The 2021 X Games officially kicked off on Friday from Aspen, Colorado, putting the biggest names in snowboard and ski events on full display. The competition continues on Saturday and Sunday with a stacked schedule of extreme sports — although COVID-19 means that there won’t be fans in attendance or concerts at night. Here is how to watch the slightly different competition.
The first block of programming starts at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday and runs until 6 p.m. ET. Events such as Jeep Women’s Ski Slopestyle will be available on ABC. The action continues from 8-8:45 p.m. ET on the X Games social media profiles, as well as the ESPN app. Finally, ESPN will cap off the day’s schedule by airing the Monster Energy Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe and The Real Cost Men’s Ski Big Air Encore from 10 p.m. until 12 a.m. ET.
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Day 2: #XGames Aspen 2021!
— X Games (@XGames) January 30, 2021
✖ Jeep Women’s Ski Slopestyle
✖ Jeep Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle
✖ Pacifico Women’s Snowboard Big Air
✖ The Real Cost Men’s Ski Big Air
✖ Monster Energy Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe
📺: https://t.co/FaZmaodP0b
🎵: Chaos by Ella Collier pic.twitter.com/ZkCkodeUgr
Sunday’s X Games schedule is shorter, but it will put several talented performers in the spotlight. The first block — Jeep Men’s Ski Slopestyle and Jeep Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Encore — will air on ABC from 1-3 p.m. ET. ESPN will then round out the schedule with Monster Energy Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe, The Real Cost Men’s Snowboard Big Air and Wendy’s Ski Knuckle Huck. This block of programming will run from 8:30-11 p.m. ET.
The 2021 X Games at Aspen will feature the return of a legend in extreme winter sports. Shaun White will compete in snow for the first time in three years. He last headed to the slopes for a competition during the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, where he won his third gold medal.
White last competed at the X Games in 2017, finishing 11th in SBD SuperPipe. His absence took place amid a switch back to skateboarding and a bid to compete in the new Summer Olympics event at the 2020 Tokyo Games. However, COVID-19 forced the delay of the Olympics until July 2021, so White shifted his focus back to competitive snowboarding.
White will make his long-awaited return to the SuperPipe event on Sunday night. He will join Australian Scotty James and Japan’s Yuto Totsuka, among others, while fighting for a spot on the podium. It’s unclear if White will win a medal at Aspen for the first time since 2013, but there will be plenty of viewers tuning in to find out.
