3 years in the Making, Bucky Lasek's 1st Pool Party Title.
Posted 05/17/2009 07:47:00 by i am vans
It took a while. I mean it took a while for someone to actually put their money where their mouth is, in terms of accepting my wager. I called Bucky as the winner and 20 dollars of someone else's said otherwise. For Bucky to take it down this year was no easy task. Being in there with 3 time champ Rune Glifberg, and 2007 Champ Omar Hassan makes it nearly impossible, but this year Bucky also had to fight off a group of young dogs in the form of Josh Borden, Josh rodriguez, and Michael Brookman, an even younger Brasilian monster Pedro Barros, and the ever-explosive Nolan Munroe. Add to this the insane switch tactics and spontaneity of Bob Burnquist, and the speedy Sergie Ventura and it's the most formidable field you might ever have to face. 10th place Nolan Munroe came out with a strong intro run, but couldn't continue on for the full final jam. Rookie Michael Brookman came out hard after the intro runs and executed power moves usually only seen by guys nearly twice his age, his judo body jars were as big and picture perfect as it gets and he slid into the 9 spot. The 2 Josh's also presented a huge challenge. Josh Rodriguez came into this one for the first time this year and fired a huge salvo of big airs and nasty lip variations and reverts, even trying to work out a 540 after time. All that gas in his tank carried him into 8th place. In 7th, Josh Borden skated like a heavy veteran, after all he's been in the top 10 here before. Josh added back lips through the shallow corners to his 540's and tailslide reverts through the corners and cemented his rep as one of the guys to beat. Sergie Ventura powered through into 6th place, and had he managed to string together a few more things, his big airs and speed would have almost guaranteed a higher placing
In 5th and 4th place respectively were two ends of the Brasilian age bracket. 5th place went to Burnquist who represents the initial generation of Brasilians who came to the US to kick ass and take names in competitive skateboarding. Bob employed his typical "how did he make that?" routine which often confused some as to whether he was riding switch or otherwise. 4th place went to Pedro Barros, the youngest guy in the field. Pedro's runs consisted of multiple 540's, lengthy tailslides and standardized air variations. In the very near future he will definitely be climbing to the top of the pro ranks. Most people predicted that the top 3 would include Omar, Bucky, and Rune. Rune has one this thing 3 times and when the pressure of the jam maxes out he always rises to the occasion. Rises several feet out of the Combi with every launch he makes. Rune was constantly operating in heavy traffic which might have caused him to have just a few too many shortened runs and he wound up in 3rd. Omar once again baffled everyone in the house with his combined mastery of the pool and his ability to do dozens of tricks without ever duplicating a line. In the final minutes of the jam Omar looked like he could steal it from Bucky, and perhaps the difference in some people's minds was simply a single trick. Omar failed to land his heelflip indy from the round side of the peninsula onto the opposite flat wall of the square. Bucky Lasek simply laid down the law right out of the gate. 2 solid intro runs and tricks that only he is crazy enough to do. Frontside rodeo 540's, that insane boneless 540 thing, huge lien crossbones and high speed lip antics sealed the deal. The actual scoring numbers between Omar and Bucky are now a matter of record and closer than you might think, but everyone who witnessed it knew that this year things were going to end just a bit differently. Congratulations Bucky, it was a long time coming and very very well-deserved.
In 5th and 4th place respectively were two ends of the Brasilian age bracket. 5th place went to Burnquist who represents the initial generation of Brasilians who came to the US to kick ass and take names in competitive skateboarding. Bob employed his typical "how did he make that?" routine which often confused some as to whether he was riding switch or otherwise. 4th place went to Pedro Barros, the youngest guy in the field. Pedro's runs consisted of multiple 540's, lengthy tailslides and standardized air variations. In the very near future he will definitely be climbing to the top of the pro ranks. Most people predicted that the top 3 would include Omar, Bucky, and Rune. Rune has one this thing 3 times and when the pressure of the jam maxes out he always rises to the occasion. Rises several feet out of the Combi with every launch he makes. Rune was constantly operating in heavy traffic which might have caused him to have just a few too many shortened runs and he wound up in 3rd. Omar once again baffled everyone in the house with his combined mastery of the pool and his ability to do dozens of tricks without ever duplicating a line. In the final minutes of the jam Omar looked like he could steal it from Bucky, and perhaps the difference in some people's minds was simply a single trick. Omar failed to land his heelflip indy from the round side of the peninsula onto the opposite flat wall of the square. Bucky Lasek simply laid down the law right out of the gate. 2 solid intro runs and tricks that only he is crazy enough to do. Frontside rodeo 540's, that insane boneless 540 thing, huge lien crossbones and high speed lip antics sealed the deal. The actual scoring numbers between Omar and Bucky are now a matter of record and closer than you might think, but everyone who witnessed it knew that this year things were going to end just a bit differently. Congratulations Bucky, it was a long time coming and very very well-deserved.