The Billabong Air and Style in Innsbruck... it's kinda a big deal. It's a 6 Star TTR event (as highest ranked as they come) and this years showing of big names like Travis Rice, Peetu Piiroinen, Andreas Wiig, Iouri "iPod" Podladtchikov and Torstein Horgmo made it even that much bigger of a deal.

But it was the modest Slovenian kid with the dimples who dropped those "big" names down on the results list and came out on top with the always heartwarming underdog story.

You may not have heard of Marco Grilc but any friend of his, especially any friend of the European type, will tell you that this is a much deserved win for the unassuming Slovak.

Here's the bottom line in results, but for more impact check out the bottom line in video courtesy of TTR (Ticket to Ride) If you can't get your fill here make the jump over to www.ttrworldtour.com for even more eye candy.

1. Marko Grilc SLO 281 Pkt. Switch Backside 1080 Double Corked Mute Grab

2. Peetu Piroiinen FIN 268 Pkt. Backside 1080 Double Corked Mute Grab

3. Andreas Wiig NOR 251 Pkt. Frontside 1080 Double Flip

4. Iouri Podladtchikov SUI 54 Pkt.

5. Eero Ettala FIN

6. Werner Stock AUT

7. Elias Elhardt D

8. Torstein Horgmo NOR

9. Antti Autti FIN 10 Marc Swoboda AUT

11. Chas Guldemond USA

12. Stefan Gimpl AUT

13. Risto Mattila FIN

14. Tim Humphreys USA

15. Travis Rice USA

16. Gigi Rf AUT


This is what Marco did to win:


Here is the overall breakdown:


And here is what Rice did:
For more footy of each rider head over to TTR's profile and scope out all the different edits from one of the biggest nights Innsbruck will see this winter.

Towering airtime, technical tricks and fearless snowboarding were the order of the night at the 6Star O' (TM)Neill Evolution Quarterpipe stomp fest. After two nights of thrilling excitement, Chas Guldemond (USA) has narrowly managed to defend his Tour lead spot with a 81.98 point lead in front of Janne Korpi (FIN). At the end of the night though, it was Finland' (TM)s Peetu Piiroinen who finished on top of the podium and in World No. 5. He was followed by his fellow Finn, Risto Mattila in second and Steve Krijbolder (NED) in third.

The brightly illuminated 10.2 m Quarterpipe proved to be the ultimate location for the world' (TM)s best snowboarders to amaze the awestruck crowd. A new judging format for 2009 was in place and served to ensure that the snowboarders demonstrated a variety of tricks. ' It creates variation and pushes the riders to show us their bag of tricks. It lifts the level of snowboarding and makes a better show for the crowd' , said Dani ' Kiwi' Meier, Head Judge of the competition.

Riders such as Arthur Longo (FRA), Janne Korpi (FIN) and Antti Autti (FIN) launched mega McTwists, Rodeos and huge Backside Airs, proving their dominance on the Swatch TTR Tour. Peetu Piiroinen (FIN) snatched first place in a climatic finale by pulling off a 5.9 m BS 5 that was smooth as smooth can be. With the first ever 6Star title of his career, he earned himself 1000 TTR rankings points and took home the $15 000. ' Fifth, woah! That' (TM)s really great! This was only my third TTR result this season, so it doesn' (TM)t mean too much as you need to have 7 results. So, you don' (TM)t quite know yet until the US Open, but it is great to be in the Top10 at this point!'

His close friend and countryman, Risto Mattila took out second place with a slightly lower BS 540, however, took out the Swatch Highest Air with a 7 m BS Air. ' Second place feels awesome, and to be able to improve on my riding each run. I' (TM)m super stoked about winning highest air, too!!'

Third place finisher, Steve Krijbolder (NED) was the most surprising rider of the night standing strong against the Finns with a stylish BS 5 and 6.9 m lofty BS Air. Current World No. 2 Janne Korpi (FIN) performed consistently all night but had to finish the competition due to an injury to his knee during the Quarterfinals.

As always, the 6Star O' (TM)Neill Evolution double dosage of TTR Ranking points has caused some serious moves on the Swatch TTR World Ranking list. Peetu' (TM)s win has put him into World No.5 and he will have the chance to move into Swatch TTR World Nr. 3 at the upcoming 6Star competition across the valley. Seb Toots (CAN) sits right behind him in World No.6 and will also be heading to Laax. Risto' (TM)s efforts have moved him up into the TTR Top 20 with Arthur Longo (FRA) in World No. 25 and Antti Autti (FIN) in World No. 23 ready to strike.

In case you missed any of the action from 6Star O' (TM)Neill Evolution you can log onto on www.ttrworldtour.com, www.mpora.com, and www.freecaster.tv to catch all the action replays. The race for the Swatch TTR Title is getting tighter at every contest. The battleground now shifts to Laax, Switzerland for the 6Star Burton European Open, where a double shot of 1000 ranking points in Halfpipe and Slopestyle will increase the excitement. With a total prize money payout of over $2 million USD including event prize money available this season you know the race will intensify, so stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com