King of Wake final standings

Here are the final standings for this year's pro men. Remember the top 10 after the first 5 stops got like 600 points additional so only those wre in the running for King of Wake. http://kingofwake.com/article.jsp?ID=21008330

1 Soven
2 Rusty
3 Trevor
4 Harf
5 JD
6 Watkins
7 Sharpe
8 Errington
9 Adkinson
10 Murray
11 Watson
12 Ruck
13 Lidberg
14 Rathy
15 S Bonifay
16 B Hutton
17 A Hair
18 D Grasman
19 Dean Smith
20 Oliver Derome

You can see all of them on Ikingofakwe.com

Yes i got third! haha, jk. soven just killed it this year.

He rode harder and better than everyone else, obviously! He certainly isn't favored by the judges, which leaves only superior riding.

You should thank him for making ever other rider step up, learn faster, and throw down just to keep up with him.

well said Jarrod

My post is out of context, now that the prior post was removed.

But thank you.

the problem is that contests are judged so bad these days, soven throws the same run every contest, he isnt pushing the sport, he is just in it to win it, guys like watson, harris, harf, rusty , and other guys of that caliber are pushing the sport, last year soven would repeat harfs run almost every contest, how can you label someone the "king of wake" based on some point system that people that dont even wakeboard came up with, im just saying that in that top 20 there are at least 10 people that are more deserving of that title that soven, ask anybody in that wakeboarding industry and the majority of them will have nothing good to say about that kid and thats the truth, if you know him at all you know hes just a cocky little kid, how is that good for the sport.

Phillip deserved this title. He absolutely dominated the competition. I really fail to understand what people's problem with Soven is. (Especially when they don't know him.) His section in The Truth is still one of my absolute favorites. He kills it.


(Message edited by joshugan on October 29, 2007)

if you did know him then you would know why so many people have a problem with him, he is not a good rep for the sport, is that wrong to say, i mean i have met him on many different occasions and he has never changed.

He came onto WW after winning the pro tour this year and basically apologized for some of the stuff he'd done when he was younger. (Because so many people were bashing him.) He also denied a lot of the crap that people were saying too.

He has for years been the guy to take down even though he'd never been the pro tour champ. I think that would probably do a number to me and I'm certainly not going to blame him for anything he's done.

Please tell me what watson, harris, harf, and rusty have done to push the sport that Soven hasn't? Is it Watson's mute ole 540 that he's been doing for years and years? Harf and Rusty both landed 1080s but I'll bet good money that if Soven had landed it first people would have poo-pooed it as no great thing. Anytime I see Rusty in a magazine he's doing an indy glide off the double up. All these things are great and cool and I'm not trying to disrepect them but I fail to see how they're so much better than Soven's whirlydick and push the sport so much more? Do you really think that Soven is the guy making it so that it's a competition based on technical tricks? That's bogus. If he wasn't on top there would be no difference in the format.

So what did he do that was so awful for the sport when you personally met him?

(Message edited by joshugan on October 29, 2007)

Why isnt Parks in that line up?

I have to admit I am not an expert on these things but I have the luxury to be around a few people who seem to know a thing or two about wakeboarding. Austin and the other riders absolutely respect what Philip can do. His mind set is unbelievable. The kid is an absolute top notch competitor. In Cancun he goes out on the first heat and has a fall but gets the win. The next heat has Rusty in it who throws down. Philip comes out and stomps it. There is not much he can't do and as far as pushing the sport he has tricks he throws in comp that I never see others throw. It is also very clean, rarely does he do a sketchy trick. No one who truly is involved in wakeboarding doesn't think Phil is an awesome rider. He may not be the most popular but he can ride.

As far as the judging and the format goes I agree with Josh. Soven does not make the rules nor design the judging. He competes within the rules and wins. Period. I am all for revamping the system and put a whole lot more emphasis on going big and being stylish. Just don't be surprised if Soven makes the adjustment and still can win.

PB was hurt most of the year, and didnt compete in the vast majority of the contests this year. Hope that second knee is healing up!

David's post is right on, I don't really know Philip, but have watched him ride for a long time, his contest runs look like a video game, everything is money, he's a mechine. Yes he's not the most liked rider on the tour but another rider told me this last year " he's a cocky little s@!t but he backs it up, so I have no problem with it". Personally I think he drives guys like Rusty, JD, Danny & Chad to push their riding which is good for the sport. He's is not my favorite rider ether, but I respect his talent.

