Dutu and Huber earn World Cup spots with European Cup overall wins in SS/BA

While the final Rail Event of the season remains to be contested next month, last week saw the conclusion of the 2025/26 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe European Cup season for Halfpipe, Big Air, and Slopestyle, with a heavy week of competition taking over the exceptional Corvatsch venues in Switzerland that have hosted so many top-level FIS Park & Pipe competitions over the past decade-plus.

Last week’s competitions at Corvatsch were the culmination of a entertaining EC season that saw five Big Air, four Slopestyle, and two Halfpipe competitions taking place, as well as eight Rail Events so far, with the season finale ninth Rails competition slated to go down on May 23rd in Les Deux Alps (FRA).

For the Slopestyle/Big Air women it was a huge season for Holland’s Katja Dutu, as the 17-year-old used the momentum from a dominant start to her EC campaign to carry her through to top spot on the overall rankings by season’s end with a tally of 557.5 points.

Dutu was a monster through the first two months of the 2025/26 winter, earning six straight podiums - including one win each in Slopestye, Big Air, and Rails. In her eight SS/BA starts Dutu finished the season with five top-3 results, including two victories and three runner-up finishes. 

Dutu’s closest competitor on the standings with 492 points was Italy’s Alessia Vergani, who counted three victories, a second place, and a third amongst her EC results last season. Rounding out the season’s overall podium in third place was Switzerland’s Bianca Gisler, who had been kept out of competition since the 2022/23 season due to a string of injuries. Gisler ended her 2025/26 European Cup season with three podiums in five starts, including a Big Air win Kotelnica (POL), and 279 points.

In a hotly-contested men’s SS/BA European Cup season it was 22-year-old German Niklas Huber coming out on top with 370 points after the season finale in Corvatsch.

While Huber did not register a win this season, two runner-up results in his final three starts of the season and top-5 finishes in seven out of 10 SS/BA starts would be enough to propel him to the best men’s finish overall and a spot on next winter’s World Cup tour. There Huber will look to improve on the 17th place finish he earned last season at the Beijing Big Air World Cup, his best result on the top-level tour in his five career starts. 

Just 16.5 points back of Huber on the men’s rankings was an exciting new Japanese talent, as 14-year-old Hiromu Watanabe announced his arrival in a big way. In just four 2025/26 European Cup starts, Watanabe racked up three podiums, including a Big Air victory in Kitzsteinhorn (AUT) two weeks ago. Throw in the Calgary 2026 Junior World Championships gold medal in slopestyle and you’ve got quite the season indeed for latest addition to a long list of exceptional young Japanese riders.

Rounding out the men’s SS/BA overall rankings in third place with 319 points was Erik Jurmu, of Finland, who scored a win at the Seiser Alm (ITA) Slopestyle and racked up four top-10s over the course of the season.

As with the Freeski Halfpipe European Cup season, too few competitions in too few countries unfortunately means that no overall winner - and therefor, no World Cup personal spot recipient - could be awarded for the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe European Cup in 2025/26. 

However, in the competitions that did take place Laax and Corvatsch, we saw some excellent riding by some exciting young riders. 

Japan’s Sorana Ohashi lead the way on the women’s side in a hugely impressive first season of international competition. Along with wins in both the Laax and the Corvatsch EC’s, Ohashi also claimed Junior World Championships gold in Calgary, as well as top-10 results in four out of five World Cup starts on the season. 

Ohashi’s best World Cup result so far - a fourth place finish at the Corvatsch competition - came after she put down the top score in qualification, serving notice that Japan has yet another elite halfpipe weapon ready to take on the world’s best.

On the men’s side of things it Republic of Korea’s Jio Lee making his mark in his two starts, chalking up a win and a runner-up to lead all riders. A veteran of 13 World Cup starts, in which his best result found him just off the podium in fourth place in Calgary two years ago, 17-year-old Lee has shown he has the tools to tangle with the best in the business when he puts a full run together. At his Olympic debut in February Lee ended up just 1.5 points outside of a finals spot, finishing in 13th place with a score of 74.00.

Stay tuned for a full European Cup Rail Event recap next month!

QUICK LINKS

• 2025/26 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe European Cup standings

• 2025/26 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe European Cup calendar and results