, and all were required to drop in from both sides of the pipe at least once. If after the first two runs, the skiers tied, a third run would happen to determine who would advance to the next round of the head-to-head. 

Snow League rookie Dillan Glennie put down a solid two runs; however, Eileen Gu ultimately beat her out, advancing Gu to the semi-finals and edging out her closest competition, Svea Irving, for the World Championship title early in the day.

Gu & Atkin spent the morning in their head-to-head battle for the Jeep Biggest Air Badge. Zoe snagged it first, before Gu took it from her in the next round. However, Zoe went a whopping 15.9 ft. out of the pipe in her second run, earning her a score of 90.5, beating Rachael Karker, and advancing her to the semifinals.

Svea started run two with an absolute heater, but lost her speed after her third hit in the pipe, which gave her a semi-final spot to Mischa Thomas.

The men’s quarterfinals matchups were as follows: 

• David Wise vs. Gus Kenworthy
• Luke Harrold vs. Matt Labaugh
• Hunter Hess vs. Birk Irving
• Andrew Longino vs. Brendan Mackay

The first round of the men’s quarter final saw veteran skiers David Wise and Gus Kenworthy go head-to-head. Kenworthy took the first round, with an incredibly strong run before Wise took it back in run two.

The only pair to see a full three-run battle in the men’s quarterfinals, Kenworthy nearly had Wise in the last round, but a small mistake at the end of his run ultimately cost him. Wise advanced to the semi-finals against the youngest skier in the field, Luke Harrold.

Harrold just barely edged out Matt Labaugh in one of the most heated match-ups of the men’s quarter finals. Labaugh was the first skier of the day to drop, and his first run might as well have been a finals run. However, ultimately, Harrold took him out with two back-to-back 1620s.

Team USA's Birk Irving and Hunter Hess battled it out for the semi-finals. Both landed fantastic first runs, putting them neck and neck. Irving made a small mistake in his second run, which may have cost him a semis spot. However, Hess’ second run was also all out and showed off his creativity and style as a skier, slotting him into the semi-finals against current Snow League leader, Brendan Mackay. 

Semi-finals took place later that evening, and the head-to-head format truly made the entire evening a show. Skiing saw head-to-head competition at NST Ski last spring, which, on an event in natural terrain, makes a lot of sense. However, in a discipline like halfpipe, a head-to-head format and alternate-side drop-ins mean skiers employ much more strategy than they would in a standard halfpipe competition.

The women’s semi-finals took place first with perhaps the amplitude match up of the year: Zoe Atkin vs Eileen Gu. Ultimately, Gu won, and advanced to finals, but not before Atkin launched a whopping 16.9’ out of the pipe.

Amy Fraser took on Mischa Thomas, who skied incredibly well, but ultimately came in fourth place after battling for the final podium spot with Zoe Atkin. Fraser went head-to-head with Gu in the final round and took second place.

Gu, who snagged the World Championship title earlier in the day based on points, also took home first place for LAAX.

Fraser finished with the second most League points, with Svea Irving coming in third for overall League points, followed by Rachael Karker, securing all four skiers an invite back to Season Two of the Snow League. 

The men’s finals came down to the wire, with skiers maxing out laps and perhaps their bodies. In the semifinals, the Snow League’s oldest skier in the field took on the youngest with a head-to-head between David Wise and Luke Harrold.

Harrold advanced to take on Brendan Mackay, the defending Snow League champ in a re-match of the China finals, after three full rounds between Mackay and Hunter Hess in the semifinals.

Hess and Wise also battled it out for third place, putting down three runs each. Despite a crash in his second run that reaggravated some of Hess’ lingering Olympic injuries, he put down a heater of a third run and snagged third place. Mackay and Harrold’s final match up was another for the ages. In one of the more dramatic moments of the day, Harrold actually pulled his ski off his foot in a grab he put so much torsional flexion on the binding, giving Mackay another chance to seize first.

However, it must have been clear that Harrold’s final run was a winner when Mackay dropped in for the last run of the night, but not before he aired nearly 21’ out of the pipe. Both Harrold and Mackay have secured return invites for Season Two, along with Hunter Hess and Gus Kenworthy, due to their points standing in the League.

The Snow League’s Championship trophy, which was made by luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co, was awarded to Gu and Harrold. Additionally, an $85,000 prize purse was split evenly between the men’s & women’s fields at LAAX, with $50,000 awarded to first place, $20,000 to second, $10,000 to third, and $5,000 to fourth place.

“It’s a pretty surreal experience,” said Harrold in a press conference following the event. “The past two events have been a battle. All the athletes have done incredibly well, and to become World Champion is pretty incredible. I think what Snow League's doing to the industry is pretty incredible," he said. "I think it's really going to be the top-tier event in no time."