Get Ready For X Games California 2023

Summer X Games returns bigger and better than ever! This year, the world’s leading showcase in action sports competition will stoke fans across the globe with 21 medal competitions in Southern California. Monster Energy, the official energy drink partner of X Games, is proud to bring some of the world’s biggest names in competitive BMX, motocross, and skateboarding to X Games California from July 16 to July 23, 2023.

X Games California marks the 68th edition of X Games since the event’s inception in 1995. This year, the action sports world will focus on Southern California for live competitions at real-life street spots and the private SloanYard facility, followed by a three-day finals weekend inside the Ventura County Fairgrounds & Events Center. The event marks the first time in three years since X Games fans experienced their favorite sports in a large stadium setting – and Southern California takes the event back to the roots of action sports

The stakes are high for X Games California 2023: Close to 150 athletes from 18 countries will compete for a total of 63 medals in 21 competition events across three sports. That’s the highest number of medals up for grabs since X Games 2011! Maintaining the highest level of riding, X Games California is contested as an invite-only event, reserved for multiple-time X Games medalists and highly competitive newcomers.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will televise a combined 15.5 hours of live X Games California 2023. In addition, @XGames YouTube serves as the premium streaming channel for all X Games events, supplemented by interactive content as well as a watch-a-long hosted by Jack Mitrani and athlete guests on Twitch.

As the official drink sponsor of X Games California 2023, Monster Energy is ready to bring the stoke with a stacked team of riders, including action sports icons, defending X Games gold medalists, and upcoming rookies. Look out for the following key Monster Energy athletes and competitions:

Keeping it real in the streets, X Games California kicks off on Sunday, July 16, with two ‘Real’ format events featuring the world’s most innovative BMX and skateboard athletes at a legendary SoCal hot spot: Real BMX Best Trick is a brand-new medal event perfectly suited for the spot-demolishing talents of Australia’s Lewis Mills, winner of BMX Street gold at X Games Chiba 2022 looking to take home another medal on the strength of one legendary trick. Joining the session, rising BMX star Jordan Godwin is on a mission to destroy street spots across the globe. Watch it go down live!

Next up on Sunday, the most innovative skateboarders will battle for X Games medals and a chance to etch their names into spot history in Real Street Best Trick. With a squad of A-listers ready to throw down, it’s going to get real! 

X Games California 2023 will resume on Monday, July 17 with MegaPark competitions at the notorious SloanYard ramp facility, built and designed by Monster Energy team rider Elliot Sloan in Vista. The training facility features a 27-foot tall mini-MegaRamp that hosted official X Games competitions in 2022. 

This year, don’t miss the return of Monster Energy BMX MegaPark in its second installment featuring a heavy Monster Energy squad: Starting with a wildcard, 19-year-old Monster Army rider Kaden Stone is not just the only teenager competing in BMX this year, he’s also recently won the Best Trick contest at FISE Montpellier in May against the sport’s A-listers. Speaking of A-listers, prepare for heavy trick innovation courtesy of California’s Daniel Sandoval fresh off winning BMX Park gold and BMX Park Best Trick at X Games Chiba 2023. And with Canadian X Games gold medalist Mike Varga as well as Australian multiple X Games medalists Jaie Tooheyand Andy Buckworth in the mix, it’s bound to be a ‘mega’-sized jam session!

Next, the Monster Energy Men’s Skate MegaPark competition comes back with a massive score to settle: In 2022, SloanYard host Elliot Sloan opened his home turf to the world elite of big ramp riding, only to settle for a silver medal. Who beat him? No other than newly minted Monster Energy rider Edouard Damestoy from Bordeaux, France. The two-time X Games gold medalist also just won the Tony Hawk Vert Alert for the second time in a row. This contest just went from heated to scorching! Adding fuel to the flames, 23-year-old Tom Schaar from Malibu, California, just returned from injury with a silver medal in the World Skateboarding Tour contest in San Juan, Argentina. And with X Games gold medalist Trey Wood from Arizona in the session, it’s going to be fire!

Come Friday, the big finals weekend unfolds inside the Ventura County Fairgrounds & Events Center with a stacked roster of medal events in front of a stadium crowd. Did we mention it’s been three years since summer X Games were contested as a major festival? About time! 

