The next chapter of winter action sports officially has its teams.
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League Winter Draft has completed the four club rosters for the 2027 Winter Season, with four-time X Games medalist Eileen Gu going No. 1 overall to XC Golden State at a packed Cosm Los Angeles.
Forty ski and snowboard athletes from 14 countries were selected across five rounds, creating four 10-athlete clubs that will compete throughout the new X Games League Winter Season.
For winter sports, it marks a significant change in format: athletes aren’t only chasing individual results anymore. Their performances will also contribute to their club’s season-long championship campaign.
Four Clubs, 40 Athletes and One Championship
The opening selection immediately delivered star power.
XC Golden State General Manager Jonny Moseley made Gu the first-ever pick, while XC New York followed by selecting Canadian snowboard heavyweight Mark McMorris at No. 2.
XC Park City then selected Chinese snowboarder Yiming Su, with XC Whistler completing the opening round by taking Canadian freestyle skier Megan Oldham.
The completed rosters feature some of the biggest names across skiing and snowboarding, including Scotty James, Mia Brookes, Cocomo Murase, Red Gerard, Kelly Sildaru, Marcus Kleveland, Mathilde Gremaud and Hiroto Ogiwara.
The age range also underlines the breadth of the new league, stretching from 14-year-old snowboarder Patti Zhou to 32-year-old veterans McMorris and James.
Each club features five men and five women, creating a deliberately balanced team structure for the season ahead.
The Four Winter Clubs
XC Golden State
Eileen Gu, Luca Harrington, Scotty James, Mari Fukada, Hiroto Ogiwara, Anni Karava, Henry Sildaru, Lainey Steen, Marcus Kleveland and Lily Dhawornavej.
XC New York
Mark McMorris, Mia Brookes, Kirsty Muir, Finley Melville Ives, Taiga Hasegawa, Zoe Atkin, Red Gerard, Jessica Perlmutter, Matej Svancer and Patti Zhou.
XC Park City
Yiming Su, Cocomo Murase, Mathilde Gremaud, Birk Ruud, Indra Brown, Yuto Totsuka, Alex Hall, Sara Shimizu, Troy Podmilsak and Kelly Sildaru.
XC Whistler
Megan Oldham, Mac Forehand, Liam Brearley, Gaon Choi, Rocco Jamieson, Amy Fraser, Valentino Guseli, Tess Coady, Naomi Urness and Cameron Spalding.
From Individual Moments to a Season-Long Fight
The biggest change introduced by XGL is the idea of consequences across an entire season.
Traditional X Games competition is built around individual events, where athletes arrive, compete and chase podium finishes. The X Games League adds another layer: results generate points for clubs, giving fans teams to follow throughout the season.
X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom described the change as adding a new dimension to a competition that has produced iconic individual moments for decades.
For the athletes, that means a mistake, breakthrough or podium isn’t necessarily confined to one weekend. The result can influence the wider club standings.
For fans, it creates another storyline running alongside the individual battles.
Aspen Starts the Winter Campaign
The inaugural XGL Winter Season begins January 29–31, 2027, at Buttermilk in Aspen, Colorado, returning to the longtime home of winter X Games competition.
The league then moves to Calgary, Alberta, from February 19–21, before the season championship event takes place in Ruka, Finland, from April 9–11.
Gu, who was selected by her hometown club XC Golden State, welcomed the opportunity to help launch the new format.
“I’m really excited to make something super magical happen this season,” .
Gu said after being selected first overall
She also pointed to the potential of the league to expand the reach of freeskiing and winter action sports.
A New Way to Follow Action Sports
The draft itself reflected the league’s attempt to merge sport, entertainment and culture.
More than 500 guests attended the Cosm Los Angeles event, with the venue’s wraparound LED dome putting the live team selections at the centre of an immersive production.
Fans outside Los Angeles could follow the draft through the ESPN App in the United States, as well as The Roku Sports Channel, YouTube, Kick and the X Games TV FAST Channel on Amazon.
Now the draft is complete, the talking stops and the riding begins.
Forty athletes. Four clubs. Three winter stops. One championship.
The first XGL Winter Season will reveal whether the team-based format can add a new layer of rivalry and continuity to one of action sports’ most recognisable competitive platforms.