Austin Ware and Dimitri Ouvre survive Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro Portugal 2011
The sixth Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event, Quiksilver Pro Portugal 2011, kicked off with the round of 96 (Round 1) at the Ribeira d'Ilhas beach in Ericeira, Portugal, on Tuesday, June 14th.
World class surfers from all around the globe converged at the primary event site to qualify for or solidify their position in the ASP World Tour.
The surfing conditions on the first day of the event turned out to be pretty decent, with three-to-four foot waves and hardly any bothersome winds. While the tides were not ideal, they had enough juice in them to promise an exciting surfing session.
The competition kicked off with the first heat pitting the former ASP World Champion from America, CJ Hobgood, against his compatriot Austin Ware, Barbados’s Dimitri Ouvre and Australia’s Blake Thornton.
Though Hobgood was the favourite to win the heat after taking his recent performance in Brazil into account, it was actually Ware who managed to shine the most during the heat. The 27-year-old American locked a wave to earn an amazing 8.00 points off it
and soon followed it up with a 6.63-point wave to finish the heat with a two-wave total of 14.63 points. The score remained unbeatable and consequently carried him off to victory, reserving a spot for him in the second round.
The event wildcard, Ouvre, managed to qualify for the next round as well after scoring 4.83 points off his first wave and 6.90 points off his second to finish with a heat-total of 11.73 points. The 19-year-old was quite ecstatic over surviving the first
round even though he was up against an intimidating competition.
Ouvre said to a reporter after the heat, “It is a dream for me to be in a heat with C.J. (Hobgood) and all the other goofy footers. I want to thank Quiksilver for the wildcard into this contest because it is important for my surfing and for my ranking next
year.”
Thornton rounded out the third place with a heat-total of 11.20 points, while Hobgood finished in fourth place due to a disappointing performance. He opened his account with a promising 6.17-point wave in the early stages of the heat, but was unable to follow
it up with another good score. The best he could manage was a 5.00, which brought him to a two-wave total score of 11.17. Both Thornton and Hobgood were forced out of the event title race.
For more updates on Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro Portugal 2011, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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