Red Bull skater Sewa Kroetkov defeats Shane O’Neill and secures his first Battle at the Berrics victory.
BATB 8 Finals Night
The eighth installment of the Battle At The Berrics — the skateboarding version of basketball’s HORSE game — concluded Friday night with tough skateboarding from Tom Asta, Sewa Kroetkov, Shane O’Neill, and last year’s winner — Cody Cepeda.
The semi-finals began with Tom Asta battling against Sewa Kroetkov for a spot in the championship finals. Although Asta is known for his consistency, Sewa managed to take him down — securing his spot in the finals.
Shane O’Neill and defending champ Cody Cepeda were the next skaters who battled it out. Curiously, however, Cody didn’t pull through and lost to Shane’s signature “halfcab late shuvit.” Shane knew that if he bailed and gave Cody a chance to set, the game would have gone a whole different direction. So Shane took no chances.
Additionally, right before the championship final game began, Cody Cepeda and Tom Asta competed for the third and fourth place. Cody ended up beating Tom with a switch frontside biggerspin, his signature ending trick.
And finally, after countless LRG and Nike SB commercials, Sewa Kroetkov and Shane O’Neill took center stage for the final match of BATB 8. Sewa won the “roshambo” and began landing his clean tricks. The match didn’t take long before Sewa whipped out his signature hardflip frontside 180 and took home the cake.
This is the first time Sewa wins the Battle at the Berrics, but not his first time in the semi-finals. Last year, at BATB 7, Sewa made it all the way to the semi-finals, but lost after the nerves got to him. But this time around, Sewa showed no signs of nerves or fear and managed to land every single trick clean without missing.
LMAO! ? who else seen @Vitalyzdtv kiss ? @sewakroetkov on @berrics Live Webcast #BATB8
— Josh Pantoja?? (@JoshSB562) June 27, 2015
Moreover, YouTube celebrity Vitaly Zdorovetskiy , who ironically also happens to be Russian, kissed Sewa on the cheek right after his victory.
Who Is Sewa Kroetkov?
Sewa Kroetkov, 24, was born in Russia and raised in Holland, according to a Red Bull International report. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is sponsored by Red Bull and Blind skateboards. His skate team includes Ryan Sheckler — who raised $100,000 for autism, the Inquisitr reported — and Brazilian skater Felipe Gustavo.
Sewa first rose to prominence following two eS Game of SKATE victories, in addition to finishing in fourth place at last year’s BATB 7.
Sewa has received a lot of praise over social media and the skateboarding community, including being dubbed by some as one of the best flat-ground skateboarders in the world. And his latest victory at BATB 8 provides further assurance to his label as “one of the best.”
[Photo via Yoon Sul /The Berrics]