Adam Melling and Damien Hobgood win the last two heats of Saquarema Pro International’s round of 48
Saquarema Pro International’s round of 48 continued with the 11th and 12th heat on Saturday morning, May 28th, at the beach-break of Itauna in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Australia’s Adam Melling clinched the top position in
the first one, while America’s Damien Hobgood emerged triumphant in the latter.
The conditions on Saturday presented the surfers with a tough challenge. While there were six-foot waves breaking at the beach, they were accompanied by a stormy weather that made it difficult for the surfers to catch those waves and utilise them properly.
Even under the testing conditions, Melling managed to hold his own and come up with an impressive performance in the 11th heat. While he managed to catch only three waves, he made two of them really count, earning a 7.50 off the first one and
following it up with a 5.60. The heat total of 13.10 secured his status as the winner as the heat concluded.
South Africa’s Royden Bryson also got off to a convincing start, locking a wave to get 7.37 off it. However, he failed to produce another beauty and instead came up with a 3.83 wave as his second best. He finished in second place, safe from the elimination
list for now.
America’s Nathaniel Curran and Mason Ho, however, failed to save themselves from getting eliminated. Curran ended the heat with a total score of 8.34 to take third place, while Ho finished at the bottom with a heat total of 8.10.
In the final heat of the round of 48, America’s Hobgood kicked off with an excellent wave, scoring a 7.67 off it to instantly take the lead. A few moments later, he locked another wave to throw down a combination of tricks to earn his 6.10. The total score
of 13.77 remained unbeatable till the end, eventually securing his status as the winner.
Australia’s Josh Kerr put up a fight to keep his American rival from walking away a winner, but the effort proved to be futile. Scoring a 5.33 off his very first wave, Kerr kept on searching for another big score. However, the best he could manage was a
6.23, ending up 2.22 short of the score needed to dismiss Hobgood from the top position. He did, however, qualify for the next round for finishing in second place.
Brazil’s Charlie Brown let the local crowd down by finishing in third place after only managing to earn a total score of 10.93. Australia’s Dion Atkinson did not do anything better, finishing at the bottom with 10.83. The third and fourth position marked
the end of the Saquarema Pro International for the two surfers.
With the conclusion of the 12 heat, the round of 48 reached its end. The event will continue with the 24 surfers, who managed to survive the round of 48, compete in the round of 24 to advance to the next stage of the event.
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