Overview
“Hello, ladies and gents. Welcome to the 2026 Mykonos Big Air. We are absolutely sending it today. The boys are going crazy.”
Held from June 16 to 21, 2026, on the Greek island of Mykonos, this event marked the first-ever GKA Big Air World Tour stop hosted in Mykonos.
Location and Conditions
The competition took place at Korfos Beach, uniquely characterized by its amphitheater-like topography surrounded by land. During the event, the powerful “Meltemi” north wind blasted through, averaging 33 to 34 knots with gusts from 37 knots to over 40 knots, creating extreme high-wind conditions.
Format and Participating Riders
The main event featured 24 men and 12 women. The men’s division included top-ranked riders such as Leonardo Casati, Lorenzo Casati, Jamie Overbeek, Finn Flügel, Zac Adams, Cohan Van Dijk, and Jeremy Burlando. The women’s division also brought together world-class athletes like Mikaili Sol and Francesca Maini. Additionally, 10-time freestyle world champion Gisela Pulido made her return to the world tour after an 11-year hiatus to compete in this event.
Highlights
In the women’s division, Mikaili Sol secured her 9th World Title. Leading up to the event, she struggled with the heavy pressure to win and almost lost her motivation. However, practicing the massive “Shark Attack” (a triple backroll with a Kiteloop and two extra rotations) in the local lagoon helped her rediscover the pure joy of kiteboarding. As she stated, “enjoying myself made all the difference,” and she flawlessly landed the trick to take a dominant victory in Mykonos.
The men’s division showcased a web of destiny and calculated strategies intertwining each rider’s path to the championship. Cohan Van Dijk, aiming for a miraculous comeback title, was eliminated in Round 2 (Heat 9). Zac Adams, who could have seen the crown with a win, suffered a severe crash that blew his helmet off in Round 3 (Heat 15) and was knocked out. The 2025 champion Finn Flügel, who still had a chance to win the title outright, fell into the “Group of Death” (Heat 14) against Leonardo Casati and Josué San Ferreira after placing second in Round 1. Despite posting a high score of 19.79, he was eliminated in third place. Jeremy Burlando, who also absolutely needed a win, faced the misfortune of being drawn into Semifinal Heat 18 alongside Jamie Overbeek and Lorenzo Casati, ending his title hopes. In this pivotal semifinal, Jamie fiercely defended second place with a massive score of 22.94 to reach the finals, locking his minimum annual points at 1,700. This meant that Leonardo, who held 770 points, was absolutely required to win in Greece (1,000 points) to claim the World Title.
During the final, Lorenzo posted an incredible score of 23.10, narrowly trailing Leonardo’s 23.77. However, if Lorenzo had overtaken him for first place, he still wouldn’t have enough points for the crown himself, and he would have pushed Leonardo into second place, thereby handing the World Title to their rival, Jamie. In a rock-solid team strategy to “keep the World Title in the Casati family,” Lorenzo could not, under any circumstances, finish ahead of Leonardo. Through extreme calculation and strategic decision-making, Leonardo claimed the victory and was crowned the 2026 Big Air World Champion.
Notably, the prize money for this event was significantly increased, making it one of the largest prize purses in the sport’s history thanks to sponsors like Capital.com. A total of 70,000 euros was split equally between the men’s and women’s divisions, with the winners taking home 15,000 euros.
The Harsh Realities of the Pro Tour and Mykonos Prices
On the other hand, Zara Hoogenraad, one of the top contenders in the women’s division, withdrew from the event. It is said that the steep travel costs to the world-renowned resort of Mykonos were too high compared to her budget, becoming a talking point that highlighted the harsh financial realities of the pro tour.
In fact, the cost of living in Mykonos is extremely high, with two cocktails reportedly costing 44 euros. Calculating this against the equally split 15,000-euro prize money, one could only afford 681 cocktails at 22 euros each in Mykonos.
The following table compares this with the estimated general prices of popular alcoholic beverages in various countries.
| Country | Popular Drink | Estimated Price (EUR) | Drinks per €15,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇷 Greece (Mykonos) | Cocktail | €22.0 | 681 |
| 🇬🇧 UK | Pint of Beer | €6.0 | 2,500 |
| 🇫🇷 France | Glass of Wine | €6.0 | 2,500 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | Draft Beer (500ml) | €4.0 | 3,750 |
| 🇺🇸 USA | Craft Beer | €7.5 | 2,000 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | Draft Beer (Medium) | €3.5 | 4,285 |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | Aperol Spritz | €6.0 | 2,500 |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | Vodka Shot | €2.0 | 7,500 |
| 🇿🇦 South Africa | Castle Lager | €1.8 | 8,333 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | Caipirinha | €3.5 | 4,285 |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | San Miguel Beer | €1.2 | 12,500 |
While the prize money would run out after just 681 expensive cocktails in Mykonos, traveling to countries like the Philippines or South Africa would allow one to purchase close to 10,000 or even more local drinks. Despite the glamorous resort setting and the record-breaking prize purse, the heavy burden of travel expenses brought the realistic financial struggles of athletes into sharp focus.
Show Detailed Competition Results (Spoiler Alert)
[Men’s Division Event Results]
1st: Leonardo Casati (ITA)
2nd: Lorenzo Casati (ESP)
3rd: Shahar Tsabary (ISR)
4th: Jamie Overbeek (NED)
[Women’s Division Event Results]
1st: Mikaili Sol (BRA)
2nd: Aya Kasabova (BUL)
3rd: Francesca Maini (GBR)
4th: Sarah Sadek (EGY)
[Men’s 2026 Annual Ranking]
1st: Leonardo Casati
2nd: Jamie Overbeek
3rd: Lorenzo Casati
4th: Finn Flügel
5th: Shahar Tsabary
6th: Josué San Ferreira
7th: Jeremy Burlando
8th: Zac Adams
[Women’s 2026 Annual Ranking]
1st: Mikaili Sol
2nd: Alessa Sophia Mensch
3rd: Aya Kasabova
4th: Sarah Sadek
5th: Francesca Maini
6th: Eszter Nagy
7th: Nathalie Lambrecht
8th: Alice Ruggiu
Search Aliases: 2026 Mykonos, 2026Mykonos, Greece: GKA Kite World Tour, Greece:GKAKiteWorldTour