Evan Geiselman and Hodei Collazo emerge triumphant in Round 2 of Reef Hawaiian Pro
Getting done with the Round of 128, Reef Hawaiian Pro started off with the Round of 96 (Round 2) at the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Monday, November 21. The opening heat of the second heat pitted America’s Evan Geiselman against Australia’s Heath Joske, Hawaii’s Kevin Sullivan and his compatriot Jesse Merle-Jones, while Basque’s Hodei Collazo took on Hawaii’s Kai Barger, Joel Centeio and Tyler Newton in the second heat.
Geiselman continued his impressive form in the opening heat of Round 2 and clinched a comfortable victory to confidently advance through into the Round of 64 (Round 3). Joske avoided elimination as well by getting his hands on the runner-up place. Sullivan and Merle-Jones got removed from the competition field after rounding out the third and fourth position respectively.
The second heat saw Collazo walk away with top honours, though just barely, to secure his place in the next round. Barger finished in second place to remain in contention for the event-title, while Centeio and Newton rounded out the third and fourth positions respectively to find themselves eliminated from the competition.
The 18-year-old Geiselman had looked in good form during the first round and apparently carried this form to the second round to collect a confident win. He took control of the four-man battle with a 6.83-point wave, only to soon follow it up with a superb 8.00-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 14.83 points.
Joske got off to a solid start, earning 6.17 points off a wave in the opening minutes of the heat. However, he failed to find another competitive score and eventually had to settle for 9.74 points, which proved to be sufficient to put him in runner-up place and send him through into the next round.
Sullivan and Merle-Jones finished with a heat-total of 9.43 and 5.03-points respectively, consequently getting removed from the competition prematurely.
The second heat saw the 27-year-old Collazo create one of the biggest upsets of the day by removing the local-favourite and 2009 Reef Hawaiian Pro champion, Centeio, from the competition by defeating him in the second round.
As the second heat got under-way, the Basque-native earned a 3.83 off a wave early in the heat, but soon added an additional 7.33 to his account to take his heat-total to a decisive 11.16 points, which carried him off to victory.
Relieved with the coveted Round 2 win, Collazo said, “I got lucky in the beginning. I got a 7.33 on my first wave, so after that I was more relaxed. I knew the other guys needed more big scores. It's good to have good results in Hawaii. It's one of those places where normally you're surfing bigger boards. These contests are more special than the others on the tour.”
Barger finished in second place after finishing with a heat-total of 10.53 points, which comprised of a 6.50 and 4.03-point wave. He was not too disappointed with the result as it still kept him alive in the competition.
Centeio and Newton found themselves getting facing penalty after getting marked for interference. Both the surfers were struggled to lock waves and earn good scores, which eventually caused them to become a bit desperate and lose their concentration. Centeio finished in third place with a heat-total of 6.34 points, while Newton rounded out the bottom position with a disappointing heat-total of 1.12 points.
For more updates on Round 2 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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