Chris Cole domniates again in Orange County.

Maloof Money Cup OC Gallery

It's been a long four days of shredding at Maloof. Here's the photographic evidence. Gallery



Coming in third place, Sean Malto went to work on the course's final section (where, with the biggest obstacles, the most points were up for grabs). Malto nollie backside nosegrinded the hubba ledge, overcrooked the 9-stair rail and then hardflipped and switch flipped the triple set.

Ben KarpinskiNyjah Huston nollie 180 heelflips in the finals with Garrett Hill hot on his heels.
Still, no one's performance stood up to Cole's in the end. Proving again and again that when he's on, virtually no one can touch him, Cole approached the finals with pure determination. In the early sections he rattled off trick after trick accumulating points. On the course's low to high ledge, Cole took the harder approach and chose to backside nosebluntslide the high ledge from flat ground. On the 6-stair hubba, he halfcabbed into frontside 50-50s the hard way and switch tailslid the thing. And in the final section, where sizable stairs and railings meant that every fall could result in serious injury, Cole proved he was made to skate this sort of thing. When he did fall (and that wasn't often), Cole could roll out of harms way in ways that his peers couldn't; it might just be because he's literally quite larger and more muscular than most of his pro colleagues. With each make and each miss, Cole was instantly running back up the stairs to get in more attempts than anyone else. He switch frontside flipped the triple set and nosegrinded the hubba ledge across and down. Cole pulled an admittedly sketch backside 360 flip down the triple set before Torey Pudwill could put one down (both are good at that trick) and threw down the hardest trick of the contest on the nine stair rail with a frontside 180 the hard way into a switch feeble grind revert that got maybe the biggest applause of the contest.

There were some in the crowd who questioned the judging when the results were announced. Some felt that Nyjah Huston had been robbed of the win (with bronze at X Games 16 and 2nd in both Tampa Pro and Maloof Money Cup Orange County this year, he does seem to be getting the always a bridesmaid and never the bride reputation), but from where I was sitting the judges made the right call with Cole. Nyjah also had one heckuva contest, impressed everyone and, at just 15, he's bound to have plenty of days in the sun in the future. But today was, once again, Chris Cole's day.

Results
1. Chris Cole 286.33 points $100,000
2. Nyjah Huston 281.67 points $40,000
3. Sean Malto 281.33 points $25,000
4. Torey Pudwill 274.67 points $15,000
5. Tommy Sandoval 260.67 points $6,000
6. Bastien Salabanzi 258.67 points $5,000
7. Ryan Decenzo 255.33 points $4,000
8. Justin Brock 250.33 points $3,000
9. David Gonzalez 246.67 points $2,500
10. Billy Marks 239.67 points $2,000
11. Jake Duncombe 237.33 points $1,500
12. Garrett Hill 233.67 points $1,500