2017 Vans Park Series World Championship: Will Youth Be Served?

After five Pro Tour events spanning four continents, the 2017 Vans Park Series concludes with a showdown in Shanghai, China (September 23rd) to crown the new world champion. Founded just last year, the series puts the fast-paced, free-flowing style of park terrain skateboarding on the map.

The  2017 World Championship will feature the top seven Tour Pro challengers alongside the Vans Park Series Select Pros, giving a handful of lesser-known skaters from across the globe a shot at the big prize. With a total purse exceeding $500,000, Red Bull and Vans are taking park terrain skateboarding to new heights.

Alex Sorgente won the inaugural championship last year, blowing the competition away with a score of 95.45 in Malmö, Sweden. He returned to Malmö in May to win a 2017 Pro Tour event. The 19-year-old American has truly made Kroksbäck Skatepark his own, but he faces some stiff competition this year in China.

Pedro Barros and Tom Schaar each took two Pro Tour wins this year, and they’ll enter Shanghai as the top two favorites.

Schaar, who entered the competition as a challenger, opened the Tour with a win in Sydney and also took the final event at Huntington Beach. As the youngest skateboarder to successfully land a 900 and the first to land a 1080 (among many other accolades), the 17-year-old is already a legend in the skate world.

Barros won the X-Games Park gold as a rookie in 2010 and has been on the rise ever since. After winning in his home of Brazil, he went on to pick up a second Pro Tour title in Vancouver, Canada. After a close second-place finish behind Sorgente last year at the World Championship, Barros is a favorite once again this year.

Then there’s Rune Glifberg, the 12-time X-Games medalist and Tony Hawk Pro Skater star. The 42-year-old Dane can still shred and might just teach the youngsters a lesson or two. Skateboarding is very much dominated by youth right now, yet Glifberg has shown that he can hang as a relative geriatric. 

You don’t have to be in Shanghai to catch the event. The entire championship will be streamed live on Red Bull TV. Until then, check out our odds for the favorites to be crowned the new king of park terrain skateboarding.

2017 VANS PARK SERIES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS

Pedro Barros: 7/3

Tom Schaar: 3/1

Rune Glifberg: 4/1

Alex Sorgente: 5/1

Chris Russell: 19/1

Karl Berglind: 30/1

Ivan Federico: 45/1

Murilo Peres: 50/1