X Games Brings First Ever Summer League Championship Event to New Orleans

The inaugural, already fan favorite MoonPay X Games League Summer season reaches its long awaited climax this weekend as New Orleans, LA, hosts the first ever X Games Summer League Championship. This landmark event represents one of the biggest structural changes in the history of action sports and elevates the popular brand into new forms of sporting entertainment. After two regular season stops in Sacramento and Chiba (Japan), the world's best skateboarders, BMX riders, and Moto X athletes converge on the iconic venue that is the NFL stadium, Caesars Superdome, where both individual medals and the first XGL club championship will be decided.

The three day finale from July 24-26 is designed to be more than a traditional X Games event, a culmination of a month long league campaign in which every run, trick, and medal has contributed to a season long points race. Adrenaline sports have also grown in popularity among wagering enthusiasts, as leading sportsbooks now offer a ton of bets across different events. As the official betting partner of X Games, Stake has outright markets live for every discipline at the New Orleans championship. It is one of the most intriguing ways to place your wagers, as it is similar to traditional sports but much more extravagant and exciting to watch.

A New Era of X Games

For more than three decades, X Games events largely stood on their own. It was a popular form of extreme sports for the fans to enjoy, and its marketing and phenomenon were working. Athletes were competing for medals at individual competitions, and it seemed like that would always be the case. The MoonPay X Games League (XGL) fundamentally changes that formula by introducing a season long championship modeled more closely after traditional professional sports leagues. Now, players compete for something bigger, while the fans can get invested in cheering on and supporting their favorites for longer.

Instead of isolated events, the inaugural Summer XGL consists of three stops, Sacramento, Chiba, and New Orleans, with points accumulated throughout the season. Athletes continue to compete for individual X Games medals in every discipline, but they are simultaneously earning points for their respective clubs. Four city based franchises, like XC Los Angeles, XC New York, XC São Paulo, and XC Tokyo, drafted rosters of elite skateboarders and BMX athletes before the season began. At the same time, free agents can also compete and influence the competitive landscape through individual results. Every medal, finals appearance, and high finish contributes toward both individual recognition and the team championship race, which all adds another layer of strategy and significance to every contest.

The New Orleans finale, therefore, crowns two champions simultaneously. Individual athletes will leave with X Games medals as always, but for the first time, one club will also lift the inaugural Summer XGL championship trophy and claim the league's $500,000 championship purse. The season long format has created rivalries that simply did not exist under the previous standalone event structure, giving fans an ongoing narrative that extends beyond one competition weekend. It is exactly what the sport and the brand needed to grow even bigger than they were.

Nyjah Huston Has Unfinished Business

No storyline carries greater weight entering New Orleans than Nyjah Huston's pursuit of another Street title. Widely regarded as the greatest men's Skateboard Street competitor in X Games history, Nyjah Huston opens as a top contender in Stake's X Games New Orleans odds, looking to answer his Sacramento result on the sport's biggest new stage. Huston arrives with an extraordinary resume that includes 15 X Games gold medals. He also carries additional significance within the new league era as Stake's first ever global ambassador from the action sports world, making him one of the most recognizable figures attached to XGL's launch. Yet the 2026 season has not unfolded exactly as expected.

The opening stop in Sacramento delivered one of the year's defining moments when 16 year old Japanese sensation Ginwoo Onodera defeated Huston in the Men's Skateboard Street final. Huston briefly held the lead after posting an 89.66 point run before Onodera answered with a spectacular 92.33 on his final attempt to steal gold in dramatic fashion. The upset immediately became one of the signature moments of the inaugural XGL season and symbolized both the arrival of a new generation and the increasingly global depth of elite street skateboarding.

Onodera doubled down on that breakthrough in Chiba, winning another Street gold on home soil in Japan while further strengthening his position as one of the league's breakout stars. Consecutive victories transformed the teenager from an exciting prospect into the man everyone must beat entering the championship weekend. Three in a row would make her the undisputed star of the first Summer League, and her name would be etched in the history of the X Games.

That sets up perhaps the marquee individual showdown of the weekend. Huston is no stranger to pressure or championship moments, but New Orleans offers him something particularly meaningful. He gets the opportunity to reassert himself atop the Street hierarchy after watching one of skateboarding's brightest young talents seize the spotlight during the opening half of the season.

If Nyjah Huston manages to win in New Orleans, it reinforces his longevity and reminds the sport that one disappointing defeat does not diminish one of the greatest competitive careers ever assembled. If Onodera completes the three event sweep, it would represent one of the most emphatic changing of the guard moments in modern X Games history. Whatever happens, the fans of adrenaline sports “are eating good” as the modern saying goes. There is a lot to look forward to if you love skateboarding action.

Caesars Superdome is an Unprecedented Stage

The New Orleans championship culmination also represents a significant milestone for X Games as an event and a brand. For the first time, X Games is transforming an entire NFL stadium on the scale of Caesars Superdome into the centerpiece of an action sports championship weekend. Nothing like this has ever been done, and we all know how big the US goes with its National Football League venues. Rather than utilizing traditional outdoor plazas, skateparks, or convention facilities, the league's inaugural championship takes over one of America's most iconic sports venues.

