CJ Hobgood defeats Nathan Yeomans in Billabong Azores Islands Pro Final – ASP Prime Event
After delivering a series of thrilling battles over the course of three days, the Billabong Azores Islands Pro came down to the Final, which saw USA’s CJ Hobgood compete with his compatriot, Nathan Yeomans, for the coveted event title at Praia de Santa Barbara
in Sao Miguel, Portugal, on Saturday, October 1.
As expected, the encounter turned out to be nothing short of electrifying, with both surfers fighting tooth and nail for the win until the very last minute. However, it was Hobgood who eventually emerged triumphant, collecting his first Association of Surfing
Professionals (ASP) Prime event victory of the season.
The 32-year-old Hobgood had turned up at the Praia de Santa Barbara in outstanding form and came up with consistent performances to make his way through the early rounds to reach the Finals without as much as a scratch.
Yeomans, on the other hand, had not been anything short of impressive at Billabong Azores Islands Pro so far either. There had been some small hiccups in his performances but he managed to work out the kinks in his form as the competition progressed and
eventually announced himself as one of the strongest threat for the event title.
As the Final battle kicked off, both the surfers stayed pretty much at par with each other in terms of vigour, before the 30-year-old Yeomans decided to raise the intensity by making a charge. Almost half-way through the heat, he utilised a wave to post
7.00 points on the score-board and take the lead. However, the joy turned out to be short-lived for the San Clemente-based surfer as his rival, Hobgood, responded with a huge front-side air to collect 9.03 points for the effort, keeping the battle for the
event title very much alive.
The last five minutes of the heat featured a heated hunt as both the surfers looked to perform a coup de grace with a big score. The contest came down to the last minute, with Yeomans locking a wave to score 8.33 points off it and moving to a heat-total
of 15.33 points. Hobgood found himself requiring another solid score off his final wave, which he successfully got with a spectacular combination of massive fins-free snap and carve. The final wave earned him an 8.50, taking him to a winning heat-total of
17.53 points.
During his post-Final interview, an ecstatic Hobgood said, “It was an amazing last five minutes. The first 30 minutes I was in melt down mode and Yeomans was getting all the waves and I couldn't get more than a 3. I kept putting my head down and the conditions
are so testing just mentally and physically not knowing which is a good wave or a bad wave. I kept trying and didn't give up and the next thing I knew I was in the lead and the heat was over.”
There could not have been a more epic finish to what was truly an electrifying encounter between two extremely exciting surfers. With the conclusion of the intense battle, the ninth ASP Prime event of the year has now officially wrapped up.
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