As the opening event for finals weekend, the BMX Street final will feature last year’s silver medalist in the discipline, 25-year-old Felix Prangenberg from Germany. He will battle against previous gold medalists Lewis Mills from Australia and Alex Donnachie from Scotland. Also don’t forget three-time X Games gold medalist and all-terrain threat, Kevin Peraza from Tucson, Arizona ready to boost his medal count with a Street podium.

The stars of halfpipe skateboarding will be out for the Pacifico Men’s Skateboard Vert final.In the epic progression session judged on the best run of the night, the rider to beat is 25-year-old Frenchman Edouard Damestoy after claiming his first X Games gold in the discipline at X Games Chiba 2023. Also look out for his closest competitor, Tom Schaar, fresh off a silver-medal finish at Chiba 2023. He will be facing heat from two teammates looking to get back on the podium in Ventura: 27-year-old Japanese style icon Moto Shibata and New York City’s Elliot Sloan have been stacking their vert runs with tech tricks. Don’t miss the big showdown!

For the big showdown on Friday night, the crowd in Ventura will be treated to a progressive air show in the Moto X Best Trick final. Expect boundary-pushing motocross tricks when the 2022 silver medalist in the discipline, 37-year-old Josh Sheehan rekindles his rivalry with the sport’s big boys. Speaking of boundary-pushing, the Australian squad also features multi-medal winning athletes Jackson Strong andHarry Bink. Plus, they’ve been raising young upstart Benny Richards from Wagga Wagga, hungry for his first X Games medal. This could be the time!

Saturday will be the busiest day at X Games California with nine(!) medal events – that’s 27 medals – on the docket. The action will commence with the Women’s Skateboard Street final, where 15-year-old Rayssa Leal from Brazil drops in as a podium favorite after clinching gold at X Games Chiba 2023 as well as SLS Chicago 2023. Her competition includes three-time X Games gold medalist Aori Nishimura from Tokyo, Japan aiming for a top spot. Prepare to see the state of the art in women’s skateboarding!

Next up, the world’s most progressive riders will hoist clean tricks over dusty terrain in the BMX Dirt final. In an epic battle of decorated medalists versus hungry young guns, anything can happen: Prepare for stacked runs courtesy of multiple medal owners and BMX Dirt beasts such as Andy Buckworth, Kevin Peraza, and Daniel Sandoval. They will head-to-head against all-terrain annihilator Mike Varga and a vanguard of young rippers including 23-year-old Bryce Tryon, as well as Monster Army recruits Brady Baker, and Kaden Stone. Already safe to say: This contest will be intense and unpredictable – the stuff of X Games legends!

When the dust settles, the crowd will cheer on the intense Moto X Quarterpipe High Air final. Judging by past installments of the events, look out for records being broken and the bar raised in the discipline when the world’s top aerial specialists collide. Jumping into the fray, will 31-year-old Jarryd McNeil from Yarrawonga, Australia be able to soar above the competition? Tune in live on Saturday and find out!

A heavy-duty Monster Energy squad will drop into the Men’s Skateboard Park event. Leading the charge, Liam Pace from Arizona took the gold in 2021 in an upset victory, but finished recent entries off the podium, so he’s hungrier than ever! Also hungry, Tom Schaar already owns silver in Skateboard Park and heads into X Games 2023 looking to score his tenth X Games medal. His teammate Trey Wood has claimed all previous medals in Big Air, but recently proved his bowl riding skills by taking third place at the Tampa Pro Concrete Jam. And don’t forget the new wonder kid, 16-year-old Raphae Ueda from San Marcos, California aiming for his very first podium at an X Games. It’s going to be next level!

Contested for the second time in X Games history, the BMX Dirt Best Trick final first premiered in 2021 with Andy Buckworth taking the gold medal. Will history repeat itself, or will the rest of the pack get in the way? Expect the unexpected when certified Best Trick specialists Kevin Peraza, Daniel Sandoval, and Mike Varga unleash their most massive trick creations in this winner-takes-all format. Also don’t rule out the raw talent of Jaie Toohey, Bryce Tryon, as well as young rookies Brady Baker, and Kaden Stone. Prepare to witness (trick) history in the making! 

