Dion Atkinson and Tim Boal surge into Round 3 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro – ASP Prime Event
The crowd at Praia de Santa Barbara in Sao Miguel, Portugal, was treated to intense battles between talented surfers from all around the globe during the ninth and tenth heat of the Billabong Azores Islands Pro’s Round of 48 (Round 2) that went down on Friday,
September 30.
Australia’s Dion Atkinson and the USA’s Kolohe Andino finished in first and second place respectively, which sent them through to the Round of 24 (Round 3). Australia’s Mitchel Coleborn finished third, while Venezuela’s Jonathan Gonzalez rounded out the
bottom positions and were consequently ejected from the competition.
The tenth heat saw France’s Tim Boal secure a convincing victory to earn a ticket into the next round. South Africa’s Travis Logie also extended his life in the competition by securing the runner-up place. Hawaii’s Kai Barger and the USA’s Nat Young failed
to make the Round 3 cut after finishing in third and fourth place respectively.
The surfing conditions at the event site were quite demanding, with tricky three-foot waves accompanied by strong winds. Despite all the skills and experience, the surfers were truly tested under the prevailing conditions.
The difficulty in catching and controlling waves became quite apparent by looking at the misery of Atkinson during the early stages of the ninth heat. However, the 24-year-old Australian managed to bounce back strongly in the final minutes of the four-man
battle and posted a 6.77 and 7.40 on the score-board to finish with a heat-total of 14.17 points. The last-minute effort sealed the fate of the contest in his favour, sending him through to the next round.
The progressive Californian, Andino, put up a pretty impressive show during the 30-minute showdown as well, which allowed him to earn a ticket into the next round. He finished with a heat-total of 13.04 points, which included a 5.77 and 7.27-point wave.
Coleborn missed out on the runner-up place by a mere 0.11 points after finishing with a heat-total of 12.93 points. This forced him to settle for third place, which translated into elimination from the competition. Joining him in the elimination list was
Gonzalez, who finished in fourth place after scoring 10.27 points in total off his best-two waves.
The 28-year-old Boal stole the show with an outstanding performance during the tenth heat of Round 2. As the battle started, he got down to business right away and locked a juicy wave to showcase some stylish tricks in his arsenal to open his account with
an 8.00. Keeping the momentum going, he soon collected a 6-point wave, moving to a heat-total of 14.00 points. Taking the surfing conditions into consideration, the performance was definitely a remarkable one and surely earned him a well-deserved victory.
Logie successfully avoided elimination as well after scoring 7.00 and 5.47 points off his two-best waves to finish with a heat-total of 12.47 points and get his hands on a runner-up place.
Barger and Young finished with a heat-total of 11.80 and 11.30 points respectively, which consequently led to their elimination from the competition. They seemed quite determined during their hunt for good scores, but the testing three-foot waves and strong
winds got the better of them.
For more updates on Round 2 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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