Sunny conditions at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary saw the first format of the 5Star Burton Canadian Open Snowboard Championships this Saturday. After a week of qualifying rounds, the halfpipe format ended with an electrifying final that saw Kendall Brown (NZE) and Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) taking home the titles and 850 TTR ranking points

With the result, Podladtchikov made a great leap in the world ranking list, now sitting in World No. 2. It remains to be seen if he can narrow the gap to the coveted No. 1 spot in the upcoming events.

Stomping a clean second run consisting of a Cab 1080 double cork mute, frontside 1080 tailgrab, Cab 720 mute, frontside 540 tail and backside air, Iouri has reason to be content with the day's performance. It bumped him up the TTR Ranking ahead of fellow countryman Christian Haller (SUI) who did not make it to Calgary. Keeping his feet firmly on the ground he has got his eyes on the top spot, but knows he has a lot of work ahead of him.

"I want to go further up of course, but it's going to be really hard because Peetu is in the lead with 120 TTR points I think. But there are still some events and it is possible and I am really looking forward to the next events. It's been a good year and I want to stay there for sure and not move down anymore."

Iouri may want to watch out for Markus Malin (FIN) who took third place and jumped six places into World No. 6. Markus excelled by unleashing a crowd pleasing double cork at the end of his run. Another rider eager to catch up with Iouri is young Norwegian Stale Sandbech who did not land either of his runs in the semifinals, but who will be riding in Sunday's slopestyle finals giving him another chance to take over that prestigious spot right behind current Swatch TTR World Tour leader, Peetu Piiroinen (FIN).

New Zealand's Kendall Brown flew the highest in the women's contest and landed a stylish lien air, backside 540 mute, frontside 540 stalefish, backside air and air to fakie. But it was Lisa Wiik (NOR) who took the spotlight on the TTR Tour by moving into World No. 2 with her 5th place finish. She will have to step it up at the slopestyle competition as Sina Candrian (SUI) is right behind her in rank three on the world ranking list. Both riders are known for their slopestyle skills which will make for an action filled battle this Sunday. Cilka Sadar (SLO) has also improved her ranking by one spot and is now sitting in World No. 4. Recent winner of the slopestyle format of the 6Star Burton European Open and Roxy Chicken Jam, Enni Rukajärvi (FIN) finished 8th in today's halfpipe format and will surely be a strong contender for the title tomorrow. She is looking to improve her World No. 6 spot on the Swatch TTR World Tour.

The 5Star Burton Canadian Open Slopestyle Finals for both men and women is set to be action packed with the tension rising as the Swatch TTR tour is well on its way.