Damien Hobgood defeats Brett Simpson in Round 3 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
The latest stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro France, continued to treat fans to lots of exciting surfing action as USA’s Damien Hobgood squared off with his compatriot, Brett Simpson, in the 11th
heat of Round 3 that took place at the renowned beach-break of La Graviere in France on Sunday, October 9.
The encounter between the two Americans turned out to be a thrilling affair but Hobgood eventually managed to clinch top honours, consequently confirming his place in the fourth round while bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival, Simpson.
The conditions at the primary event site were nothing that the surfers could rejoice over. While the clean five-foot waves gracing the banks of La Graviere looked extremely promising, their shifting nature made it extremely difficult for the surfers to go
for the more technical tricks lying in their arsenal during their hunt for a big score.
The 32-year-old Hobgood had done quite well to adjust to the demanding conditions on the first day of the latest elite tour event, comfortably capturing victory in his Round 1 heat to jump directly into the third round, where he got pitted against Simpson
in a battle for the Round 4 spot.
Simpson had been somewhat inconsistent in the competition so far, losing in his Round 1 heat but eventually making a strong comeback in Round 2. However, this surely put him at a disadvantage in terms of confidence during his Round 3 battle against Hobgood.
As the 11th heat of the third round got underway, Simpson drew first blood with by locking a wave in the opening minutes of the battle to post a 5.17 on the score-board, grabbing an early advantage. Going through a series of mediocre scores, he
soon added an additional 6.17 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 11.34 points. With the sort of surfing conditions at hand, the score looked pretty competitive.
Hobgood remained quite patient during the first half of the 30-minute battle, apparently waiting for the right wave to come his way before making his charge. The patience paid off as a real juicy wave appeared, which the American caught to unload a series
of exquisite manoeuvres and collect an 8.00 for the effort. The impressive wave-score not only brought him back in the battle, it placed him in a comfortable position to seal the fate of the contest in his favour. Hobgood capitalised on the opportunity by
performing the coup de grace with a 5.00-point wave, finishing the heat with a two-wave total of 13.00 points.
The 1.66-point deficit left Simpson no choice but to surrender victory to his countryman and sit among the ranks of eliminated surfers.
For more updates on Round 3 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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