Reigning 2026 Olympic champions Eileen Gu, Yuto Totsuka and Gaon Choi headline an expanded 60-athlete competition field across Aspen, Colorado; Park City and Laax, Switzerland, with snowboard and freeski featured at every event The Snow League on Thursday announced its season two roster, featuri ng all four defending Snow League World Champions and 15 Olympic medalists with a combined 26 Olympic medals, including eight golds. Founded by three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, the league will bring an expanded 60-athlete competition field to Aspen, Park City and Laax. The qualified roster represents 12 countries across five continents, with men’s and women’s snowboard and freeski competition at every stop. Reigning Olympic halfpipe champions Eileen Gu (CHN), Yuto Totsuka (JPN) and Gaon Choi (KOR) headline a roster, which includes eight of the 12 halfpipe medalists from Milan Cortina 2026. In snowboarding, reigning Snow League and Olympic champion Totsuka will continue to battle with fellow Japanese stars, three-time Olympic medalist Ayumu Hirano (JPN) and 2026 Olympic bronze medalist Ryusei Yamada (JPN), for the top spot on the podium. American hopefuls Alessandro Barbieri (USA) and Jake Pates (USA) will be looking to break through the field this season, while Valentino Guseli (AUS) will be adding his massive amplitude to the Snow League halfpipe for the first time, as athletes continue to aim for new world record heights. Defending women’s snowboard champion Sena Tomita (JPN) returns to face reigning Olympic champion Gaon Choi (KOR), American standout Maddie Mastro (USA), teenager Sara Shimizu (JPN), who won the final two season one events, and 15-year-old rising star Patti Zhou (CHN), who earns her first full-time roster spot after a breakout season-one win at Yunding Snow Park. In freeski, defending Season One champions Luke Harrold (NZL) and Gu return to highly competitive fields. The men’s field features two-time Olympic gold medalist David Wise (USA), three-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper (USA) and Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy (USA), who recently made the switch back to Team USA after competing for Great Britain. Following a win at The World Challenge in Cardrona, New Zealand, a now healthy Fin Melville Ives (NZL) makes his regular season Snow League debut. On the women’s side, Gu reunites with fellow 2026 Olympic halfpipe medalists Fanghui Li (CHN) and Zoe Atkin (GBR), bringing the complete Olympic podium into the season two field. “One of my favorite things about last season was seeing new contenders emerge with performances that changed the conversation,” said Ian Warda, chief operating officer of The Snow League. “Patti Zhou won in her league debut, and Sara Shimizu won the final two events. Now I want to see how they build on that, how Sena Tomita responds as defending champion, and where Olympic champion Gaon Choi fits into that battle. In men’s freeski, Luke Harrold and Brendan Mackay traded wins, and their title race came down to one deciding run at Laax. That’s a rematch I’m already looking forward to.” The Snow League said that season two will raise the stakes with an expanded 24-athlete freeski field, up from 16, and the addition of eight wildcards at each event, joining the 52 athletes already qualified for the season and bringing fresh competition to every event. The Snow League features a head-to-head format in which athletes battle one-on-one with advancement on the line. The three-day format will feature both snowboard and freeski competition each day, with qualifying on day one, quarterfinals on day two and semifinals and finals on day three. Results at each event will count toward four individual championship races, culminating at Laax, where The Snow League World Champions in men’s and women’s snowboard and freeski will be crowned. “Having all four defending champions return alongside three reigning Olympic champions sets up an exceptional second season,” said Omer Atesmen, CEO of The Snow League. “Expanding freeski and bringing both sports to every event creates more opportunities for athletes and more compelling matchups for fans. Those championship races will build from Aspen through the finale at Laax.” Luke harrold said he’s excited for this next season with the changes to the format and having more riders. “I think what The Snow League’s doing for the industry is pretty incredible,” he said, “and I think it’s really going to be the top-tier season.” Jakes Pates said, “We didn’t have anything like this in snowboarding before The Snow League. It’s a special thing to have a Championship. It’s a special thing for all of us to have the opportunity to compete in an event series like this. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens in season two. Who ends up taking it? And those Tiffany trophies, too!” The season two regular season will open at Buttermilk at Aspen Snowmass in Colorado, Jan. 7-9, 2027, when freeski competition will take place for the first time as part of The Snow League’s Aspen event. Following Aspen, the league will head to Park City Mountain Jan. 21-23, 2027, before crossing the Atlantic for the season two finale at Laax, Switzerland, March 11-13, 2027. All season two events will stream live in the U.S. on Peacock and globally on The Snow League’s YouTube Channel, with encore presentations airing on the NBC broadcast network. Season two qualified athlete roster: Men’s snowboard Yuto Totsuka (JPN)* Alessandro Barbieri (USA) Chase Blackwell (USA) Pat Burgener (BRA) Levko Fedorowycz (USA) Lucas Foster (USA) Valentino Guseli (AUS) Jonas Hasler (SUI) Ayumu Hirano (JPN) Ruka Hirano (JPN) Cam Melville Ives (NZL) Chaeun Lee (KOR) Jio Lee (KOR) Jake Pates (USA) Shuichiro Shigeno (JPN) Ryan Wachendorfer (USA) Ziyang Wang (CHN) Ryusei Yamada (JPN)   Women’s snowboard Sena Tomita (JPN)* Sonora Alba (USA) Queralt Castellet (ESP) Gaon Choi (KOR) Brooke D’Hondt (CAN) Elizabeth Hosking (CAN) Rise Kudo (JPN) Isabelle Loetscher (SUI) Maddie Mastro (USA) Mitsuki Ono (JPN) Maddy Schaffrick (USA) Sara Shimizu (JPN) Shaotong Wu (CHN) Patti Zhou (CHN) Men’s freeski Luke Harrold (NZL)* Nick Goepper (USA) Hunter Hess (USA) Birk Irving (USA) Fin Melville Ives (NZL) Gus Kenworthy (USA) Andrew Longino (CAN) Brendan Mackay (CAN) Jon Sallinen (FIN) David Wise (USA) Women’s freeski Eileen Gu (CHN)* Zoe Atkin (GBR) Indra Brown (AUS) Hanna Faulhaber (USA) Amy Fraser (CAN) Svea Irving (USA) Rachael Karker (CAN) Fanghui Li (CHN) Mischa Thomas (NZL) Kexin Zhang (CHN) *Snow League Season One Champions Tickets for The Snow League’s Aspen and Park City events will go on sale later this month, with tickets for Laax set to follow later this fall. All season two events in 2027 will stream live on Peacock in the U.S. and on The Snow League’s YouTube channel worldwide.  Every event will also receive an encore presentation on the NBC broadcast network in the U.S., according to the following schedule: Buttermilk at Aspen Snowmass, Colorado: Live Jan. 7-9, 2027, on Peacock and The Snow League’s YouTube channel; NBC encore presentation on Sunday, Jan. 17, from noon-2 p.m. MT. Park City Mountain: Live Jan. 21-23, 2027, on Peacock and The Snow League’s YouTube channel; NBC encore presentation on Sunday, Jan. 24, from 2-4 p.m. MT Season two championship finale in Laax, Switzerland: Live March 11-13, 2027, on Peacock and The Snow League’s YouTube channel; NBC championship encore presentation on Saturday, March 27, from 11:30-1 p.m. MT The Snow League World Challenge, which took place in Cardrona, New Zealand, on Sept. 19, will air on NBC Sunday, Dec. 27, at noon MT.  Further details on season two event programming and broadcast times will be announced closer to competitions.  The post The Snow League announces season two roster featuring 15 Olympic medalists, all four defending world champions appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less