Bilko was up against a number of major competitors, but apparently had a huge following down under voting for him.

“This makes my win at Baltimore even sweeter,” he said. “It shows how passionate the Aussie fans are and shows what a close community of FMXers we have back home.”

For the win he takes home $5K and a PS3 pack.

Even though there’s only a demo going on this upcoming weekend at Cleveland’s Right Guard Open, Bilko plans to be there.

“This weekend the tour heads to Cleveland but we’re only there as exhibition riders,” he said.  “It’s still a great chance to get in some practice jumps and show the US fans how far the Aussie scene has come, I’m proud to be flying the flag.”

You can get more of an update on Bilko on the Crusty Demons site.

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

The prelims were run later in the evening, helping make sure wind would be less of an issue. Still, some familiar faces missed the cut including Metal Mulisha riders Takayuki Higashino, Ronnie Faisst, Todd Potter and Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg. The Mulisha will still be represented by Maddison and Jeremy Lusk, who placed fourth in the prelims.

The FMX finals will take place on Sunday from 1-3 p.m. ET and will air on NBC.

Here’s the lineup for Sunday’s final (in order)

10. Thomas Pagès
9. Jim McNeil
8. Nixy Danielson
7. Jeremy Lusk
6. Blake Williams
5. Mathieu Rebeaud
4. Robbie Maddison
3. Mike Mason
2. Adam Jones
1. Nate Adams

FMX Prelim Results
June 19, 2008 – Top Seven Advance

1st — Maddison, Robbie — 88.67
2nd — Rebeaud, Mathieu — 88.33
3rd — Williams, Blake — 86.33
4th — Lusk, Jeremy — 85.5
5th — Danielson, Nixey — 86.37
6th — McNeil, Jim — 86.17
7th — Pagès, Thomas — 82.67
—————————————
8th — Bamburg, Beau — 80.67
9th — Fullmer, Wiley — 80
10th — Pages, Charles — 79.7
11th — Garland, Derek — 78.67
12th — Fehr, Jeff — 79.93
13th — Faisst, Ronnie — 76.83
14th — Higashino, Takayuki — 76.67
15th — Richmond, Myles — 76.67
16th — Potter, Todd — 69.33
17th — Stenberg, Jeremy — —

• Big-wave surfer Milton Willis involved in a car crash, killing his passenger
• Have you heard of the documentary D.O.P.E. (Death or Prison Eventually)? It’s about skateboarders Jay Adams, Christian Hosoi, Dennis Martinez and Bruce Logan.
• Deaf motocross racer Ashley Fiolek wins her second event of the season.
• Catch up with Blake “Bilko” Williams, the FMX rider who could challenge Nate Adams at this year’s AST Dew Tour.
• In eight months Oakley has raised $1 million for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Not bad.
• Did you see Tony Hawk on “Million Dollar Password” last night? Me neither.
• More about “cyclist” Kevin Robinson’s quest for a world record.
• Check out Scotty Cranmer’s new signature shoe for Vans.