Some really big names did not make it to the 12 man finals. Messing up during a run got scored very low so to make it to the finals you had to stay on your bike and show some great (new-original) riding. 
The level was so high that the following people did not make it, either by crashing out or playing it safe: Chris Doyle, Corey Nastazio, Ryan Guettler, TJ Lavin, and Morgan Wade. Those who did make it to the finals were: James Foster (qualified in first), Cam White, Luke Parslow, Ryan Nyquist, Corey Bohan, Fuzzy, Dennis Enarson, Dave Dillewaard, TJ Ellis, Mikey "Utah WIldcard" Aitken, Stevie McCann, Colin MacKay and Joey Marks. If you go over the names you notice that half of them are Australian. One of them being half Dutch (Alles goed Dave?). 
The finals were a wild one. James Foster whipped his way into first place. A little more variety in his runs wouldn't have hurt but the judges liked it and gave him his first Dew Tour win. He has triple tailwhips on lockdown now which is insane and so was his windshield wiper on the last set. Cameron White had the trick of the comp with a barspin flipwhip over the first set. 
Just try to imagine that one. You start to go upside down, spin the bars, grab them, kick the frame around while you're still upside down and find the pedals before you complete the vertical spin. Seriously nuts and it shows that there is still room for progression. A well deserved third place went to Mikey Aitken. Yup he rode brakeless but if you have so much bike control you don't even miss the brake. Mikey goes 3 feet higher than everyone else, has more flow than a lot of people out there and is not afraid to mix it up in tricks and even makes a nacnac seatgrab look sweet. 8 grand for a night's riding put a smile on his face.BdJ
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.