COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Pierre-Luc Gagnon has taken a slim lead over Bob Burnquist after the vert preliminaries at the Maloof Money Cup, the richest contest in skateboarding.
Gagnon, a Canadian who lives in northern San Diego County, won the inaugural Maloof Money Cup title in 2008 and is coming off his third straight gold in Skateboard Vert at the X Games.
Defending champion Alex Perelson of San Diego finished 14th out of 18 competitors Friday and was eliminated. The 19-year-old Perelson won last year after becoming the fourth person to land a 900 at a major competition.
The top nine advance to Saturday’s final, with the winner getting $75,000.
Andy Macdonald is third and Bucky Lasek fourth.
The competition is hosted by Joe and Gavin Maloof, the brothers who own the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.
