New format, same result for Australian Scotty James who claimed his second consecutive X Games superpipe title to cement his status as the best snowboarder in the world.
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James registered his tenth consecutive win in a major competition, lighting up Aspen in an event many snowboarders regard as more prestigious than the Winter Olympics.
Yuto Totsuka of Japan was second and Swiss Jan Scherrer was third.
It was James's third title at the Colorado venue and continues a run of victories that goes back to the start of the 2018/19 season.
The new more relaxed format, where riders are ranked and judged on style across the competition rather than scoring points for an individual run, suited James who has long-pushed for more creativity in the sport.
He completed three almost flawless runs with a range of high-end tricks and squeezed out a final trip down the 'pipe as a victory lap.
"Snowboarding, we typically come up and have one run in mind that we want to do. Tonight tested us all a little bit. We dropped on different sides, with different runs," he said.
"I think it's (the format) the future."
He said the slopestyle event was "going down a pretty scary route" with more flipping and more spinning and halfpipe was doing much the same.
"So I think this format is great for us moving forward and it is going to test us to actually look outside the box and try different stuff," he said.
With three gold he's now just behind American all-time great Shaun White (8) as the best performed X Games superpipe competitor.
Pyeongchang Winter Olympics gold medallist White, 33, has been attempting to qualifying for this year's summer Games in skateboarding along with Korea silver medallist Ayumu Hirano of Japan.
The pair have largely forgone snowboarding competition for much of the last two years since the Winter Olympics, leaving Korea bronze medallist James as the clear standout in the sport.
Meanwhile Tess Coady completed a strong comeback from injury, claiming Australia's first ever World Cup slopestyle gold medal in Seiser Alm, Italy.
The 19-year-old was in her first competition since injuring her knee in Pyeongchang, and did well in a field admittedly weakened by the X Games.
Australian Associated Press
