Adriano de Souza exhibits threatening form at opening event of 2012 ASP World Tour
Anyone who watched Adriano de Souza’s performance in the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour could easily tell that the Brazilian was going to make a solid impact in the campaign for the World Title next year.
The 25-year-old De Souza had been competing with the best surfers from around the globe in the elite tour for quite some time now and had quite regularly shown his ability to put on spectacular performances at various surfing spots irrespective of the challenge
that was presented by the waves on offer.
Starting his 2012 ASP World Title campaign at Snapper Rocks in Queensland, Australia, last week, the Santa Catarina-based surfer was once again facing the surfing elite, which included the likes of America’s 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater, Australia’s
Taj Burrow, Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson, along with South Africa’s Jordy Smith. With the large number of intimidating talent making up the field in the first stop of the ASP World Tour, De Souza clearly has his work cut out for him.
Pitted against America’s Taylor Knox and Australia’s Kieren Perrow in the first round of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, the Brazilian surfer got off to a ruthless start. He put on a sensation show for the fans in attendance at the primary event site and eventually
walked away with a convincing victory to jump straight into the third round without the hassle of going through the second round.
The American young-gun Kolohe Andino found himself in a man-on-man battle against De Souza in the third round. Despite his age, Andino had proved to be wiser beyond his years and was not someone who could be taken lightly in the waves.
After an intense 30-minute battle, the Brazilian surfer emerged triumphant while eliminating his competitor, an ASP World Tour rookie, from the competition.
Moving into the fourth round of the event, De Souza found himself squaring off with Australia’s Josh Kerr and Owen Wright, both of whom possessed the ability to taken down the best of surfers on their day. Wright in particular had announced himself as a
surfer to watch out for during the previous season after meeting Slater in the final of several events and even managing to defeat the iconic surfer on one of these occasions to walk away with the event title.
De Souza rose to meet the challenge head on in the fourth round and managed to down both the Australians despite the handicap of not being as familiar with the waves at Snapper Rocks as his rivals.
The Brazilian surfer found himself facing the 22-year-old Wright once again in the Quarter-final. Once again the young Australian succumbed to him in the 30-minute battle, allowing him to go through into the Semi-final.
He came across another of his victims in the Semi-final Kerr. The latter had bowed out to him in the fourth round of the event and ended up losing to De Souza once again.
Heading into the Final of Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, De Souza came across the 33-year-old Burrow in the battle for the coveted event-title. The Final went down to the wire with both the finalists putting on a mesmerising show, much to the delight of the
crowd. However, once the dust settled it was Burrow who stood victorious, whereas De Souza had to settle for runner-up place.
Talking to a reporter after the Final, the Brazilian surfer said, “We've met about 10 times now and Taj has won about six times. I had the heat of my life against Taj last year and I would have really liked to have had a win today. What can I say? He belongs
in the top three or four in the world and he has been knocking on the door for pretty much 10 years. I'm sure we'll met again and maybe next time it will be different.”
A second-place finish in the opening event of the 2012 ASP World Tour is a pretty good way to kick-off pursuit of the coveted ASP World Title. The confidence gained at the Snapper Rocks will definitely help De Souza as the season progresses, though he will
have to put in an immense effort to ensure that he keeps the momentum going. It will be interesting to see if he continues his excellent form to the next stop of the elite tour, Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach that will begin in the first week of April.
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