Silvaplana Kicks Off Winter with the Third Edition of the Winter Opening, November 21–23, 2025
“Silvaplana Rocks the Rail” promises freestyle action with music and festival flair:
The Snow League is back — and this time, it’s touching down in China. After a high-energy debut in Aspen earlier this year, the new global snowboarding tour shifts into winter mode with Event 2 of Season One at Yunding Snow Park, December 4–6, marking the league’s first-ever competition in Asia.
With the 2026 Winter Olympics approaching, this stop becomes the first true pressure test of the season. It’s where off-season training meets reality, where momentum is built, and where the leaderboard can shift dramatically.
Yunding Snow Park, the legendary venue of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, offers one of the world’s most reliable halfpipes. With fast walls, clean transitions, and worldwide broadcast reach across more than 175 countries, all eyes are set on progression.
After months of training camps and preseason sessions, this weekend reveals who levelled up and who is still playing catch-up. With the Olympics looming, riders are expected to unveil new tricks, higher difficulty, and sharpened execution.
The Snow League crowns a Season One World Champion based on points accumulated across four events. Aspen gave us an opening hierarchy; Yunding will begin the real separation between contenders and chasers.
The Snow League’s signature bracket structure is back, including the rule requiring riders to drop from opposite walls in their first two runs of any duel — a format first introduced in Aspen.
During Wednesday’s official Draw at Yunding, snowboarders received their qualifying heats, officially setting the stage for Thursday’s opening battles. With brackets now visible, strategy becomes as important as execution.
Snowboard qualifying begins Thursday, December 4, with 36 snowboarders — 16 women and 20 men — seeded into four heats each based on current Snow League World Championship standings.
Each rider gets two runs, with their highest score counting.
Here’s how athletes advance:
After LCQ, 16 riders (8 women, 8 men) qualify for quarterfinals, where the bracket-style, head-to-head format takes over.
This structure creates immediate tension: some heats are stacked with podium favourites, while others open doors for emerging riders to push through. With matchups now public, the psychological battle began the moment heats were revealed.
Returning after missing Aspen, Queralt brings experience, edge control, and a fierce competitive drive to Yunding. As one of the most consistent women’s pipe riders of the last decade, expect her to come in sharp and ready to reclaim ground lost by skipping Event One. Strong amplitude and high-pressure composure make her a natural threat in this format.
Fresh off her 2025 Halfpipe World Cup title, Mastro arrives with confidence and a hunger to improve on Aspen. Last season’s first World Cup win unlocked a new competitive gear, and she has historically been one of the biggest drivers of women’s progression. Expect her to push Sena Tomita hard for the bracket’s top positions.
Ono’s clean landings and effortless amplitude make her one of the most technically solid riders in the field. After just missing the Aspen podium, she’ll be eager to climb. But with China’s Jiayu Liu competing at home, Ono will have to deliver big from the very first run to stay ahead in a crowded field.
Ruka enters China as one of the most reliable and polished riders in the world. His runner-up finish in Aspen reaffirmed his consistency and execution. Rumours of new tricks from his summer training block make him a potential event winner, especially in a format that rewards composure and adaptability.
Ayumu’s third-place Aspen performance reminded everyone that even at less than full difficulty, he remains a podium constant. With Olympic gold, triple corks on standby, and signature mental steel, Ayumu is poised to flip any matchup if he taps into his highest-risk run.
A standout emerging rider, Cam brings amplitude, creativity, and an easy confidence that sets him apart. Yunding’s perfect pipe is the ideal venue for him to step deeper into the bracket — or shake up the established order entirely. He has momentum, refinement, and the kind of style judges reward.
Event Two features a $620,000 USD prize purse, with equal pay for men and women — a defining part of The Snow League’s athlete-first model.
Additionally, every snowboarder receives a $5,000 appearance fee, underscoring the league’s commitment to sustainable athlete support and professionalization.
Snowboard fans can follow the action live across more than 175 countries, including:
A full list of global broadcast partners is available here.
The Snow League’s first winter stop arrives with enormous momentum, packed heats, and a bracket structure engineered for intensity. With the world’s best halfpipe snowboarders returning to an Olympic venue — and season-long points tightening — Event Two at Yunding Snow Park promises some of the most exciting snowboarding of early winter.
Big tricks, big stakes, and even bigger pressure.
Are you ready?
“Silvaplana Rocks the Rail” promises freestyle action with music and festival flair:
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