"No one who truly is involved in wakeboarding doesn't think Phil is an awesome rider. He may not be the most popular but he can ride. "

Well said. Maybe we should ask people who are "really in the wakeboard industry" or those "people that don't wakeboard" making up the scoring format. Seems like someone doesn't know as much as they think. Thomas how do any of those riders you named deserve it more? King of wake is awarded to the competitive master of the year, not who pushed the sport furthest.

What has Soven done to make so many people mad?

Careful... he will send you personal email/hate mail as he did in the last "Sovens a cocky bastard but an awesome rider" Thread.

Thomas, I pretty much disagree with everything you have to say on this subject.

David and Randy said all there is to say. Both of these guys have boys riding on the tour, so they've been around the sport for a while. I've personally watched Soven go head to head with the riders you mentioned, at not once did Soven ever try to copy their runs.

You dont have to be liked to promote a sport. For example, NBA's Bill Lambeer, NFL's Dick Butkis or Terrell Owens, Tennis player, John Mcenroe. These guys were not liked very much but are awesome in their sport and brought a lot of interest/promotion to each of their sports.

(Message edited by woreout on October 30, 2007)

So Billy, are you kissing Soven's ass and making up now???

first off i dont know him from adam...i've met him a couple of times and he was cool to me, shook my hand...

what were you like when you were 18? you prolly thought you were invisible, i did. and couple that with a lot of natural ability and you got yourself someone like soven...he's just young, rich and famous...he might be a ••••• but take me to a high school and i'll show you a ton of 18 yr old pricks...

he's just a kid and kids say what they want bc they 're not old enough to know any better yet...the kid rips and no one can take that from him, jerk or not...

and to billy's point look at dennis rodman, charles barkley, barry bonds, they were/are all superstars in their respected sports and a lot of people disliked them and still prolly do but does that mean they were not good for the sport??? ...

any buddy have the Jr's?

Ahhhhh NO !!! As I have always said, Mr. Byrd, " Its OK to be confident but not cocky" He is a great rider but has a lot of PR work to do. If he wants to.

Most of the compensation in wakeboarding comes from sponsors. Being a spokesperson requires being liked and respected by the sponsoring company and public. Michel Vick brought lots of attention to the NFL but lost all of his sponsor contracts. Rodman, Bonds, Owens, and others lots millions of dollars in sponsor money because of their personality, character, or behaviors.

Vick broke the law!! Thats different.

2007 Rip It JX Series Standings
Final Standings

1 AJ Racinelli
2 Jimmy LaRiche
3 Ryan Anderson
4 Danny Burnstein
5 Julian Cohen
6 Bradey Price
7 James Hindes
8 Tony Carroll
9 Kyle Alberts
10 Robert Soven
11 Rhett Whatley
12 mitch Langfield
13 Steven Cahail
14 Rapheal Derome
15 Ryan King
16 Alex Scagliotti
17 Steel Lafferty
18 Kirby Liesman
19 Gunnar Shuler
20 James Feid
21 Drew Conroy
22 Alex Graydon
23 Eddie Valdez
24 Witt Finley
25 Daniel Dyck
26 Ryan Mocerino
27 Jasson Bannatyne
28 Samuel Cole
29 Ben Albright
30 Pierce Homsey
31 Andrew Shearer
32 John Jefferies
33 AJ Powell
34 Larry Taylor
35 Jeff Baker
36 Johnny Tobaben
37 Eric Buonanotte
38 Nathan Perry
39 Luciano Rondi Neto
40 Rusell Cox
41 Joshua Chabator
42 Taylor Renfroe
43 Greg Thompson

What has Soven done that is so bad? I remember an old thread about him cutting in line and being cocky.

Give the guy a break. I have never met the kid but the only bad things that I have ever heard about him were rumors from this forum. Never have I seen any kind of interview or statement from him that would make me think he is a bad guy.

