Zegg Xwpop 2 was the first season of biathlon spinoff of Olympic Forward, the original unlicensed Chinese adaptation of Sasuke. Filming took place at Yuehu Park (月湖公园) in Changsha, Hunan China, filmed directly on the iconic crescent shaped Moon Lake.
In order to set itself apart from the dozens of SASUKE copycat programs that had popped up since 2008, production created the first biathlon obstacle course, officially called the "1+1" format. In each Stage, competitors would be required to complete half of the obstacles in the traditional SASUKE, and the other half on a bicycle, based on Sasuke's sister event Super Rider.
The local title of the series is 幸福向前冲 (Xìngfú Xiàn Qiánchōng, lit. Happiness Forward). While nearly every Chinese adaptation has an official English title in the opening, the only English text on the titlecard is a backdrop that says "ZEGG XWPOP" positioned behind the show's mascot. It is believed that this was likely placeholder text in the CG render that was never removed prior to broadcast. This is further backed up by other issues in the same render, such as incorrectly spelling winner as "WINER". Despite likely being a production error, Zegg Xwpop has been accepted as the title of the series. The most common pronunciation for Xwpop is "Skwuh-pop".
While Zegg Xwpop 2 originally aired in 2013, strict region-locking meant the series was never available outside of China and never rebroadcast. Within China, the weak timeslot of noon lead to lower viewership, and its abrupt cancellation after only 6 weeks on air. Heavy competition between other shows, including one with the identical Chinese name airing at the same timeframe, lead to additional confusion. As of 2025, the only known mention outside of delisted videos is a single archived news article, solidifying its obscurity. Due to all of the above factors, Zegg Xwpop 2 went completely unknown until July 2025, when the entire tournament was unintentionally located on the Deep Web during efforts to locate the officially licensed series Pair VIKING China 1
Broadcast[]
Despite being marked as "2", this was the first season using a Ninja Warrior format. The previous installment featured only a short cycling track based on the Water Biking event seen in TBS' other series DOORS and Dekita. To make matters more confusing, the first episode of Zegg Xwpop 2 was a compilation of unaired runs from Zegg Xwpop 1, retaining all additional branding other than a "2" plastered onto the logo. Starting in the 2nd episode, the show was fully rebranded with a brand new title card, introduction, graphics, and format. It is unclear if this was done due to production delays or other factors, but as a result the episodes of the tournament Zegg Xwpop 2 are marked as #2 thru #19.
The first 12 episodes were aired every Saturday and Sunday at noon, with the final 6 episodes being aired on seven consecutive days between October 1st and 7th, 2013 before the series abruptly ended with no announcement other than a small ceremony to crown the overall winner at the end of the final episode.
Course[]
Obstacles[]
Bicycle Blue Zone
① Block Run
② Kōsoku Slider
Freerunning Zone
③ Roller Town (Gǔntǒng Zhèn)
④ Lollipops (Bàng Bàng Táng)
⑤ Pole Jump (Chāojí Zhǎng Detiào)
⑥ Dragon Flowers
Bicycle Yellow Zone
⑦ Broken Piano
⑧ Ipponbashi
Time Limit: 100 seconds
The following revisions were made during the series
- Differences between runs:
- Broken Piano had two variants, one with 3 large keys and one with 4 smaller keys
- The 2nd bamboo in Lollipops was slightly shortened for only some competitors. The reason why is unknown. In episodes 18 and 19, some competitors encounter a significantly shorter version.
- One some episodes dismount of Kosoku Slider was changed so that the 2nd floating platform was 3 small platforms tied together. In some cases all four are separate
- A fixed platform after Kosoku Slider and a 4 barrel Roller Town are shown in digests, but never in full runs
- Beginning in episode 12:
- Constant water jets are pointed at Dragon Flowers
- Beginning in episode 14:
- Broken Piano received a significant redesign to feature keys that are substantially taller and far less stable.
- Ipponbashi changed from a flat Ipponbashi similar to that seen in Super Rider IV, to the Uphill Ipponbashi seen in Super Rider V2. The redesigned version additionally had flowing water running down it, making the surface extremely slick
Results[]
| Number | Name (Age) | Profile | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | ??? Attempts | ??? Clears |
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