Adriano de Souza claims victory in demanding Round 1 heat at Volcom Fiji Pro
Brazil’s Adriano de Souza advanced through into the third round of Volcom Fiji Pro, the fourth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, after walking away with top honours from the fourth heat of Round 1 that went down
at the main venue of Cloudbreak in Tavarua, Fiji, on Sunday, June 3.
Australia’s Bede Durbidge had to settle for a second-place finish, whereas Brazil’s Willian Cardoso rounded out the third place. The second and third place finish resulted in the relegation of both the surfers into the second round, where they were to surf
again in order to earn their place in the third round.
Only the most intense action is expected off the elite tour events and that is exactly what the fans were hoping of getting treated to during Volcom Fiji Pro. The world’s best surfing talent had arrived at Tavarua to resume their campaign for the coveted
event title. There was plenty of motivation for the surfers to push themselves real hard during their battles. The six-to-eight foot waves breaking at the primary event site promised to act as an ideal stage, hosting some of the most thrilling battles between
the ASP Top 34.
The fourth heat pitted De Souza against Durbidge and Cardoso in a three-man battle for the Round 3 stop. The non-elimination nature of the round kept the surfers free of pressure, though there was still strong motivation to do well and build momentum.
As the battle got underway, De Souza got off to a solid start, locking a relatively juicy left-hander to execute a combination of tricks and thus earn a 5.83 for the effort. He went on to add an additional 4.77 to his account in the later stages of the heat,
which took his two-wave total to 10.60 points. The score held up until the end to eventually seal the fate of the deal in his favour.
Durbidge did not have much luck with the waves either, only managing to score a 5.17 and 1.93 off his best-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 7.10 points.
Cardoso struggled even more than his rivals to get hold of a decent wave. The Brazilian powerhouse scored a 2.50 off his first business-wave and backed it up with a 0.43-point ride to finish with a heat-total of 2.93 points. He consequently accompanied Durbidge
into the relegation round, with one final chance of extending his life in the event on hand.
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