Antti Autti of Finland blew away the X Games crowd with an upset win over two heavy favorites in the superpipe final. Brian Bahr/Getty Images

By Yi-Wyn Yen, SI.com

ASPEN, Colo. -- The snow fell softly at the bottom of the halfpipe as Shaun White stared at the ground with disappointment. Favored to win gold at the premier snowboarding event of the Winter X Games, the superpipe superstar was bumped from a podium finish when two less-heralded riders grabbed gold and silver on the final two runs Monday night.

Nineteen-year-old Antti Autti of Finland dazzled a crowd of 11,300 when he opened his flawless run with back-to-back 1080 spins -- three full rotations -- to claim the superpipe title with a score of 93. "It was my first time ever doing back-to-back 10s," said Autti, who was crowned the halfpipe champion in Whistler, Canada, a week ago. "I knew that I needed that kind of combo to have a chance."

Finishing second to Autti in the best-of-three-runs contest was top-qualifier Andy Finch. On the last run of the evening, Finch charged down Buttermilk Mountain with big aerial moves that scored him a 92, pushing him from fifth to second. Danny Kass led the 10-man field after his second run, but finished third with a 90.33. When asked if he expected to beat crowd favorites like White or Kass, Autti admitted he didn't. "They're the stars," he said with a shrug. "No one knows me."

No one seemed more dazed than White, who finished fourth. He led the event with a 90 on his first run until Kass upped the ante on his second run, turning it into a two-man showdown. White tried to go for bigger air on his next two runs and but failed to best his opening score and overtake Kass for the lead. This is the first time White has been shut out of a podium finish in the superpipe since 2001. He withdrew from the event last year because of a knee injury.

Notes

Chris Devlin-Young won the inaugural monoski X race, an exhibition that featured members of the U.S. Disabled Alpine Ski Team riding over a modified supercross course Monday. Laurie Stephens took the women's division as she and runner-up Lacey Heward nearly crashed into each other while flying across the finish line. Heward hit the snow-packed ground hard and lay on her side for about 10 minutes. Eventually she skied her way to the base. "I was told that I had to get everything across the finish line for it to count, so I duct-taped my goggles to my head," she said.

The Winter X Games end tonight with live coverage of the men's ski superpipe event. After a controversial runner-up finish in Sunday's slopestyle contest, Tanner Hall is determined to avenge his loss. "Second place is so much more motivation to go in there and get first place [in the superpipe event]," he said.

Yen is a writer-reporter and covers adventure sports for SI.