Adriano de Souza clinches victory in Round 4 to enter Volcom Fiji Pro quarter-finals
Brazil’s Adriano de Souza walked away with top honours from the fourth heat of Volcom Fiji Pro’s Round 4 that went down at the secondary event site of Restaurants in Tavarua, Fiji, on Saturday, June 9.
America’s CJ Hobgood finished in second place, while Australia’s Julian Wilson had to settle for a bottom-place finish.
With a successful result in Round 4, De Souza advanced through directly into the quarter-finals, whereas Hobgood and Wilson were forced to take a trip into the relegation Round 5, having to surf another heat in order to earn their place in the next stage
of the competition.
The fourth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour saw its first two rounds completed at the main venue of Cloudbreak, with the last two heats of Round 2 taking place in mammoth-sized barrels on offer at
the open ocean reef pass. However, the event organisers moved shifted the action to the secondary event site of Restaurants, where draining four-to-six foot waves were on offer, promising plenty of thrilling action as the world’s best surfers continued to
take each other on in what were turning out to be intense heats. The huge crowd in attendance got treated to a series of memorable performances and exquisite tricks as the surfers held nothing back during their bouts.
The fourth heat of Round 4 saw De Souza square-off with Hobgood and Wilson in a three-man battle for the quarter-final spot.
As the battle got underway, De Souza got off to a solid start, launching towards a massive wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post a 6.40 on the score-board. He immediately followed it up with an impressive 7.00-point ride to reach a heat-total of
13.40 points.
High on confidence after beating South African powerhouse Jordy Smith to reach Round 4, Hobgood put up a determined fight to challenge his Brazilian rival. However, he eventually had to settle for a heat-total of 12.80 points after collecting a couple of
scores in the six-point range.
Wilson, 2011 ASP World Rookie of the Year, found himself faltering in the latest heat. Scoring a 5.50 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 4.90-point ride, the Australian sensation finished with a heat-total of 10.40 points, consequently
having to settle for a third-place finish.
Both Hobgood and Wilson got relegated to the fifth round to have another shot at earning their place into the next round.
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