Daniel Watkins on His Way to a Third Straight Title in the WWA World Series

The first stop of the WWA World Series in Tokyo, Japan July 22-24th proved to be an amazing event, packed with thousands and thousands of spectators and an insane level of riding. Set in the heart of the Tokyo Bay, the architecture surrounding the site created cool backdrops and the congeniality of the Japanese people made the wakeboarding pros feel like celebrities. There were an estimated 30,000-40,000 people in attendance with the Japanese fans going crazy, making the pros feel incredibly welcome with their infamous Japanese style.
          Riders from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Russia, Canada and the USA showed up and took everybody aside with their level of riding as the sport explodes in Asia. Japanese rider Matt Takaiwa beat out a Korean rider and made it into the head-to-head finals but was barely taken out by Daniel Watkins in the first round. He tied for 5th overall and rumor has it that he might compete in the rest of the WWA World Series stops to take the World Title.
          Other exciting highlights include Daniel Watkins beating out JD Webb when JD barely missed the A-frame, pitting Daniel against Andrew Adkison in the final round. But then JD made a comeback and beat out Rusty Malinoski, ultimately getting third. In the final round with Andrew and Daniel, Andrew had uncharacteristic falls leaving Daniel for the win. Daniel came out on top with two solid runs and the win. Daniel Watkins is a two-time World Series champion on his way to his third straight title.
          The eight finalists were brought up on a red stage that was located in downtown Tokyo next to the Statue of Liberty and the Rainbow Bridge. Red carpet was laid out between the stage and dock, roped off and lending all attention to the winners. The top eight were paraded through the center stage as Japanese fans were screaming and giving high-fives. There were different drum beats for the riders and go-go dancers.
          “There were these drummers off to the side playing while the top eight went up to the stage. Daniel was slapping people’s hands while walking down the red carpet,” said WWA President Shannon Starling.
The beaches were packed at the event by 8 a.m. every morning with spectators and they wouldn’t leave until the contest was over. The dedication and excitement that the audience brought to the event made it one of the best ever.
Special thanks go out to the Asian Wakeboard Association (AWBA), the Japan Wakeboard Association (JWBA), and the Japanese dignitaries.

RESULTS:

1)Daniel Watkins

2)Andrew Adkison

3) JD Webb

4) Rusty Malinoski

5) Collin Harrington, Derek Grasman, Matt Takaiwa, and Trevor Hansen