Watch Jon Alexis Jr. take on Stage One of the National Finals

When Jon ‘The Giant’ Alexis Jr. aimed for his third trip to the National Finals, he aimed high. After a fairly early fall in the Minneapolis Qualifiers, he returned for the City Finals with a new confidence. Jon not only completed the extended course, he put up the fastest time of the night. That sent him back to Las Vegas on a very high note.

After all, he had some lofty goals for this season: “If I follow my current trend, I’ll be in Stage Three this year. My expectations are breaking into Stage Three and finishing a City Finals course.”

But to keep going on his trajectory to Stage Three, he had to get through a very difficult Stage one.

Jon started strong on the course. Surviving the Double Dipper was a feat in and of itself that night.

Some worried about how Jon would lodge his 6’6” frame into the Jumping Spider. But don’t forget what he did on the Spider Trap in Minneapolis. He accustomed to locking in.

He probably could have reached across the wheels on Jeep Run, but he opted for a jump. Either way, his pace to this point was fairly incredible.

He landed a little low on the final tire. It almost spun him back into the water and Jon had to pull off a scramble to survive.

After the Warped Wall, Jon eyed the final two obstacles. He did look a little bit nervous,

He ended up taking extra swings on Twist and Fly.

It might have drained his grip, or shaken his concentration. When he transferred to the cargo net, it slipped out of his hands, ending his bid to go all the way to Stage Three in this competition.

As we saw in Minneapolis this season, Jon isn’t one to let a fall set him back. He’ll use it as motivation for his return next season.