Cory Lopez and Jordy Smith triumph in Round of Mr. Price Pro Ballito
The 11th and 12th heat of Mr. Price Pro Ballito’s round of 96 (Round 1) went down at the Surfers Beach in Ballito, South Africa, on Monday, July 4th.
America’s Cory Lopez shone the brightest during the 11th heat to confirm his place in the next round, while Hawaii’s Sebastien Zietz managed to avoid elimination as well by clinching second position. Brazil’s Jeronimo Vargas and Hawaii’s Fredrick
Patacchia rounded out the bottom-two positions and were eliminated from the competition as a result.
In the 12th heat, South Africa’s Jordy Smith took the top honours, while his compatriot finished as runner-up to advance to the next round. Brazil’s Thiago Camarao and Hawaii’s Tonino Benson were ejected from the event after finishing in third
and fourth place respectively.
The 11 heat saw Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World No.37, Lopez, send the crowd and judges in awe with his backhand barrel riding skills on a huge wave. He dropped straight into a four-second barrel to earn a perfect 10 for the sensational
manoeuvre. He followed up his outstanding first wave with a 4.97-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 14.97 points. The score carried him off to victory.
Talking to the media about the wave that earned him the decisive perfect 10, Lopez said, “I was lucky to get that wave. It was big and gnarly, the first part was nice and open but then it got all foamy and I couldn’t see in front of me. I just closed my
eyes, held my rail and came out!”
Zietz put up a commendable fight to try and displace the American from the top position, but the effort eventually turned out to be futile. He did manage to clinch second position with a 5.83 and 7.23 off his two best waves.
Vargas made a charge in the final minutes of the heat, earning a 7.37 off a wave to come back into the fight. However, he was forced to settle for third place after only adding an additional 3.93 points of his account. Patacchia joined him in the elimination
list after finishing with a heat total of 6.86 points.
The next heat saw the defending champion and ASP World No.5, Smith, successfully making it to the top in deteriorating afternoon conditions. Scoring a 5.83 off his first wave and 5.53 off his second, he finished with a heat-total of 11.36 points. The score
proved to be sufficient to earn him victory.
After the results were announced, the local star said, “I knew conditions would change from the minute I arrived. Ballito seems to do that in the afternoon so I was just glad to make my heat. I watched some incredible heats this morning, there was some inspiring
surfing and it was good to see so many South African’s go through.”
Holmes finished as the second best surfer in the heat, scoring 4.33 off his first wave and 5.73 points off his second, to secure a place in round of 48 (Round 2).
Camarao’s disappointing performance earned him a heat-total of 8.63 points, putting him in third place, while Benson rounded out the bottom position after finishing with a two-wave total of 6.26 points.
The conclusion of the 12th heat marked the end of Day 1 of the competition. Conditions of tides had deteriorated to an extent that had forced the organisers to call it a day.
For more updates on Mr. Price Pro Ballito, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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