The dates and locations for the 2011 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour have been announced. The schedule is as follows.

Stop #1 - Acworth, GA - May 19-21
Dallas Landing/Lake Allatoona
No Caps for Pro Men & Junior Pro Men


Stop #2 - Fort Worth, TX - June 2-4
Texas MasterCraft
No Caps for Pro Men, Pro Women & Junior Pro Men

Stop #3 - Colorado Springs, CO - June 10 & 11
Memorial Park
Pro Men (Cap 34; 2 PWT wildcards & 4 WWA Golden Tickets) & Junior Pro Men (Cap 18 & 2 wildcards)

Stop #4 - Monroe, WA - July 8 & 9
Lake Tye
Pro Men (Cap 34; 2 PWT wildcards & 4 WWA Golden Tickets) & Junior Pro Men (Cap 18 & 2 wildcards)

Stop #5 - Knoxville, TN - August 27 & 28
Volunteer Landing
*Please note these are Saturday & Sunday dates
Pro Men (Cap 34; 2 PWT wildcards & 4 WWA Golden Tickets), Pro Women (Cap 18 & 2 wildcards) Junior Pro Men (Cap 18 & 2 wildcards)

How the cap is filled:
The WWA will be giving out Golden Tickets to athletes at designated WWA regional events. These regional events will be released by the WWA in March at thewwa.com. If any of the "protected" riders/WWA Golden Tickets do not pay their entry before the due date and time, their spot will be filled by the next paid entry on the waiting list regardless of standings until each division is filled. The due date and time for each event is 5:00pm EST Monday two weeks prior to each event.

Junior Pro Men Series Information:
Just a reminder - The age for the Junior Pro Men division for those five events is age 14-18 as of January 1, 2011. Also, the winner of the 2010 WWA Nationals and WWA Worlds Boys division qualifies for the Junior Pro Men division.

Most of the awards at the 2010 Pro Tour awards are no secret even before the event. We all knew Balling Bob Soven would win Rookie of the Year. Everyone knew what Phillip Soven had to do to win the Tour Title. Thanks to twitter everyone knew who won 5minutes after the contest. Today there not much you can keep secret or a surprise.

When you put everyone on the Pro Tour into a theater with a bar and music you might get some surprises. As the night went on the surprises got better and better. There might have been some police called to the hotel at 2am because of some rowdy party goers too. Check out the gallery to see what all went down from start to finish.

The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour wrapped up its fifth and final stop of the 2010 season today in downtown Knoxville, where the world's top professional riders hit the waters of Volunteer Landing for their last shot at the Pro Tour title. Just as the current points leader, Phillip Soven, predicted, the title came down to the wire in Knoxville. Six riders squared off in the Pro Men division final today, with top seed Phillip Soven and defending titlist Harley Clifford in the hunt for the overall win.

Soven and Clifford entered the Knoxville Tour stop as the frontrunners for the Pro Tour title, separated by 15 points in the standings. Both riders finished off the season with impressive runs, but Clifford took top honors in Knoxville, after landing a heelside frontside 900 off the double up. Soven and Olivier Derome rounded out the contest podium, respectively.

Clifford's first-place finish narrowed the points gap in the overall standings, but Phillip Soven still managed to maintain a five-point lead, giving the Florida native his third Pro Tour title in four years.

"I wish I could have ended the season with a win, but I'm still pretty pumped to get the title back," said Soven. "I want to be remembered as one of the greatest riders ever, and I think winning three titles in four years will help me with that."

Soven, Clifford and Rusty Malinoski finished as the top three riders in the Pro Men's division on the 2010 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour.

The Pro Women's division saw a huge upset today during its final round of action. Top seed Nicola Butler had three uncharacteristic falls in her run, opening the door for the five other female finalists to win in Knoxville.

Aussie Amber Wing took full advantage of her opportunity on the water today, taking first place in the contest - her first win of the 2010 season.

"I didn't get to do everything I wanted to in my run, but overall I thought I rode pretty well," said Wing. "This is my first win on Tour this year, so tonight I need to go out and celebrate."

Emily Copeland Durham and Raimi Merritt rounded out the contest podium, respectively.

Wing's win in Knoxville places her second overall in the Queen of Wake standings - an all female pro wakeboarding series. Despite a poor showing in Knoxville, Nicola Butler still leads the series, with Raimi Merritt taking third overall. The Queen of Wake will wrap up its 2010 season in Orlando, Fla. next week.

Despite a hairline fracture in his right forearm, 18-year-old Steel Lafferty rallied to a first-place finish in the Jr. Pro Men's division finals - his first ever on Tour. Aussie Ryleigh Pfitzner and Nick Galotifore rounded out the top three, respectively.

"My arm was killing me, but I overall I was really happy with the way I rode today," said Lafferty. "I hurt arm riding in Orlando right before I came out to Knoxville, so I was a little to frustrated heading into the contest, but it all worked out."

Lafferty's win today places him third overall in the Jr. Pro Tour standings. Florida native Daniel Powers took second place overall, with Nick Galotifore claiming his first Jr. Pro Tour title.

"It's unbelievable," Galotifore commented on winning the title. "Not everyone gets to win it, so I'm really stoked about it. Next year I turn pro, so it's awesome enter my rookie season with a Jr. Pro Tour title under my belt."

