Nyjah Huston with Rob Dyrdek after winning 200K at
the 2012 Street League Championships in Newark, NJ.

The Championship stop of the 2012 Street League Skateboarding™ season went down Sunday night under the lights at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, with Element Skateboards and DC Shoes Pro Team rider Nyjah Huston taking top honors and walking away with $200,000 in cash, a Nixon Championship watch and ring set and an all-new 2012 Chevy Sonic. With a packed house and an insane custom-designed concrete street course groomed to perfection, Huston held his own and kept the likes of Chaz Ortiz, Chris Cole, Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriguez and defending 2011 champ Sean Malto at bay with consistent skating and smooth flow to take the title.

Things got started early on with Ortiz, Sheckler, P-Rod and Cole posting big scores with huge kickflips over the gap, kickflip bs lipsides down the rails and switch fs bluntslides down the hubba. Huston responded with steezy kickflip fs boardslides, a sick bs 270 lipslide and nollie fs boardslides on lock to put him in second to Ortiz with Sheckler staying steady in third. After the elimination of Brazil’s Luan Oliveira and more sick skating from Sheckler, Malto and Cole throughout the event, it all came down to Huston and Rodriguez in the end, with P-Rod missing his final trick leaving Huston with a score of 48.5 and crowning him the 2012 Street League Skateboarding Champion.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t say I was expecting to win,” said Huston following the event, “if you expect to win and you lose, you only make it hard on yourself.” When asked if he could just relax and skate during the event, Huston also described the pressure to perform during a championship event, saying “It’s hard to have a good time out there, it’s really stressful and when it gets to the championship, you have to take it very seriously.” With $200,000 cash in his pocket and the 2012 Street League Championship now under his belt, Huston has won more prize money than any other skateboarder in history and continues to push the envelope and build upon his reputation as one of the premier street skaters worldwide.

By Glen Braunsdorf