The 2025-26 freestyle moguls season ended the same way it began, with a cancellation. After a winter marked by withdrawn hosts, venue changes, and geopolitical tensions, the final World Cup stop at Shahdag, Azerbaijan, was called off, abruptly locking in the season’s Crystal Globe standings.
This season’s campaign was plagued by disruptions from the start. Sweden’s Idre Fjäll, the second event on the calendar each year, withdrew from hosting ski cross and moguls World Cups for financial reasons, while Bakuriani, Georgia, pulled out of hosting in protest against the tour’s new sponsor, Azerbaijan. Relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan have been strained in recent years amid regional political tensions and disputes tied to the South Caucasus power balance.
Now Azerbaijan has cancelled the season finale at Shahdag, which had been scheduled for this weekend, due to geopolitical unrest in the region. The country has been hit by several drone strikes since the outbreak of the Iran war. With little time remaining in the calendar to find a replacement venue, the Moguls World Cup season ended abruptly. The shortened schedule left athletes with only a limited number of events to earn points toward the season’s Crystal Globes, and one competition had already been relocated from Utah to the East Coast earlier in the winter.
Despite the chaotic season, the United States’ Olivia Giaccio delivered the most consistent campaign of her career. The 25-year-old amassed 490 points to secure the Overall Moguls Crystal Globe, finishing 58 points ahead of Australia’s Jakara Anthony and American teammate Tess Johnson, who both finished the season on 432 points. Anthony edged Johnson for second place in the standings thanks to more World Cup victories during the winter.
Anthony did claim the Moguls Crystal Globe, where she finished tied with Giaccio on 360 points. Anthony secured the title on a tiebreaker after recording three wins this season compared with Giaccio’s single victory in Nanto-Toyama, Japan, last week.
For Anthony, the moguls title marks the seventh Crystal Globe of her career, adding to a résumé that already includes three moguls titles, two dual moguls titles, and two overall titles.
No Dual Moguls Crystal Globe was awarded this season because only two dual moguls competitions were held, below the threshold required to crown a discipline champion. Despite the lack of an official globe, the dual moguls standings were topped by Giaccio’s teammate Jaelin Kauf, who won both events staged this winter on the World Cup circuit. Kauf also took silver in dual moguls at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where Anthony claimed the gold medal.
For Giaccio, the overall title represents a long-awaited breakthrough. The Connecticut native has spent 10 years on the U.S. national team and has competed in two Olympic Games. She finished sixth at the 2022 Olympics and placed sixth in dual moguls and ninth in moguls at the recent Milano-Cortina Games.
On the men’s side, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima delivered one of the most dominant seasons in recent moguls history, sweeping the Moguls and Overall Moguls Crystal Globes.
Horishima finished the moguls standings with 356 points, just 11 points ahead of Australia’s Matt Graham, who pushed the title race to the final scheduled event. Horishima’s margin was larger in the overall standings, where he amassed 536 points compared with Graham’s 408.
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The Japanese star reached the podium at nearly every event this season, with two moguls victories and one dual moguls win. Horishima was also leading the dual moguls standings. It’s been a fantastic season for the 28-year-old, who also claimed a silver and bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Graham, a two-time Olympic medallist, finished the season second in both the moguls and overall standings, narrowly missing what could have been the second Crystal Globe of his career had the final event gone ahead.
Behind the top two, American Nick Page placed third in the moguls standings, matching his result from last season, while Canada’s Julien Viel recorded a career-best third-place finish in the overall standings.
The results also highlighted the strength of the American moguls program. In the women’s competition, four of the top six athletes in the overall standings came from the United States, and in the men’s three of the top six athletes came from Team USA.
