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For Matt Dove, winner of the Vert Best Trick competition at the X Games, it was all about persistence paying off on the vert ramp. His Varial 720 took him over 10 tries to successfully land. When he did nail it down though, it was technically past time. And that was where the controversy began.

The leader at the official end of the competition was Bob Burnquist. He laid down a Fakie to Fakie 540 Heelflip Indy that would have given him the win. Tony Hawk had completed a B/S Ollie 540 to Rock and Roll slide, which threw him into second. Dove had yet to land the Varial 720 and on his last official attempt he broke his king pin and had to use Bucky's board to press on.

Hawk and Danny Way look on as Dove kills the Varial 720 Indy.

Time was called but some of the riders continued to bust out tricks. Dove said that he was unaware that the competition was over and when he completed the Varial 720, the crowd went crazy as he celebrated around the ramp. Shortly afterwards he was informed that the trick did not count because it was past time. At that point he lost it on the top of the ramp and went on a tirade to the officials around him.

During all of this, the riders continued to session and Tony Hawk pulled the 900 out of his pocket, landing it perfectly on his fifth attempt. Tas Pappas attempted the 900 a few times but could not find the handle. He had to settle for a 720 in regulation and a Heelflip Varial B/S 360 in expired time. According to Tas's father, he has successfully completed the 900 while riding with friends.

The ramp was finally cleared and the podium appeared as Burnquist was called to the stage. To the side of the ramp, Dove and Hawk were in a heated debate about the validitiy of the competition as a crowd gathered around them.

Dove and Tony talk things out as the crowd gathers.

"You know how things are going right now as far as the money is concerned. I busted my ass ten times out there, if I thought I was out of time I would have taken my time getting back up the ramp. But since I had a shirt with magic marker on it that dissed ESPN, that was why they went "Oh, we got him now, we can say nope, you are out of time, sorry." Dove explained to Tony and the crowd of reporters.

He was referring to the white shirt he had made that read on the front:
Extreme
$
Profits
Network

On the back he had written "Drama 01"

Dove was protesting the X Games because he felt they were run incorrectly and favored the more popular riders. "If somebody else would have done an amazing trick, you know one of their boys that worked for ESPN pretty much, it would have counted. I am not saying it is pre-determined, I am saying it is pre-favored. Pre-favored, 100 percent."

"This stadium is filled, look around. If you think of one dollar per person from this thing, it is not even close to what we are getting paid for coming here, not even close. They (ESPN) will never listen to me, but by making that trick, I am making them listen to me," he continued.

At that point someone came up and handed him a sheet of paper.

"Here you go, this is a sheet from one of the judges. That's my name, that's my trick, there is the first place ranking next to my name. Watch when it comes out," he said, showing the paper to Hawk. He looked at it and told him that he disagreed with some of Matt's opinions. Dove was then left to the crowd of media.

The announcers got back on the Mic and began the awards ceremony. Matt was called to the podium as the winner of the Best Trick competition. Apparently the judges had changed direction and decided to use the entire session to determine the winner. This put Hawk and his 900 into second place and Burnquist into third.

Tony has the 900 down. What's next?

Dove stepped to the platform, received his medal and then turned it around to the back of his neck. It was here that Dove continued to explain his feelings.

"This is the only X Games I have ever been to and it is the only one I'll ever come to. I came here to make a point and that is it, that was my vehicle. Take my medal, I'll give it back to them, who cares? I will guarantee you that when they put it on TV, something will be lost. I am saying only the trick gets shown, no interview and it is going to be cropped a lot. They knew I was running my mouth. I want people to know exactly what is going on with ESPN and how they try to make money off us (the riders) and not give anything back."

Slowly the crowd drifted away, the other riders had all dissappeared shortly after the contest ended. Dove remained on the deck as the Moto X riders were warming up next to the ramp, a crowd of media still around him.

"This isn't skateboarding, this is a show. The lights, everything else, this is just for people to watch, it is not for us to skate. We are just little puppets that they are moving around, cutting their footage so that they don't see certain things that they don't want people to see because it is not making them money."

Matt Dove knows how to skate vert, he put on a show today about persistence and he landed an incredibly difficult trick, the question is, what is in store for him now? Although some may question how he carried himself after the competition, he is, whether he likes it or not, the X Games Vert Best Trick champion.

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