All the winners in Knoxville, as well as the overall titlists received to trophies at the Tour's award ceremony and after-party, hosted by Indmar Marine Engines and the MasterCraft Boat Company at the Bijou Theater.

I do not know if you have been following the professional contest scene this year but if you have you might have noticed a trend. Every single podium at a professional wakeboard contest excluding double ups has been covered in Liquid Force. By my calculations no other companies riders have been on top of the podium. With Harley Clifford, Bob Soven and Phillip Soven all taking up the space on the podium it seems hard for anyone else to get on it.

2010 Wake Games Results: 1st Harley Clifford 2nd Bob Soven
PWT #1. Acworth Results: 1st Harley Clifford 3rd Place. Phillip Soven
PWT #2. Fort Worth Results: 1st Phillip Soven
PWT #3. Elizabethtown Results: 1st Harley Clifford 2nd Phillip Soven 3rd Bob Soven
PWT #4 Colorado Springs Results: 1st Bob Soven
WWA Nationals Results: 1st Harley Clifford 2nd Phillip Soven

Those results right there have to be devastating to Hyperlite and CWB. Sure their riders are getting on the podium but they just cant beat Liquid Force for the win. Some might say that if Harley Clifford was on Hyperlite they would be winning. The fact though is that Harley is with Liquid Force and they are sitting pretty on this years podiums. The Soven duo are also looking to bring prestige to their family name being a dominating force this year on tour.

If you look at the Junior Mens the same thing is happening with Nick Galiforte, Rapahel Derome, Steel Lafferty, and Daniel Powers. They are just all out crushing the competition and allowing no one else to feel what its like to be on top of the podium. Liquid Force is grooming another generation of riders who will some day be dominating the Pro Mens division in the near future.

King of Wake Standings.....

1st Bob Soven
2nd Phillip Soven
3rd Harley Clifford

Pro Tour Title battle is coming down to Harley Clifford and Phillip Soven. I dont know about you guys but it looks like Liquid Force is just too good this year. Some might say its because Aaron Rathy has been hurt most of the season. Aaron Rathy being at the peak of his game might of made for some different podiums this year but its hard to say if he could of stopped the dominating force that is Liquid Force.

PWT #5 Knoxville, TN is this weekend so we will all just have to wait and see if Liquid Force's team can bag yet another podium and Tour Title. Stay tuned to grindtv for all the action from PWT #5 and Awards!

Harley Clifford chases Phillip Soven by 15 points

The top professional wakeboarders from throughout the globe are headed to Volunteer Landing in downtown Knoxville on Aug. 13-14 for the final stop of the 2010 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour.

Over the past few months, more than 50 pro riders have been competing on the five-city tour in a points race for one of the most prestigious crowns in wakeboarding -- the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour title.

"We've been competing this entire season, waiting to get to Knoxville to see who wins it all," said current points leader Phillip Soven. "Knoxville is going to be a tough contest for sure, because it's everyone's last shot at winning. As the points leader, I just need to stay calm, stay focused and lay down my run."

Soven held the Pro Tour title for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008, but lost it last year to Australian phenom Harley Clifford, who captured the 2009 title in his rookie year.

Clifford could repeat season champ with a successful finish in Knoxville. The young Aussie only trails Soven in the standings by a mere 15 points.

"Harley and I have been going back and forth this entire season, battling each other, trying to take the lead in the standings," Soven says. "It's going to come down to the wire. We're both hungry to win, we're both competitive and we both can't afford to hold anything back."

The season-ending event runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 13, with Pro Men qualifiers set to begin at 12:30 p.m. The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour will kick off the morning in Knoxville with opening rounds for the Jr. Pro Men's division, followed by the Pro Women's division.

The Pro Women's division does not crown a Pro Tour titlist, as the female riders only compete at two stops on the five-city tour. However, Knoxville serves as the fourth event in the five-stop Queen of Wake series -- an all-female pro wakeboarding circuit.

Former Queen of Wake crown bearer Nicola Butler is poised to reclaim her title, as she currently leads the series standings with 290 points. With defending titlist Dallas Friday out the rest of the season with a leg injury, Butler's toughest competition comes from 17-year-old Raimi Merritt. Merritt sits behind Butler in the standings with 245 points and will look to overthrow Butler in Knoxville to take the lead in the series.

"Nicola is obviously a gifted rider, but I feel this is my season and I want to win it all," Merritt says. "My goal this weekend is to have fun and try to podium, but if I really want to turn things around, I know I need to win in Knoxville."

In addition to the Pro Men's division, the Jr. Pro Men will also be finishing their season in Knoxville. Florida native Nick Galotifore leads the Jr. Pro Tour standings with 370 points. Fellow Floridians Daniel Powers and Steel Lafferty stand in second and third place. All three riders are in contention to win their first Jr. Pro Tour title.

The Knoxville tour stop will wrap up on Saturday, Aug. 14, with the ticketed event starting at 11 a.m.

Following the conclusion of the event, Indmar Marine Engines and MasterCraft Boats invite the general public to join the athletes at the Bijou Theater for the 2010 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour Party. Doors to the theater will open at 9 p.m.