Jon, Soven's horrible! Don't you know that he throws amazing technical moves and makes it hard for other pros to win? Wouldn't you way rather see comps that only featured huge grabbed bs 180s? ;)

froggy makes himself sound like a kid who's toatally full of himself, "nothing feels better than being able to say, I'm better than him . I beat him". Quote from wakeboarding mag #9.even if you are better than someone ,is that what makes you feel good? being better than someone I know it's his job but it still makes him sound like a little kid

I' ve seen him ride once. He threw probally the best contest run I've ever seen a few moths back at boardstock.

Now with that being said he was cocky as hell, showed it in many ways and publically when he dissed the annoucers both just before his run. they were asking him a question on the starting dock but he acted like he could hear them. funny though he was 50ft away and you could hear it from a 100 yrds. Oh and then he copied adikinson(sp) and rode up to the boat tie in line. it was real original

(Message edited by deltaridah on October 30, 2007)

Nice to see Murray still in the top 10.

Whatever makes him tick...

If his motivation is to say "I'm better than Parks," than he should keep doing what's working.

Wakeboard mag number 9? Wasn't he a little kid back then?

honestly as a longtime athlete, I always thrived off the competition as well. I played college baseball and i always wanted to beat the pitcher. That is totally differant that being know as a cocky s.o.b.

I saw an interview where he said"Hi, I'm Phillip Soven, and I'm kind of a big deal" He was younger then, and we all say things we regretted when we were younger...

Either way, he is a great contest rider, but IMO contest riding sucks and I think that it might be one of the things holding wakeboarding back from it's true potential. I'd much rather see pro's free riding or Park's DU or Nothing contests vs Tour Stops. Most wakeboarders and all non wakeboarders wouldnt know the difference between a PeteRose and a Whirly Dick because it's beyond their ability to know what it takes to throw them. Unfortuately, there are no freeriding contests for everyone to check out...

volume 15 #09 its a brand new mag. Yeah, do whatever you need to to make yourself feel good I just think it sounds retarded and another reason that people might write articals about wakeboarding like the wackyboarding one.

Mr Byrd- "Hi, I'm Phillip Soven, and I'm kind of a big deal" is pretty funny. Straight from "Anchorman".

What is a freeriding contest?

I don't know about that Jon.... Fact is, knowing I am better than all of you guys, well.....that kind of makes me feel good.... In fact, not kind of....it really makes me feel good.

whatever it takes to to make yourself feel good. but really the kid rips, just sayin after reading the artical I felt kinda like , wow ,wakeboarders are f-in lame.

Freeride exibition maybe, a freeride contest is a contest. Byrd you shouldnt drink at work.

Just so everyone is clear, I can't ride....

Jon Roth, How would you do a freeride contest?

Those words don't even go together.

yeah , they don't really , why would you want to? just ride for fun or go to a contest and ride for fun its all the same if you had fun .

How is the pro tour holding wakeboarding back? What would you do differently so it would "push" the sport?

"Hi, I'm Phillip Soven, and I'm kind of a big deal" i dont think thats being cocky, he was probably trying to make a joke.
"nothing feels better than being able to say, I'm better than him . I beat him". people are in sports to win. soven won, so he's happy. nothing wrong with that.
and to people who say soven doesnt push the sport, wasnt there also an argument about how BS 900's would be cooler then 1080s, i think it was soven that tried a BS 9 in competition, and i remember reading that he was trying them. there you go, hes pushing the sport.
phillip if you read this, i know you already wrote about how your sorry about any cocky things you said in the past and i honestly dont understand why people have to keep arguing about this. your a sick rider, congrats on winning the king of wake.

"Hi, I'm Phillip Soven, and I'm kind of a big deal" that is one of the funnier lines from Will Ferrel in "Anchorman". There were shirts out with that line on it. I don't know what is funnier, Phil saying it in an interview or people responding to it like he was serious.

I am sure he was joking but is there anyone on here that would disagree that he is not "kind of a big deal".

Give Soven a break. He kills it and has even admitted that he had some growing up to do in the past.

Jon Roth, How is it a contest if you are just riding for fun. That sounds like a demo to me.

its totally possible to enter a contest, ride well, have fun, and feel good about it .I dont see your point as to why you are asking me about demmos and freeriding

it's a "competition" the goal is to win the competition...all of them in phillips case...and when you don't win you feel like doo doo...or at least i did/do when i lose at something. i get pissed off. i hate to loose. and it does make me feel good to beat someone in something. it would make me feel good about myself knowing that i out performed everyone on every single tour stop. he dominated the tour season. he's throwing things in his comp runs day in day out that other ppl can't even land once in a while...

kids gotta right to be whatever he wants to in my mind. if he wants to be a jerk and win then by all means. people are always gonna hate on you when you're at the top...

