Arashi Kato and Jun Shiiba claim victory in Round 2 at Murasaki Quiksilver Jeju Open of Surfing
Japan’s Arashi Kato and his fellow countryperson Jun Shiiba advance to the quarter-finals at the inaugural Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 2-Star Murasaki Quiksilver Jeju Open of Surfing after claiming top honours in their respective Round 2 (Round
of 16) heats at Jungmun Beach in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, on Saturday, June 16.
The first heat further added Australia’s Nathan Hedge to the quarter-finals line-up after he secured runner-up place. Japan’s Nobuyuki and Rikiya Kitada finished in third and fourth place respectively, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
The second heat saw Japan’s Kento Takahashi finish in runner-up place to accompany Shiiba into the next stage of the competition. Their compatriot Takumi Nakamura finished in third place, while Japan’s Yujiro Tsuji rounded out the bottom-position.
Setting its foot on the Korean soil for the first time ever, there was no doubt about ASP’s intention to promote the sport in the region and give it a more solid structure. The latest addition to the ASP roster attracted some of the most promising up-and-coming
surfers from around the globe, putting them in two-foot waves to compete for the US$5, 000 prize money and 500 ASP ranking points on offer.
The first heat saw Kato take on Hedge, Osawa and Kitada in a four-man battle for the quarter-final stage.
As the battle got underway, Kato got down to business right away. He locked his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post a 5.50 on the score-board and went on to back it up with a 6.50-point ride to finish with a heat-total of 12.00
points.
Hedge successfully extended his life in the event as well, scoring a 4.50 and 7.00 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 11.50 points.
Osawa and Kitada were forced to make a premature exit from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 11.00 and 7.70 points respectively.
The second heat saw Shiiba walk away with the win after locking his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat to earn a 4.70 off it and adding another 6.00 points to his account in the dying minutes of the four-man battle to reach a heat-total
of 10.70 points.
Takahashi collected a couple of scores in the five-point range to finish with a heat-total of 10.60 points. The effort proved sufficient to earn him runner-up place, consequently carrying him through into the next round.
Nakamura finished in third place with a heat-total of 9.10 points, while Tsuji had to settle for a fourth place after getting an interference call and eventually finishing with a heat-total of 8.55 points.
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