Brett Simpson and Owen Wright advance to Round 4 of Billabong Pro Tahiti – 2011 ASP World Tour
Brett Simpson and Owen wright walked away winners at the fifth stop of Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Billabong Pro Tahiti, which continued to deliver exciting surfing action to fans with the ninth and tenth heat of Round 3 on Sunday,
August 28, at Teahupo’o in Taiarapu, Tahiti.
Brett Simpson came up with an exceptional performance in the ninth heat to take down his compatriot, Damien Hobgood. The victory allowed him to advance to Round 4 while bringing the competition to a premature end for his opponent.
The tenth heat saw Australia’s Owen Wright prevail over America’s Taylor Knox with utmost ease to secure his place in the next round, eliminating his rival from the event-title race in the process.
As the ninth heat kicked off in eight-to-ten foot waves, the battle between Simpson and Hobgood promised to be a thrilling one. Both the Americans looked in control since the very first minute and their hunt for good scores was indeed a treat to watch.
The 26-year-old Simpson caught his first business-wave quite late in the heat but ended up scoring 7.93 points off it. He immediately followed it up with an outstanding combination of tricks on the next wave to add an additional 9.33 points to his account,
eventually finishing with a heat-total of 17.26 points.
Hobgood had no intention of succumbing to the brilliant performance by his rival and put up quite a remarkable fight to try and get past him on the scoreboard. His first business-wave earned him an 8.60, keeping him alive in the battle. However, he was unable
to get the necessary score off his second wave and ended up finishing with a heat-total of 16.70 points. The 0.56-point deficit forced him to surrender victory to Simpson.
While the ninth heat featured a battle that remained intense till the very last minute, the tenth heat turned out to be completely one-sided affair, with the 21-year old Wright stealing the spotlight from the very first minute and dominating his opponent,
Knox.
As the heat kicked off, Wright opened up his account with a 7.00 point wave to take the lead and instantly put his rival under pressure. Not quite done yet, he soon pulled off an exquisite stunt while riding a mammoth-sized barrel to put the crowd and judges
in awe. The outstanding manoeuvre earned him a near-perfect 9.80, moving him to a heat-total of 16.80 points.
Despite his experience and skills, Knox failed to adjust to the huge swell and ended up completely succumbing to the conditions. Chasing his rival’s intimidating two-wave total, he was only able to respond with a 4.00 and 1.00-point wave, consequently awarding
Wright an easy win. The disappointing performance also marked the end of the latest elite tour event for Knox.
For more updates on Round 3 of Billabong Pro Tahiti, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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