Alejo Muniz and Kai Otton make the Round 3 cut at 2012 Hurley Pro
Brazil’s Alejo Muniz and Australia’s Kai Otton successfully made it through into the third round at 2012 Hurley Pro, the sixth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after claiming top honours in their
respective Round 2 heats that went down at the iconic Lower Trestles in California, America, on Monday, September 17.
Muniz barely defeated Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia in the 11th heat to make the Round 3 cut, bringing the competition to premature end for his rival in the process.
The 12th heat saw Portugal’s Tiago Pires succumb to Otton despite putting on an impressive fight, consequently getting eliminated from the competition while sending the latter into the next round of the competition.
The three-to-four foot waves breaking at the iconic event site promised to deliver a heavy dose of thrilling action. The crowd gathered at Lowe Trestles anticipated to get treated to a series of enthralling battles between the best surfing talent from around
the globe.
Failing to deliver during their Round 1 heat, both Muniz and Patacchia found themselves standing on the edge in a must-win situation. There was very little room for error, something that both the surfers were aware of.
As the battle got underway, Patacchia got off to an excellent start, earning a 7.67 off his first business-wave. However, Muniz soon snatched the lead away from him with an outstanding 8.50-point ride.
As the heat progressed, the Brazilian surfer added an additional 7.80 points to his account, thus moving to a heat-total of 16.30 points.
Patacchia made a desperate effort on his second business-wave and received an average of 8.23 points from the judges, but the score just was not enough to take him past his rival on the score-board, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
The 12th heat featured yet another nail-biting contest, this one taking place between Otton and Pires.
Both the surfers put on energetic performances, but once the dust settled, it was Otton who stood victorious with a heat-total of 16.50, comprising of a 7.30 and an excellent 9.20-point ride, against his rival’s two-wave total of 16.27 points.
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