Knoxville, Tenn. – The top professional wakeboarders from throughout the globe hit the waters of Volunteer Landing today in downtown Knoxville to compete in the fifth and final stop of the 2011 MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. This year, the Pro Tour finale also doubled as the final contest in the eight-event King of Wake and Queen of Wake series, which meant twice as much was on the line for riders in Knoxville.

The Pro Men’s division highlighted the event, with top seed Phillip Soven and Aussie phenom Harley Clifford battling it out, as the top two contenders for both the Pro Tour title and the King of Wake crown.

Soven, 22, of the Longwood, Fla. entered today’s contest with a 45-point lead over Clifford in the Pro Tour standings and quickly secured the 2011 Pro Tour title after winning his semifinal heat.

“Coming into today, I knew I had the Pro Tour title all wrapped up,” said Soven. “But I still wanted to make it into finals to win the last Pro Tour stop.”

While Soven had a considerable lead in the Pro Tour standings, the defending King of Wake champion was only ahead of Clifford by a mere 10 points in the King of Wake series and needed a win today to keep his crown.

In the finals, Soven launched an arsenal of technical and big-air tricks, including a massive Whirly 720, Crow Mobe 540 and a Toe-side 900 in effort to keep his crown.

But Clifford’s Blind Pete Rose, Front Mobe 540 and a Toe-side 900 helped him edge Soven 85.00 to 80.00 to win his first-ever King of Wake crown.

“There was so much pressure today in the finals with Phil [Soven] and I 10 points apart,” said Clifford. “But I was able to stand up my pass and come out ahead of him. I’m so pumped to win the King of Wake; it’s something I wanted to do for the last three years.”

Clifford, Soven and Rusty Malinoski round out the top three, respectively, in the King of Wake series.

The final Pro Tour standings saw Phillip Soven in first place overall, Harley Clifford in second place and Bob Soven in third place. The 2011 Pro Tour title marks Phillip Soven’s fourth overall title of his career – the third most in the Pro Tour’s 20-year history. Only wakeboarding legends Darin Shapiro and Parks Bonifay have more, with six and five titles, respectively.

The Pro Women’s division hosted its last round of action in the Queen of Wake series, as six finalists battled it out for the final win of the season. Top seed Amber Wing failed to advance to the finals, which left many fans wondering who would come out on top in Knoxville.

After taking down Wing in the semifinals, all eyes were on 13-year-old standout Taylor McCullough to see if the Illinois native could duplicate her run to win her first-ever Pro Tour contest.

But it was four-time World Cup titlist Raimi Merritt, who came out swinging with big tricks, like an S Bend, Tootsie Roll and two 540 variations to post the winning score of 78.33.

Today’s win marks Merritt’s first-ever Pro Tour stop victory.

“It feels awesome to win,” said Merritt. “I’ve been on Tour for three years and to finally win a stop is amazing. I’ve just been working on my consistency and to see it pay off, especially at the last stop of the year, gives me a lot of confidence heading into next season.”

Melissa Marquardt and Nicola Butler rounded out the Knoxville podium, respectively.

Despite missing the Pro Women finals, Aussie Amber Wing finished first place overall in the 2011 series to claim her first-ever Queen of Wake crown.

“I’m super stocked to win Queen of Wake,” said Wing. “It’s been a long, tough season and to see all the hard work pay off is really awesome.”

In Jr. Pro Men’s division, young gun Mike Dowdy made his Pro Tour finals debut today against Kyle Evans, Daniel Powers and current points leader Shota Tezuka.

While Dowdy turned heads after landing a Moby Dick 540 in his first-ever Pro Tour final run, all eyes however, remained on Daniel Powers to see if the 17-year-old Orlando, Fla. native would stretch his winning-streak to four consecutive Pro Tour stop victories.

All four Jr. Pro Men finalists threw down impressive runs, but Power’s Heel-side 540 off the double up lifted the 2011 Masters champion to his fourth straight Pro Tour stop victory.

Shota Tezuka and Mike Dowdy rounded out the podium, respectively.

Despite finishing in second place in Knoxville, Tezuka edged out Powers by seven points in the overall standings to capture his first-ever Jr. Pro Tour title.

“I can’t believe I won the Tour,” said Tezuka. “When I first started the season, I never expected to win. Now that the season is over, I’m going back home to celebrate and start training for the pro division next year.”

Tezuka is the first Japanese born rider to win the Jr. Pro Tour title.

For more info on the MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/kingofwake and Twitter www.twitter.com/thekingofwake.

