The Swatch TTR 6-Star Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships will take place this week hosting highly competitive Slopestyle and Halfpipe formats in the defining men’s contest on the TTR World Snowboard Tour. Professional snowboarders have been traveling all over the world, competing in the biggest and best snowboarding contests earning valuable TTR ranking points, and it all boils down to the final men’s 6-Star event, the Burton US Open, where the Men’s Swatch TTR champ will be declared.

Considered by riders and the industry as the most prestigious snowboard competition in the world, the 26th Annual Burton US Open offers a 25% TTR ranking point bonus, offering a whopping 1250 points to each winner of the Slopestyle and Halfpipe. Additionally, the Men’s Tour Champion will be awarded $50 000 of the total $250 000 end-of-season prize purse. With such a heavy weight of points and a monumental prize purse, riders will no doubt unleash their technical wizardry and silky style upon unsuspecting adversaries.

Current TTR Tour leader Kevin Pearce (USA), a native Vermont rider, has been on fire all season long, bagging a 5 and 6-Star Air & Style Title, winning his second consecutive 6-Star Arctic Challenge, along with throwing down one of the most spectacular and progressive Halfpipe runs ever seen, to edge out Halfpipe machine Shaun White and take the 6-Star BEO HP Title.

With his other podium finishes giving him the most impressive competitive record on the 07/08 TTR Tour, Kevin Pearce is a favourite going into the US Open and with a Top 7 result in the Slopestyle, he will be the Tour leader and have an incredible chance of claiming the 07/08 Swatch TTR Tour Championship Title going into the Halfpipe.

But Pearce’s efforts will not go unchallenged. The US Open attracts the best riders from all over the world, and as the final Men’s 6-Star event, the list of riders who have a shot at claiming the title is extraordinarily immense. Giving Pearce a run for his money are Risto Mattila (FIN), Peetu Piiroinen (FIN), and Andy Finch (USA), who have all earned their share of prestigious Titles and podium finishes. Such a strong competitive contingent will result in the tightest race for Swatch TTR World No. 1 since the Tour’s conception.



The 6-Star Burton US Open is also important for female riders as it leads them into the Women’s Tour defining stop, the upcoming 6-Star Roxy Chicken Jam. Although the US open does not provide an extra 25% bonus for the women, it is their last opportunity to bank two batches of 1000 TTR ranking points and aim for a place in the Swatch TTR Top 5.

Reigning 06/07 TTR Tour Champion Torah Bright (AUS) will be looking to fend off her opposition, Jamie Anderson (USA) and Kelly Clark (USA). All three riders currently sit within 5 points of each other and all three could emerge as the Women’s Tour Leader with a Slopestyle win at the US Open. The UK's Jenny Jones currently sits in 4th place.

Torah Bright however, is favoured to do well with exceptional skills in both Halfpipe and Park. Anderson has shown favourable results in Slopestyle, while Clark proves to excel every time she drops into a Halfpipe. Anything can happen and with four opportunities left for the women, the chase is too close to call who will come forth victorious in the end.

Stay on top of the action by logging on www.go211.com and www.ttrworldtour.com for the live webcast of the 26th annual Swatch TTR 6-Star Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships. To also brush up on your knowledge the season long TTR Tour race, visit the TTR homepage; study the rankings, read the blogs and watch the videos, consuming everything there is to know about the all-star snowboarding battle that is the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour.

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Current TTR World Rankings