Giant skeeball contraption on Q2 Stadium pitch = life's dream realized, as All-Star Skills Challenge comes to Austin
The MLS All-Stars won the 2025 All-Star Skills Challenge, but Austin fans also won in getting to see the spectacle in their home stadium.
During interminable City Council meetings in 2018, when the future of a soccer team in Austin hung in the balance, one of the things that sustained me was the thought of — once a team got here and a stadium got built, of course — seeing an All-Star Game come to Austin and have the league's attention turn to our fair city for one night.
Two nights, of course, if you count the mayhem of the All-Star Skills Challenge (introduced in 2018, and staged two weeks before the franchise-enabling City Council vote) — and two leagues, with not-yet-foreseen inclusion of Liga MX into the festivities, making the hosting of the annual event even more enticing.
So, on Tuesday night, my heart sang as I walked into the stadium and saw all the video game-styled contraptions on a familiar field. The shooting challenge targets at the North End goal. The weird light-up passing targets sponsored by Bounty. The living room lounge in the center circle, daring the players to be the first one to sit on a plush white couch in front of thousands. And, of course, the giant skeeball apparatus in the spot where Man of the Match gets awarded after every Verde home win.
As far as nuts-and-bolts events coverage goes, Skills Challenge is like Quidditch — yes, we're going Harry Potter here — and using that metaphor, the Crossbar Challenge is like the Golden Snitch. What happens before, and whatever points are accumulated, are fun but an ultimately meaningless prelude to the two teams locked in on one quest.
In that, the hero of the hour was Yohei Takoaka, shooting right after Brad Stuver from 36 yards out, to help beat a Liga MX who seemed to contend at one point that one of their attempts from the 18 was incorrectly not credited.
"He's got some of the best technique, honestly," said Whitecaps and All-Star teammate (and former Austin FC loanee) Sebastian Berhalter after the match. "He hits side volleys better than anyone on our team."
But we also got:
Verdisimo as the most human and most cheered of all the mascots, of a group that also included the Union's inimitable Phang, the roundly-booed Dynamo Diesel, Charlotte's perplexing yet regal Sir Minty, and an Old Spice mascot that appeared to be an anthropomorphic deodorant stick;
YouTube sensation IShowSpeed being included as the opening act of the shooting challenge and finishing on a very streaky 25 points (but better than Liga MX's first entrant, and equal to Diego Luna);
Vince Young and his son throwing footballs into the giant skeeball machine;
Brad Stuver getting three saves and only letting one ball through in the cross & volley challenge;
Clint Dempsey doing better than Sebastian Berhalter in the passing challenge (though Evander bested them both); and
A surprise Speedbump appearance — and, of course, they put Speed together with Speedbump, because why would you not take advantage of that.
'I'm so proud of Austin'
Stuver, who said he prepped for the crossbar challenge in a session with Julio Cascante, going one for eight in what sounds like not much prep at all, was thrilled to see Austin fans show out as well as they did, largely filling the sections of the stadium that were open, including the lower bowl (minus the South End) and the second deck of the East stands.
"The amount of people that came out tonight was great," Stuver said. "With a skills challenge, it's a little difficult because it's not a real game, and it's just kind of segmented. So to have that many people in the stadium, I'm so proud of Austin has been showing up to all the events. They've been showing out, showing what Austin is all about — the culture, the fan base, everything. So to have them out tonight, it was fantastic. And I'm assuming it's going to be a sold out crowd tomorrow."
Brad Stuver was thrilled to see so many come out on Tuesday (Alex Rubio)
It might be a disappointed crowd if they're there to see Lionel Messi. For the second straight day, he was conspicuously absent from training, Inter Miami teammate/sidekick Jordi Alba was a late scratch from the Skills Challenge competition.
ESPN and Men In Blazers' Herculez Gomez reported that Messi should be traveling to Austin today but that his status is still shrouded in mystery, whereas his Liga MX counterpart Sergio Ramos indicated that he'll show up for the big event Wednesday after that was also in limbo.
