The last class to hit the stage was the open men's bodybuilding and with names like "Marvelous" and the 
"X-Man" in the mix, this was a first rate show. In first place, Melvin Anthony delivered today and made the most of his amazing structure. He finally got his glutes dialed in and it was the perfect complement to his tiny waist and marvelous symmetry. Always the great performer, Melvin flawlessly displayed his physique and made the most of each pose. As he exited the stage after pre-judging he looked to Shawn Ray in the crowd and yelled: "How's that for a 40 year old?" Melvin knew he was on and had the swagger of a champion all day.
Second place went to Hidetada Yamagishi and had he nailed his condition in the pre-judging as he had at night, he might have been first. Dry, separated, and just peeled all over, Hide peaked for the night show, but earlier in the day he seemed to be holding just a touch of water. With his short stature, he would 
have had to be 100% to beat the likes of a Melvin Anthony.
A surprising third went to pre-show favorite Toney Freeman. Simply put, Toney was at about 90% of his best and in the IFBB that doesn't always get you a victory. His enormous X-frame was there and impressive as ever, but he just wasn't in the condition necessary to win. With two weeks till the Arnold, Toney has some 
work to do if he is going to get the placing he wants and is capable of.
Fourth place was taken by the dark horse of the show, Grigori Atoyan. It was the best he's ever been and you've to respect this guy's dedication to improvement. After years of fighting for his pro-card, he's wasted no time in cracking the IFBB top-5. If he keeps on doing what he's doing, this guy is going to be on the Olympia stage soon enough.
In what could be called a disappointed, hometown favorite Troy Alves slid to fifth place in this tough lineup. Troy was in shape and his classic physique has the lines and shape to kill for, but there was just something missing today. Troy missed his peak and in doing so missed out on the victory he was after. We didn't hear exactly what happened, but if you followed along with Troy's pics on the RX Muscle Forums leading up the show, you'll know that he's been peeled for weeks. Perhaps he just finally started to fade after such a long time of being in great shape. Regardless, Troy is a real professional and he'll be back and improved.
A few other notable performances from the open men: Frenchman Lionel Beyeke grabbed sixth place with a well conditioned and well balanced physique. With 10 more pounds of muscle this guy is a real threat. The "WTF" of the night goes out to Mike Liberatore who unquestionably deserved to be in the top 10 (he finished 14th). Mike took his rookie lumps today, but with ripped glutes, cross striated quads, and crazy arms and shoulders, Mike deserved better. Lastly, we were surprised to see Moe Bannout fall to 10th place. He had grainy condition and the hardest glutes and hams in the show. If he can add a little more thickness in his back it will balance out his legs and move up to the placing he is after.
The Men's Under 202 class was the only class that lacked depth, but luckily one man by the name of Roc Shabazz showed up to be worthy of a pro victory. After taking 2009 off, Roc brought his A-game and dominated the class from the minute he stepped on stage. Look for this guy to keep improving throughout the year and collect some more checks in the process. Ahmad Ahmad took second with a nicely balanced physique but his condition was not 100%. In third place was Bola Ojex.
MEN'S FULL RESULTS AND PHOTO GALLERIES
Another show is over and another season has begun. As always, Rx Muscle was there from beginning to end providing you with most in depth coverage before, during, and after the show. This year we are only going to get better and the quality of our coverage will improve with every show. In less than two weeks will be in Columbus, Ohio for the ARNOLD CLASSIC and you won't want to miss the in-depth and unique coverage you can only get at RXMUSCLE.COM!