"I just bought a 550i BMW" yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeee girls are still going to think you are a little pr*ck

(Message edited by lfxstar on November 01, 2007)

agreed. he has every right to act any way he wants , everyone does even if they dont rip like froggy does, it dosent make him sound any less pathetic

wow roth ive never heard you like this but i do have to agree contests are holding wakeboarding back the most think about it we have had the same slider set up for how long? And why do we always have an old waterski anouncer its time for someone that actually noes what there talking about and everyone just needs to start getting steezyer on rails press them, stop making rails 2 to 3 trex wide make them one make it legit thats my veiw on it and as far as phil he can come off really cocky sometimes i can see where you are getting your feelings roth.

These guys are professionals they probably enjoy what they do but this is a job for them. They are not out there to have fun.

What do needs to be done to make the contests better?

There are high and low points to every type of contest.

Poodle, have to disagree on the announcer comment, Nick and Dano do a fantastic job rocking the mike and Nick has been riding the tour for awhile so I think he is pretty knowledgeable when calling tricks and keeping everyone informed and entertained. They make a great team. My 2 cents.

hey trever, its all good ...I don't think contests are necessarily holding anything back..,and not tryin to be too harsh, but just sayin'......

I know where Roth and Poodle are coming from. Wakeboarding has come a long way but it seems like contests havent changed too much. Rails are definately to wide like Poodle says, afterall our boards are 17 inches wide so its a big slip n slide. I think they need to bring in something that might scare riders alittle bit besides scared of loosing, slipping out or whatevers. When you watch the x games, you have guys like Jake Brown putting thier life on the line skating or any of the guys jumping fmx but theres nothing like that wakeboarding. When that guy tried the double backflip this year and it was his first contest ever, I was on the edge of my seat b4 he did it and after. There needs to be something were the crowd might actually feel nervous before the rider goes. Big stuff like when JD Webb hit the fountain gap. I bet if a contest came up and riders were airing over a 70' houseboat, I'm sure riders would get alittle nervous b4 thier turn and you could bring in the pain factor into wakeboarding.

hey chris, we need to ride.
froggy=egomaniac
there, way less harsh with the happy guy.

Dang it Poodle, what are you doing?? I love ya and all and you can bitch about the sliders all you want, you ride em, you are entitled to your opinion. But listen my young friend, do YOU ever get up and announce? It is not easy and Dano and Nick are two of the best. At the Masters, we had to endure the tedious drawl of the waterski announcers. When it was switching over to wake and Dano took the mic, man, what a relief. Dano is one of the things that I look forward to on the tour, as a friend AND as an announcer. Yea, he may not know every technical trick out there, but neither do I, I always have to ask, does that mean I know nothing about wakeboarding?? You need to take a step back on that comment. Love ya!

that was a little harsh Roth. I did not know you could get so worked up!
lets hang soon dude.

yeah for shure, .....poodle got spanked!

Whoa- The announcers do a great job. I agree about the sliders but the announcers are really good. They are there from the first rider to the last and they don't let up. I have always been impressed with their energy level over 2 and 3 days and sometimes 5. By the way- That is funny "I'm kind of a big deal". I like that. Philip has my kind of humor.

ok everyone im sorry i didnt clarify what i ment by anouncers the anouncers at the comp are great its when you watch it on tv that we end up with some randome guy that doesnt no anything about wakeboarding calling out a fs5 when the rider does bs3 do you no what i mean to nick and dano you guys are doing great keep it up sorry 4 the big screw up hi robin how are you?

good poodle, the banquet is tomorrow night. Where are you? Back in AZ or in Thousand Oaks?

(Message edited by teamvaldez on November 02, 2007)

im in az where is the banquet its only like an extra hour from hear compared to Thousand oaks.

Poodle drive out! There's a snow rail jam at Sports Ltd tonight too. 6pm

The banquet is at the Canyon Lake Country Club and is going to be OFF the charts. If you want to go, you better email Julie at
juliek@medleycom.com right away!!