Damien Hobgood and John John Florence qualify for Round 4 at Billabong Pro Tahiti
America’s Damien Hobgood and Hawaii’s John John Florence made it through into the fourth round at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, the fifth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after claiming top honours in their respective Round 3 heats that went down at the main site of Teahupo’o in Taiarapu, Tahiti, on Sunday, August 26.
Hobgood got the better of Australia’s Josh Kerr in the ninth heat of Round 3 to confirm his place in the fourth round while removing his competitor from the contention for the event title.
The 10th heat saw America’s Brett Simpson succumb to Florence, consequently getting eliminated from the competition while sending the latter into the next round of the event.
With the best surfers from all corners of the world in contention for the coveted event title, there was hardly any reason to expect anything short of thrilling battles and captivating performances. The pressure of elimination further added to the intensity of the heats as the elite ASP World Title contenders took each other on for survival.
Pitted against Kerr in a one-on-one battle during the ninth heat, Hobgood clearly had his work cut out for him. The American surfer, however, managed to eventually topple his opponent through an impressive and determined performance.
As the battle got underway, Kerr got off to a powerful start, earning an 8.00 off his first business-wave. He soon went on to back it up with a 3.93-point ride, thus finishing with a heat-total of 11.93 points.
Despite getting off to a slow start, Hobgood gradually built momentum to eventually post a 5.67 on the scoreboard halfway through the heat. He immediately backed it up with an additional 9.43-point ride, thus reaching a two-wave total of 15.10 points. The effort served to earn him a convincing victory.
The 10th heat saw the young sensation Florence barely outperform Simpson to grab the quarter-final spot. The Hawaiian powerhouse only scored a 5.57 and 7.73 off his best-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 13.30 points.
Simpson had no intention of going down without a tough fight and managed to find himself a 6.17 and 7.00-point ride. However, the effort left him short of his rival’s score by merely 0.13 points, consequently resulting in his elimination from the competition.
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