The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour stop in Knoxville will air on the VERSUS television network on Oct. 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

The MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour, presented by Rockstar Energy Drink is organized by World Sports & Marketing of Orlando, Fla., and has the support of the following sponsors: MasterCraft, Rockstar Energy Drink, Overton’s, Indmar, Peavey, Billabong, Hyperlite, CWB, Ronix, Liquid Force, Byerly, Oakley, Sayiwon’t, Epiphone and YOUR MOM.

About MasterCraft
MasterCraft is the exclusive towboat for the Pro Wakeboard Tour, as it has been since the tour’s wakeboarding events began in 1992.

About Rockstar Energy Drink
ROCKSTAR is the world’s most powerful energy drink. Enhanced with the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo, Ginseng and Milk Thistle, ROCKSTAR is formulated to provide an incredible energy boost for those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles – from athletes to rock stars. ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK is available in eighteen amazing flavors: Original, Sugar Free, Zero Carb, Juiced Mango Orange Passion Fruit, Juiced Guava, Juiced Pomegranate, Tropical Punched, Punched Citrus, Roasted Mocha, Roasted Latte, Roasted Light Vanilla, Cola, Recovery Lemonade, Recovery Orange, Recovery Grape, Pink, and 2X. ROCKSTAR ENERGY SHOTS are available in Wild Berry and Tropical Punch flavors. ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK is available at convenience and grocery retail outlets across the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, The Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Greece, Mexico, the Philippines and throughout the United Kingdom.  Go to www.rockstar69.com or www.facebook.com/rockstar for athlete and event updates, videos, profiles, and product information.

About Indmar
Indmar is the world’s largest privately held manufacturer of gasoline powered inboard marine engines. Indmar Marine Engines have led the market on dependability, longevity, and performance for decades.

Sunday, August 28 Results:

Pro Men
Final Round – Heat #1
1  Harley Clifford              AUS        85.00
2  Phillip Soven                  USA        80.00
3  Rusty Malinoski            CAN        75.00
4  Dean Smith                     AUS        65.00
5  Jimmy LaRiche               USA        55.00
6  Adam Errington             USA        85.00

Pro Women
Final Round – Heat #1
1  Raimi Merritt                USA        78.33
2  Melissa Marquardt        USA        66.67
3  Nicola Butler                   GBR         62.33
4  Tarah Mikacich              USA        58.33
5 Taylor McCullough        USA        46.67
6  Emily Durham                 USA        28.33

Jr. Pro Men
Final Round – Heat #1
1  Daniel Powers               USA        87.75
2  Shota Tezuka                  JPN          87.00
3  Mike Dowdy                   USA        84.25
4  Kyle Evans                     USA        81.00

Pro Men
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1  Harley Clifford              AUS        78.333
2  Adam Errington            USA        68.33
3  Dean Smith                    AUS        63.33
4  Shane Bonifay                USA        59.33
5  Bob Soven                      USA        41.67

Pro Men
Semifinal Round – Heat #2
1  Phillip Soven                  USA        86.67
2  Rusty Malinoski           CAN        76.67
3  Jimmy LaRiche             USA        55.00
4  Steel Lafferty                  USA        50.83
5  Austin Hair                     USA        21.67

Jr. Pro Men
Semifinal Round – Heat #1
1  Daniel Powers               USA        89.00
2  Kyle Evans                      USA        88.25
3  Dylan Prideaux               AUS        81.00
4  Tony Iacconi                  AUS        80.25
5  Gordon Harrison            USA        61.50

Jr. Pro Men
Semifinal Round – Heat #2
1  Shota Tezuka                 JPN         97.25
2  Mike Dowdy                   USA        83.25
3  Freddie Wayne              USA        82.00
4  Marc Kroon                    NED        71.00
5  Robby Holihan               USA        66.50

Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round– Heat #1
1  Rusty Malinoski           CAN        75.00
2  Jimmy LaRiche             USA        63.33
3  Aaron Rathy                   CAN        58.33
4  JD Webb                         USA        53.33

Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round– Heat #2
1  Steel Lafferty                 USA        76.67
2  Austin Hair                    USA        66.67
3  Shaun Murray                USA        60.00
4  Kirby Liesmann              USA        51.67

Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round– Heat #3
1  Bob Soven                       USA        73.33
2  Dean Smith                    AUS        61.67
3  Joey Bradley                   USA        48.33
4  Kyle Rattray                   CAN        38.33

Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round– Heat #4
1  Harley Clifford              AUS        80.00
2  Adam Errington            USA        70.00
3  Andrew Adkison           USA        63.33
4  Danny Thollander         USA        40.00

Pro Men
Quarterfinal Round– Heat #5
1  Phillip Soven                  USA        76.67
2  Shane Bonifay               USA        58.33
3  AJ Racinelli                     USA        50.00
4  Shawn Watson              USA        41.67