Power Rankings: SMX Playoffs 450 Title Contenders

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We have reached the Monster Energy SMX World Championship Playoffs! It feels like yesterday we were inside Angel Stadium for Anaheim 1, and the juices of a new season were flowing. Twenty-eight or so weekends later, we have reached the final three rounds of the 2026 SuperMotocross season.

This is the fourth year of the Playoffs, and while we can all agree that there is room for improvement, I’m not as negative about it as some. Sure, it isn’t the Supercross or Pro Motocross Championships. It’s not supposed to be. And no, it doesn’t rival stick and ball sports Playoffs. Right now, it’s more like the Pro Bowl than the Super Bowl.

But… these things take time. A lot of time. Finding the right formula, the right stadiums, the right points structure is a tough balance. Through three seasons, I’ve enjoyed it. The racing has been good, riders are getting paid, and hey, we get to watch more racing.

As I do at the start of every new championship, I rank MY 450 title contenders. Sure, there might be other Power Rankings out there, but this is the only list that matters.

5: Cooper Webb

Yes, I’m starting at five and making you scroll to the bottom to see #1. I think I wrote this other places, but I shall write it once more: I don’t like Webb for this title. Yes, he enters third in points, but with an upcoming team/bike switch and prep for the Motocross of Nations, I don’t see him being that interested in this championship. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he’ll win the title and he can say post-championship “Slaw was my motivation.” And I would be happy. But I typically bat 1000 on this stuff, so…

4: Jorge Prado

While he’s been much better this Supercross season and has made massive strides, I don’t think he’s improved enough to win the championship. It certainly helps that he enters second in points, just three behind Hunter Lawrence, but with points increasing every round, he’ll need to win–and win a lot. Something he’s yet to do in Supercross. If he continues to improve at his current rate, we might be signing a different tune come 2027.

3: Ken Roczen

Things going for Ken Roczen: He’s insanely talented on a dirt bike. He’s coming off his first Supercross title. He’s well rested and healthy.

Things going against Ken Roczen: He hasn’t raced since the Salt Lake City finale in May. He enters with only 12 points to Hunter’s 25.

I am a firm believer in gate drops. I think riders need to race to perform at their peak. With such a long layoff and a points hole to climb out of, I don’t foresee Kenny pulling this off. Again, he could and he might shame me on the interweb after he does, saying he posted this article in his motorhome and stared at it every race to get motivated and I will be happy. But, I have to stay true to my six loyal readers and speak the truth.

2: Haiden Deegan

Since he raced 250SX and those points don’t count toward his 450SMX total, Deegan enters with 15 points. Like Kenny, when you are going against a rider like Hunter Lawrence, that’s not good. I know we’ve seen Deegan on a 450 in WSX and Pro Motocross, but I think we are all curious to see how he fares in a Supercross environment in SMX. Could he pull this off? Sure, and he can go on his highly popular YouTube channel and say how much this article motivated him…