There were reports that Sergio Ramos wanted more money to attend the MLS vs. Liga MX All-Star Game.
Looks like Liga MX/Rayados met his price!
According to other reports, Messi will travel to Austin tomorrow, but have not seen anything about his playing availability.
For others, though — including those who didn't grow up with all-star games — the Skills Challenge provided an opportunity for fun and fellowship for players bought in.
"As a European player, you don't try events like this often," said San Diego FC standout Andres Dreyer, echoing a Bluesky post from writer John Muller — one of the panelists from our Monday Night Live event — commenting on the brash and unabashed spectactle of an all-star event, perhaps epitomized by Goalie Wars, as only American sports can deliver.
"The shooting one was more fun, because I wasn't expecting to break the record and do so well with it," said FC Cincinnati's Evander, who followed Monterrey's Sergio Canales' record-trying 64 points in the target-hitting contest by besting all before him with a 72. "I think, in general, everything was fun ... even more happy because we won tonight."
"It's a good thing, because we win together and we play for the first time together too," said LAFC's Denis Bouanga of the experience. "The Skills Challenge, for me, is the best enjoyment of the four days."
Though the event was about cultivating camaderie among players who are usually rivals, Bouanga confirmed that his son was responsible for feeding one rivalry — playing EA Sports FC as LAFC, getting a 10-0 lead on Vancouver (largely due to digital Bouanga), and doing so where the Whitecaps' Brian White got to see it arriving at training.
"He told me that this morning," Bouanga confirmed. "Last year we played maybe eight to nine times against Vancouver, and I scored a lot against Vancouver. But I don't know why he takes LAFC against Vancouver."
Oh, I think we know why.
Coverage plans for tonight (and beyond)
To dip in with a quick programming note, expect a story tomorrow wrapping up both MLS Commissioner Don Garber's annual State of the League address (happening at 6:30 pm in a press conference room that's going to be absurdly full) and the All-Star Game itself.
Also, on the other side of All-Star, our plan is to release some bonus content drawing from the Monday Night Live event we did at Hopsquad, which wouldn't have been possible without Hopsquad's willingness to open its doors on Monday night, and OtraXFavor and We Are Austin TV's involvement in handling all the hard parts and enabling us to just sit and talk to some outstanding guests.
Also, keep an ear out for the Soccerwise feed, which will have a segment (following a fun Dani Pereira interview they did) featuring all the local podcasters in the Verde Best Ball league, where you can hear me getting booed for admitting to having drafted a Dynamo player earlier in the year.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
As we reach this key juncture of the season, we look at the games remaining and the players who might be coming in and out during the summer transfer window
During interminable City Council meetings in 2018, when the future of a soccer team in Austin hung in the balance, one of the things that sustained me was the thought of — once a team got here and a stadium got built, of course — seeing an All-Star Game come to Austin and have the league's attention turn to our fair city for one night.
Two nights, of course, if you count the mayhem of the All-Star Skills Challenge (introduced in 2018, and staged two weeks before the franchise-enabling City Council vote) — and two leagues, with not-yet-foreseen inclusion of Liga MX into the festivities, making the hosting of the annual event even more enticing.
So, on Tuesday night, my heart sang as I walked into the stadium and saw all the video game-styled contraptions on a familiar field. The shooting challenge targets at the North End goal. The weird light-up passing targets sponsored by Bounty. The living room lounge in the center circle, daring the players to be the first one to sit on a plush white couch in front of thousands. And, of course, the giant skeeball apparatus in the spot where Man of the Match gets awarded after every Verde home win.
As far as nuts-and-bolts events coverage goes, Skills Challenge is like Quidditch — yes, we're going Harry Potter here — and using that metaphor, the Crossbar Challenge is like the Golden Snitch. What happens before, and whatever points are accumulated, are fun but an ultimately meaningless prelude to the two teams locked in on one quest.
