X Games 2015: Austin Dates, TV Schedule, Event Live Stream and Top Athletes
The X Games are one of the most highly anticipated extreme-sports events year in and year out. Last year, X Games Austin was fantastic, and the event featured a number of big names, both young and old.
This year's version of X Games Austin promises to be one of the best yet, and, when we look back on it, maybe the best ever. With a full slate of events, some of the best extreme-sports athletes in the world and a concert lineup that any music fan can get behind—both Metallica and Nicki Minaj are slated to perform—this promises to be a great event.
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The event has a lot of hype to live up to, especially after the huge success of X Games Aspen (the Men's Superpipe final was an absolutely fantastic event), but these athletes are going to put on a show for the ages.
It'll all go down this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and ESPN and the ESPN family of networks will have you covered if you want to tune in and watch live. But before things kick off on Thursday night with the BMX Vert final, take a look below for everything you need to know about this year's games, including a schedule of events, a link to the live stream and a quick look at some of the top athletes taking part in this year's action.
X Games Austin 2015 Info
When: June 4-7 (Austin Anthology airs on June 14)
Where: Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas
Live Stream: Available through ESPN3 and Watch ESPN
Schedule of Events
| 8:30 p.m. | Harley-Davidson Flat-Track Racing | 12:30 p.m. | BMX Vert Final | 12:00 p.m. | Skateboard Park Round 1 and Final | 12:00 p.m. | Skateboard/BMX Big Air Doubles Final |
| 9:00 p.m. | Moto X Step Up Final | 1:30 p.m. | Skateboard Vert Final | 2:00 p.m. | RallyCar Racing Round 1/LCQ/Final | 1:30 p.m. | Off Road Truck Racing Round 1/LCQ/Final |
| -- | 3:00 p.m. | BMX Park Round 1 & Final | 3:30 p.m. | Skateboard Street Women's Round 1 & Final | 3:30 p.m. | Monster Energy Skateboard Street Men's Roune 1 & Final | |
| -- | 7:00 p.m. | Moto X Enduro X Men's & Women's Round 1/LCQ/FInal | 4:30 p.m. | BMX Dirt Round 1 & Final | 5:00 p.m. | Moto X Best Whip Final | |
| -- | 8:30 p.m. | America's Navy Skateboard Big Air Round 1 | 6:30 | Skateboard Street Amateurs Round 1 & Final | 5:00 p.m. | Moto X Quarter Pipe Final | |
| -- | 10:00 p.m. | America's Navy Skateboard Big Air Final | 8:00 p.m. | Moto X Speed & Style Qtr/Semi/Bronze/Gold | -- | -- | |
| -- | -- | -- | 9:30 p.m. | GoPro BMX Big Air Final | -- | -- |
Top Athletes
Jamie Bestwick
Jamie Bestwick wins BMX Vert like it's his job. I mean, technically it is, but the guy seriously might not know how to lose. Uou can check out his gold-medal-winning run from the 2014 Austin games below as proof:
Bestiwick has brought home gold in the event in each of his last nine tries, with his most recent gold-medal-winning effort coming in X Games Austin just last year. Bestwick is still one of, if not the absolute best at what he does, and the fact that he's closing in on 44 years of age makes him just that much more enjoyable to watch.
Sure, he's great, but that's not the only reason to watch Bestwick. The veteran rider will be looking to make history with a gold medal, which would extend his his BMX Vert win streak to 10.
Travis Pastrana
Travis Pastrana is the elite of the elite extreme athletes. The guy can practically do whatever he wants.
Pastrana was the first rider to ever land a double-back flip on a motorcycle—still one of the biggest innovations in the sport—and was an extremely accomplished Moto X Freestyle and Moto X Best Trick rider before switching his focus to NASCAR and RallyCross.
Pastrana has since dropped NASCAR in favor of rally, and according to his X Games page, the 31-year-old ranks as the No. 2 driver in the Rally America series.
The Maryland native hasn't medaled in the X Games since 2010 and hasn't medaled in an X Games rally event since 2009 (he took home a silver that year). That said, rally was nearly an afterthought for Pastrana as he tried his hand at the NASCAR circuit, so it's hard to fault his performance in recent years.
Look for him to medal this year, and when he does, you don't want to miss it.
Tom Schaar
Ready to feel old? X Games Austin will be Tom Schaar's 13th X Games—13 is a lot—and, on top of that, he's just 15 years old.
Schaar is young, but the California native has already compiled an impressive resume, including three X Games medals—one gold, one silver and one bronze—with a win in last year's Skateboard Big Air event.
Schaar was 14 when he won his Big Air gold last year (shown in the video below), making him one of the youngest to win an X Games event; Skateboard Street competitor Ryan Sheckler was the youngest (13) back in 2003.
Schaar is the only rider to ever land a 1080 on a skateboard and also the only to do so in competition. He'll compete in Skateboard Vert as well, but if you want to catch his best effort, tune in to watch him defend his title in Skateboard Big Air.
X Games medal history courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
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