Four different triple corks were seen at the finals of the legendary Suzuki Nine Knights presented by GoPro in Livigno, Italy on the 4th of April 2014. The immaculately shaped castle on Mottolino Fun Mountain glistened in the sunlight as twenty invited freeskiers put on a showdown to remember. The eight man finals saw riders get creative and push for progression on the 28 meter kicker. Sweden’s Oscar Wester took first place with a triple cork 1620 and switch 1440, leaving 17 year-old Swiss skier Luca Schuler in second place and fellow countryman Jesper Tjäder in third.

Invited to the event through the “Wanna Be a Knight” video clip competition, Oscar Wester was stoked on his victory, “This was one of the best weeks of the year. We have had so much fun skiing together with friends on this incredible castle.” He was one of the young guns throwing down triple corks in the finals. Culminating in the Big Air competition, the week long event saw many photo and film shoots, a unique experience for Wester, “The first day I landed a triple cork 1620 for the first time with the helicopter filming next to me. It was an experience that will be hard to beat.”

The young swiss ripper Luca Schuler is one of the few, if not the only one, to stick the triple 1080, a trick that he first stomped at Sochi. He was on form, also landing the illustrious double cork 720 earning himself a second place and a truckload of respect from fellow riders.

Jesper Tjäder was very pleased with a third place in the competition, landing a double 1080 and a switch triple cork 1260, however, the fearless Swede was even more stoked about being the only knight to jump the 50 meter transfer over a halfpipe from the small kicker to the big landing, “It was one of the biggest jumps I ever did. I had no idea about the speed, so I tried to go fast, but landed just after the gap, which was scary. So, I took more speed and started to do tricks.” Sure enough he landed a double backflip, cementing his legacy at the Nine Knights.

Impressed with the level of riding was judge and pioneer of the sport, Laurent Favre (FRA), who has been to all but one of the Nine Knights event’s and has seen it all. “It’s mainly about having fun, and of course progression. Bringing the older riders together with the new generation is great, this way the athletes keep pushing themselves.” Sure enough, we saw four different triple corks, and some incredibly stylish and creative riding, and we all echo what Lolo said next, “Thanks Nico Zacek for building a crazier set up every year!”

WINNERS:

1. Oscar WESTER (SWE) Triple cork 1620, switch 1440
2. Luka SCHULER (SUI) Double cork 1080, Triple Cork 1080
3. Jesper TJÄDER (SWE) Switch triple cork 1260, double cork 1080.

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Related: Lisa Zimmermann takes first at Suzuki Nine Queens, Dahlström second, Herman third