For one electrifying weekend in late June, Sacramento became the unlikely epicenter of action sports—and the birthplace of something the X Games had never tried before. The inaugural MoonPay X Games wrapped over the weekend at Cal Expo with a new league format that pitted teams from New York, Los Angeles, São Paulo, and Tokyo against each other in skateboarding, BMX, and Moto X competitions. It was radical in the truest sense: a complete reimagining of how the X Games operates.
Over 100 elite athletes descended on the capital to chase never-before-landed tricks and team points. What made this different wasn’t just the league structure—it was the validation that Sacramento deserved a seat at the table. CEO Jeremy Bloom noted the reach: the last X Games in Aspen pulled 15.3 million TV viewers across 120 countries and over 100 million digital views. Those numbers didn’t just appear by accident. They came because the world’s best action sports athletes showed up and pushed the limits of what’s physically possible.
The performances proved why. 16-year-old Australian skateboarder Arisa Trew landed her 10th career X Games gold medal, including a Switch McTwist in Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick. BMX legend Ryan Williams, now a 13-time gold medalist, threw down a 540 frontflip flair on the vert wall. Meanwhile, local hero Nyjah Huston from Davis captained Team New York and reminded everyone why Sacramento matters:“So many great skaters came out of Sacramento, me coming out of Davis… these are the type of areas that need more events like this.”He wasn’t wrong. When was the last time a major action sports competition touched down in the region? Huston’s silver medal in Men’s Street Best Trick felt like a hometown blessing on what’s becoming Sacramento’s moment.
The live music didn’t hurt either. Kaskade, Grammy-award-winning producer DJ Mustard, and EDM artist Subtronics kept the energy electric across the three days, turning the event into more than just competition—it became a cultural statement. Team Tokyo heads to Chiba, Japan with 980 points and the lead, while New York and São Paulo remain tied for second at 950 points. But the real winner was Sacramento itself, which just proved it can host world-class action sports and do it on its own terms. The question now: will this become an annual tradition, or was this a one-time lightning strike? Either way, the city got its moment.
About the Author
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
