Dirty Dozen Finals August 13, 2017 Game of Htown
Dirty Dozen Finals host Brandon West hanging out just prior to the finals for the regional Game of Htown Summer Series at Southside Skatepark August 13 2017. Just before any contest everyone is in the skateshop setting up new boards and making sure their set ups are just right. The Dirty Dozen Finals on August 13th was no different. After the five preliminary qualifiers across the entire City of Houston Brandon West was eager to bring the Summer Series to a conclusion. Qualifying Skatepark’s that hosted Game of Htown were Texas City, Dog Park, Kasmiersky, League City, Gulton and of course Southside Skatepark. Each preliminary Game of Htown produced two finalists eligible to compete for a piece of the Dirty Dozen Finals $600 cash purse at Southside Skatepark. Our twelve finalist’s were Felix Hernandez, Tyler Kelly, CJ Buckley, Peter, Pedrum Naguavi, Preston Christesen, Connor Smith, Aaron Jones, Kyle Rich, Taylor Jett, Tate Malpass and Garrett Simich. Congratulations to all for making it this far.
Dirty Dozen Finalist’s Arriving in Style
Game of Htown Dirty Dozen Finalists arrived throughout the last chance qualifier at Southside Skatepark. Taylor Jett always making a statement made sure to roll out his new whip. Southside Skatepark loves these events because it brings everyone together for a great session with a high level of skateboarding. Each and every one of our Dirty Dozen Finalists are the some if not the best skateboarders from their respective area. The only way for them to improve is initiate a collision of abilities through a contest format designed to bring the very best to one place at one time. Southside Skatepark and Brandon West were proud to be able to conceptulize and execute this Summer Series for the betterment of the Houston area skateboarding scene.
Peter Came Out of Nowhere, We had Never Heard of Him before Game of Htown
With the Dirty Dozen Finals about to go down and for $600 in Cash the finalists were in the building and getting warmed up. Peter came out of nowwhere and had qualified along with Conner Smith at the very first Texas City Skatepark Qualifier. CJ Buckley had Qualified at the third stop which happened at Kasmiersky Skatepark. CJ popped his tricks high and had a solid style executing his tricks properly and was fun to watch skate. Unfortunately he was eliminated eventually but looked good doing it.
Connor Smith was favored to win representing Galveston, Texas. We were all surprised when he was eliminated early on unfortunately. Luckily he had help from Arron Jones who was also from the Galveston area. Arron Jones could 540 shove rolling forwards and fakie. He also had 1/2 flip kick it back rolling forward and fakie. If he had control and landed those four tricks he’d have his competition to T immediately in most cases. That technic took him to the three way finals but those tricks ended up failing him and he took the respectable $100 3rd place pay out.
Kyle Rich qualified along with Tate Malpass during the Last Chance Qualifier to round out the Dirty Dozen Finals. Here is Kyle Rich with a textbook nollie heelflip as Taylor Jett looks on. Taylor ended up eliminating Kyle Rich during this Game of Skate. Taylor advanced to the semi finals and while he and Tate Malpass took their game to T to T, Taylor missed late back foot flip and Tate answered with a switch tre which Taylor was unable to land. Birthing Tate into the Dirty Dozen Finals of which although Tate put up a good fight he ended up with $200 for his 2nd place finish.
Brandon West hosted Game of Htown qualifiers all over town this Summer. We made sure to Live Stream the Dirty Dozen Finals through our Instagram @southsidehtx in an effort to make sure that even those that could not be with us but wish they could, were able to witness the talented skateboarders on hand. We had a total of 96 skateboarders participate in 5 regional qualifiers and an additional 16 at the last chance qualifier. Southside Skatepark was able to produce a $600 purse through event entries and some additional funds the day of. In the end it came down to a Peter, Tate Malpass and Aaron Jones in a three way final. If you were unaware the pressure flip is back and we suggest you learn it asap. Especially if you are thinking about participating in future Dirty Dozen Finals for the Game of Htown Summer Series. Also 540 bigger spins and 540 bigger flips are becoming a new standard in flatground skateboarding. Congratulations to Peter for staying consistent throughout the day and although the final game came down to Tate Malpass and Peter T to T, Peter took the win and the $300 1st Place Cash Prize.
We hope to see each and every one of you at our next event. If you are wanting to support skateboarding and skateboarder’s like this please take a moment to check out our all new online store at the link below. Thank you for your continued support of Southside Skatepark, Southside Skateshop now at the corner of Westheimer and Wilcrest on the west side of Houston, and skateboarders all over Houston and our region.