Blake Williams Upsets Nate Adams to Win FMX Finals in Baltimore

Blake Williams – cr. AST

Aussie Blake “Bilko” Williams took first place Sunday at the Panasonic Open in Baltimore, edging defending champ Nate Adams in a trick-stuffed final, scoring 90.33 to 89.33. Mathieu Rebeaud rounded out the top three close behind with an 89.00.

Bilko’s two runs were actually both higher-scoring than Adams (90.33, 89.83), and with Adams having the final run, Bilko couldn’t take it easy. Bilko’s tricks included Superman backflips, a backflip cordova and a flat spin 360 heel clicker while Adams threw his signature La-Z-Boy backflip.

The influx of new talent like Thomas Pagès (4th) and Nixey Danielson (9th) seemed to have an impact on some of the returning favorites, with Mike Mason (10th) and Adam Jones (6th) both performing under expectations. Of course, both men, along with Adams, received a bye going into the contest so this was their first look at the course outside of practice.

The success of Bilko is not really that surprising given he gave Adams a run for his money at Baltimore last year before crashing at the end of a run. That crash knocked him out for the rest of the season but before that, he was considered the rider to watch in ’07. Even with the crash, Bilko finished second in Baltimore and it was only a matter of time before he would prove himself ready.

For Adams, who went four of five in AST Dew Tour events last year, the pressure is on the three-peat as Dew Cup Champ. With the AST cutting the number of FMX events this season to just three, every win counts more than ever and fans will have to wait until September in Salt Lake City before the next competition (though Best Trick contests will be held in Cleveland and Portland).

Check out some video of the FMX finals below…

2008 Panasonic Open
FMX Finals
June 22, 2008 / Baltimore, MD

1st – Williams, Blake – 90.33
2nd – Adams, Nate – 89.33
3rd – Rebeaud, Mathieu – 89.00
4th – Pagès, Thomas – 86.83
5th – McNeil, Jim – 86.67
6th – Jones, Adam – 85.77
7th – Lusk, Jeremy – 84.67
8th – Maddison, Robbie – 83.73
9th – Danielson, Nixey – 83.50
10th – Mason, Mike – 82.97