The venue itself reflects the ambition behind XGL, and it positions it exactly where it wants and needs to be. Caesars Superdome has hosted Super Bowls, Final Fours, college football national championships, and countless historic sporting events. Now it becomes the home of action sports' newest championship format, illustrating how aggressively X Games is positioning itself as a mainstream global sports property rather than simply an annual festival.

The championship also extends beyond competition inside the stadium. The weekend will feature concerts, fan festivals, athlete appearances, and activations throughout the surrounding entertainment district, all coming together to create an experience designed to resemble championship weekends seen in other major professional leagues. X Fest in Champions Square and performances at the neighboring Smoothie King Center further reinforce the festival atmosphere surrounding the title deciding event.

How We Got to New Orleans

The inaugural campaign began in Sacramento, California, where athletes and fans alike were introduced to the new league format. Sacramento immediately produced several headline moments. Ginwoo Onodera's victory over Huston became one of the defining stories, while Chloe Covell continued establishing herself as one of women's skateboarding's biggest stars. Across BMX and Moto X competition, athletes immediately discovered that every finish carried additional significance because club standings were now at stake alongside medal counts. Following the opening weekend, XC Tokyo emerged atop the team standings with 980 points, narrowly ahead of XC São Paulo and XC New York, while XC Los Angeles held fourth place but remained well within striking distance.

One week later, the league shifted to the Chiba Prefecture in Japan, where Japanese athletes capitalized on home advantage in several marquee events. Onodera successfully defended his Men's Street crown, Chloe Covell captured her first Women's Street victory, Garrett Reynolds claimed a record extending 17th X Games gold medal in BMX Street, and Sky Brown returned to the top of the Women's Skateboard Park podium. Young stars continued to emerge throughout multiple disciplines, further highlighting the increasingly international nature of modern action sports.

Chiba also dramatically tightened the championship race. XC Tokyo and XC New York finished the second stop tied atop the standings with 1,770 points each, creating a winner take all scenario entering New Orleans. It is what fans like to see, an event that decides it all instead of a runaway victory. XC Sao Paulo sits third with 1,610 points, while XC Los Angeles remains mathematically alive at 1,510 points, meaning all four clubs retain championship hopes entering the finale, albeit with very different probabilities and odds.

Except for the club standings, the season has also produced compelling individual races. Mizuho Hasegawa emerged as one of the overall athlete leaders through consistent performances across multiple events, while Logan Martin's reliability has made him one of the league's highest point scorers. Reynolds continues adding to one of BMX's greatest competitive legacies, while several teenage stars have established themselves among the sport's biggest attractions. Here’s to NOLA bringing more of the same across all fronts and ending up being the best of the trio of the initial Summer League schedule.

Everything comes down to New Orleans

That combination of individual rivalries, team competition, and historic firsts gives the famed city in Louisiana a significance unlike any previous Summer X Games. The NOLA Championship will indeed enter the history books of the already storied franchise that has brought adrenaline, action, and extreme sports so far in the past.

For traditional fans, the event still delivers the familiar pursuit of gold medals across skateboarding, BMX, and Moto X. At the same time, for newer audiences, however, the introduction of season long standings creates a much clearer championship narrative, where performances from Sacramento and Chiba directly shape what happens in New Orleans. It all matters in the long run and is no longer just about coming out once and being done with the event.

Whether the defining image becomes Nyjah Huston reclaiming the Street throne, Ginwoo Onodera completing his remarkable breakout season, or one of the four clubs lifting the first Summer XGL championship trophy, the weekend represents the culmination of a bold new chapter for action sports that has proven successful and will only grow from here on out.

Bringing together the established X Games prestige and mixing it up with a season long league format and placing its championship inside one of America's most recognizable stadiums, X Games is attempting to redefine how elite action sports are presented to a global audience. And it just so happens that New Orleans, a city known for doing it big and playing the perfect host, will serve as the proving ground for whether that vision delivers on its promise.

X Games Trivia and FAQs

Who is the most successful athlete in X Games history?
Success depends on discipline, but several athletes have built legendary resumes. Skateboarding icon Nyjah Huston holds a record 15 Skateboard Street gold medals, while BMX legend Garrett Reynolds owns a record 17 career gold medals. Across all sports, athletes like Shaun White, Travis Pastrana, Bob Burnquist, and Tony Hawk are widely regarded as among the most influential competitors in X Games history.

Where can fans watch or attend the X Games?
Fans can attend X Games events by purchasing tickets for individual host cities, while competitions are also broadcast through X Games' official media partners, digital platforms, and sportsbooks like Stake, the official sponsor. Event schedules, ticket information, venue policies, and streaming details are typically announced on the official X Games website ahead of each competition.

Why are X Games medals considered so prestigious?
Winning an X Games medal is widely regarded as one of the highest achievements in action sports because athletes compete against the world's best in disciplines where innovation and difficulty are constantly evolving. Many iconic tricks, including Tony Hawk's historic 900 and numerous BMX and Moto X firsts, have debuted or been landed at the X Games.

Which sports are featured at the X Games?
The X Games program varies slightly between Summer and Winter editions, but the Summer X Games typically feature skateboarding, BMX, and Moto X across multiple disciplines such as Street, Park, Vert, Big Air, and Best Trick. Winter showcase sports, including snowboarding and skiing, with SuperPipe, Slopestyle, Big Air, and Knuckle Huck featuring top winter action sports athletes.