Intro:

There were wins for local favourite Janne Korpi and China's Shuang Li in the FIS Snowboard World Cup halfpipe competition in Ruka, Finland on Friday.

Script:

Father Christmas was in town to oversee the conclusion of the Snowboarding halfpipe World Cup in Ruka, Finland.

It was a memorable day for the particularly partisan crowd as local favourite Janne Korpi soared to victory in the men's contest.

Korpi scored a blistering 89.00 points in his first run to secure top spot.

There was more for the home crowd to celebrate as compatriot Markus Malin placed third, with Frenchman Johann Baisamy sandwiched in between the two in second place.

The victory meant Korpi catapulted himself to the top of the halfpipe World Cup standings on 1,020 points. Korpi, speaking after, was clearly elated with his performance.

"So stoked to win here you know. My home resort and a lot of people watching here - like my friends and everything is so...yeah, super-stoked."

In the women's event, China's Shuang Li scored 85.75 points for victory, with New Zealander Rebecca Sinclair second with 83.75 and France's Clemence Grimal in third.

Li now leads the overall standings on 1,260 points, pushing the winner of the opening World Cup event, Kelly Clark of America, down to second.