In that, the hero of the hour was Yohei Takoaka, shooting right after Brad Stuver from 36 yards out, to help beat a Liga MX who seemed to contend at one point that one of their attempts from the 18 was incorrectly not credited.
"He's got some of the best technique, honestly," said Whitecaps and All-Star teammate (and former Austin FC loanee) Sebastian Berhalter after the match. "He hits side volleys better than anyone on our team."
But we also got:
'I'm so proud of Austin'
Stuver, who said he prepped for the crossbar challenge in a session with Julio Cascante, going one for eight in what sounds like not much prep at all, was thrilled to see Austin fans show out as well as they did, largely filling the sections of the stadium that were open, including the lower bowl (minus the South End) and the second deck of the East stands.
"The amount of people that came out tonight was great," Stuver said. "With a skills challenge, it's a little difficult because it's not a real game, and it's just kind of segmented. So to have that many people in the stadium, I'm so proud of Austin has been showing up to all the events. They've been showing out, showing what Austin is all about — the culture, the fan base, everything. So to have them out tonight, it was fantastic. And I'm assuming it's going to be a sold out crowd tomorrow."
It might be a disappointed crowd if they're there to see Lionel Messi. For the second straight day, he was conspicuously absent from training, Inter Miami teammate/sidekick Jordi Alba was a late scratch from the Skills Challenge competition.
ESPN and Men In Blazers' Herculez Gomez reported that Messi should be traveling to Austin today but that his status is still shrouded in mystery, whereas his Liga MX counterpart Sergio Ramos indicated that he'll show up for the big event Wednesday after that was also in limbo.
For others, though — including those who didn't grow up with all-star games — the Skills Challenge provided an opportunity for fun and fellowship for players bought in.
"As a European player, you don't try events like this often," said San Diego FC standout Andres Dreyer, echoing a Bluesky post from writer John Muller — one of the panelists from our Monday Night Live event — commenting on the brash and unabashed spectactle of an all-star event, perhaps epitomized by Goalie Wars, as only American sports can deliver.
"The shooting one was more fun, because I wasn't expecting to break the record and do so well with it," said FC Cincinnati's Evander, who followed Monterrey's Sergio Canales' record-trying 64 points in the target-hitting contest by besting all before him with a 72. "I think, in general, everything was fun ... even more happy because we won tonight."
"It's a good thing, because we win together and we play for the first time together too," said LAFC's Denis Bouanga of the experience. "The Skills Challenge, for me, is the best enjoyment of the four days."
Though the event was about cultivating camaderie among players who are usually rivals, Bouanga confirmed that his son was responsible for feeding one rivalry — playing EA Sports FC as LAFC, getting a 10-0 lead on Vancouver (largely due to digital Bouanga), and doing so where the Whitecaps' Brian White got to see it arriving at training.
"He told me that this morning," Bouanga confirmed. "Last year we played maybe eight to nine times against Vancouver, and I scored a lot against Vancouver. But I don't know why he takes LAFC against Vancouver."
Oh, I think we know why.
Coverage plans for tonight (and beyond)
To dip in with a quick programming note, expect a story tomorrow wrapping up both MLS Commissioner Don Garber's annual State of the League address (happening at 6:30 pm in a press conference room that's going to be absurdly full) and the All-Star Game itself.
Also, on the other side of All-Star, our plan is to release some bonus content drawing from the Monday Night Live event we did at Hopsquad, which wouldn't have been possible without Hopsquad's willingness to open its doors on Monday night, and OtraXFavor and We Are Austin TV's involvement in handling all the hard parts and enabling us to just sit and talk to some outstanding guests.
Also, keep an ear out for the Soccerwise feed, which will have a segment (following a fun Dani Pereira interview they did) featuring all the local podcasters in the Verde Best Ball league, where you can hear me getting booed for admitting to having drafted a Dynamo player earlier in the year.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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