STREET LEAGUE ANNOUNCES THE WINNER OF THE “EU SELECTION” TO ENTER THE 2012 SERIES
Bastien Salabanzi Wins Street League European Qualifier hosted at The DC Embassy Barcelona, Spain
Los Angeles, CA – May 9, 2012 – Street League has announced the name of the pro to take the final open spot in the 2012 series; Bastien Salabanzi. The 27 year-old French pro has been selected as the result of the first international voting-based qualifier for Street League at the DC Embassy Park in Barcelona, Spain entitled “The EU Selection.” The EU Selection gave 13 European pros, 12 continuous hours each to film footage at the park and create a video submission for consideration. The EU Selection videos were then subject to a three-pronged voting process with equal weight given to the fans, Street League judges, and the current Street League pros.
At age fifteen, Bastien burst on to the scene with his breakout part in the Flip video, "Sorry" followed by parts in "Really Sorry" and Lordz’ "They Don't Give A F#&k About us". In 2006, Bastien returned to France where he joined Jart Skateboards and dominated the European contest circuit, becoming notorious for his insane tricks and ability to pump up fans while he skates. Salabanzi has an impressive arsenal of tricks, but most notably are his Caballerial Kick Flip variations - which are sure to be seen in probably more than one big section finals in this year’s tour. Salabanzi’s qualifying video highlights included a Caballerial Double Kick Flip, an Alley Oop Backside Flip over the Embassy big rail, a Double Kick Flip Frontside Boardslide & a never-been-done Caballerial Kick Flip Backside Tail Slide to forward.
The point system used in the EU Selection qualifier mirrored the actual Championship point used during the series (illustrated below). First, each group of voters selected their choice for the selection. Then, the qualifiers were ranked and each pro was assigned the respective points within each of the 3 voter categories. Skaters that received zero votes were each given 46 pts. Finally, the total Selection Points were tallied for each pro and the final results are as follows:
TOTAL POINTS
- Bastien Salabanzi:280
- Wieger Van Wageningen:268
- Albert Nyberg:192
- Javier Sarmiento:177
- Thomas Stejkal:168
- Chris Pfanner:163
- Josef Scott:161
- Chris Oliver:156
- Manuel Margreitter:154
- Maxime Genin:144
- Michael Mackrodt:144
- Flo Marfaing:141
- Roberto Aleman:138
“I’m very excited to see what Bastien brings to Street League this summer,” says Street league creator Rob Dyrdek. “We all know he is a true showman that can throw down big tricks when it counts. The amazing video submission and his impressive career as a professional skateboarder make him a well deserved winner of the EU Selection.”
Tickets for the Street League DC Pro Tour Fueled by Monster Energy will go on sale now at www.streetleague.com. The series will be available live on ESPN2, ESPN3, Street League’s official Facebook Page, and distributed to over 198 countries via the ESPN family of channels. Stop One at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO will be broadcasted live on ESPN2 on Saturday, May 19th on 9PM ET.