Another medal event returns with Pacifico Women’s Skateboard Vert contested for the first time since 2010. The current state of the art in female halfpipe skating will be on full display when 20-year-old Monster Army rider Grace Marhoefer from Cocoa Beach, Florida, climbs on deck to claim her very first X Games medal. Her Monster Army teammate Ruby Lilley will also be dropping into the session, alongside the latest addition to Monster Energy’s female skateboard squad: 16-year-old Monster Army recruit Asahi Kaihara from Osaka, Japan just clinched second place in the Tony Hawk Vert Alert competition and is ready for her first X Games podium. 

If you like dramatic showdowns, don’t miss the BMX Park final on Saturday. All bets are off when last 2022’s silver medalist Justin Dowell from Virginia Beach goes run-for-run against French sensation Anthony Jeanjean, a three-time European Champion and currently unbeaten in three consecutive FISE contests in Europe. But make no mistake, Daniel Sandoval most recently took gold in the discipline at X Games Chiba 2023! Also bringing skills to the battle Kevin Peraza, Bryce Tryon and Argentina’s Jose Torres all have the skills to get to the top – but there can only be one winner!

A crowd favorite takes centerstage when Men’s Skate Street Best Trick unfolds as a no-holds-barred progression session. Last year’s silver medalist is no other than the winningest street skater of all time, Nyjah Huston, and he wants another gold medal to join his 20 career X Games medals, 13 of which are gold. He will be joined by Brazilian teammate and Olympic silver medalist Kelvin Hoefler looking for his next X Games win. For a wildcard, expect next-level trick wizardry from Thrasher ‘Skater of the Year’ and proven X Games gold medalist Ishod Wair from New Jersey.   

The best way to shut down the most epic day at X Games California? How about a heavy display of Moto X Best Whip with riders competing to perform the most flawlessly executed, stylish whip over the motocross jump. Stylish airs are what earned defending gold medalist Julien Vanstippen from Belgium the crown in 2022. He’ll be facing heavy hitters and style icons such as Jarryd McNeil, Josh Sheehan, and Genki Watanabe throwing down with the best in the business.

For the final Sunday of X Games California, brace yourself for a brand-new medal event: Women’s Skate Street Best Trick follows the success of progressive best trick events in ski and snowboarding, so the crowd is in for a healthy dose of bar-raising skateboarding. And raising the bar is exactly what X Games gold medalist Rayssa Leal from Brazil is known for, so expect tricks you’ve never seen before!

The focus remains on the world’s best female skaters in the Women’s Skateboard Park competition.After taking silver at X Games Chiba 2023, 16-year-old Monster Army rider Ruby Lilley from Ocean City is back for more, facing off against a heavy roster including fellow Monster Army recruit Grace Marhoefer and park skating icon Lizzie Armanto. And did we mention that 21-year-old Mami Tezuka from Hikone, Japan is looking to expand on her X Games silver and bronze medals? It’s going down in Ventura!

On that note, the 2022 edition of Dave Mirra's BMX Park Best Trick ended with a full podium sweep courtesy of Team Monster Energy. Will last year’s dream team of Mike Varga (Gold), Kevin Peraza (Silver), and Jeremy Malott (Bronze) repeat history? Not if Daniel Sandoval, Jeremy Malott, Kevin Peraza, and Justin Dowell have their say in the matter! 

For another scorching final, look no further than Sunday’s Men’s Skateboard Street event. Olympic athlete Kelvin Hoefler from Brazil is looking to improve on silver from X Games Chiba 2023, while Nyjah Huston is back from injury and fresh off a win at WST Street Skateboarding Rome 2023. Then again, certified SOTY Ishod Wair can never be counted out. And will Brazil’s Giovanni Vianna finally take his first X Games podium? We can’t wait!

One more thing! As the worthy finale of an eight-day action sports extravaganza, fans will be treated to Pacifico Men's Skateboard Vert Best Trick. That’s where Tony Hawk shook the (action sports) world by landing the first 900-degree aerial in 1999. This year, the rider to beat will be Elliot Sloan as the defending gold medalist from X Games 2022 and X Games Chiba 2023. Three-peat, anyone?! Sloan will be facing heavy heat from teammate Moto Shibata after winning the Best Trick event at Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert and taking silver at X Games Chiba 2023. Let’s not forget Edouard Damestoy from France throwing down heavy tech moves. And when it comes to get technical with video part-worthy tricks, the name Tom Schaar definitely comes up in conversation, so expect trick history to be written at X Games California 2023.