Canadian freestyle skier Brendan Mackay emerged victorious in the first-ever men’s halfpipe competition at Shaun White’s Snow League held in Secret Garden, China. Hailing from Calgary, the 28-year-old clinched the gold medal by triumphing in three face-offs, ultimately defeating 17-year-old Luke Harrold from New Zealand in the final round.
The Snow League features a distinctive structure where skiers go head-to-head in a series of best-of-three matchups across three rounds. Mackay secured his win by outperforming Hunter Hess of the United States in the quarterfinals and then besting American Nick Goepper in the semifinals.
Having previously claimed the title of the 2023 halfpipe world champion, Mackay was awarded a top prize of $50,000 US from the $250,000 total freeski prize pool.
Meanwhile, in the women’s event, Eileen Gu of China, known for her success at the Beijing Olympics, seized the inaugural women’s Snow League title for freeskiing by defeating fellow Chinese athlete Zhang Kexin. Gu and Mackay are currently leading the Snow League standings with 100 points each, with the next competition scheduled to take place in LAAX, Switzerland in March 2026.
Gu, who grew up in San Francisco but competes for China, is anticipated to shine at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy, where she is a favored contender in the halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air disciplines. At the previous Winter Games in China, Gu claimed gold in halfpipe and big air, along with a silver in slopestyle.
In the snowboard events held on Friday, Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano from Japan secured victory in the men’s category, while 14-year-old Patti Zhou from China triumphed in the women’s division.