Fredrick Patacchia and CJ Hobgood enter Billabong Azores Islands Pro quarter-final – ASP Prime Event
The latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event, Billabong Azores Islands Pro, continued with the third and fourth heat of the no-elimination Round of 12 (Round 4) on Friday, September 30, at Praia de Santa Barbara in Sao Miguel, Portugal.
The third heat saw Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia clinch top honours, though just barely, to get direct entry into the quarter-finals. USA’s Brett Simpson and South Africa’s Travis Logie rounded out the second and third position respectively, consequently getting
relegated to Round 5.
CJ Hobgood prevailed over his compatriot Kolohe Andino and Brazil’s Thiago Camarao in the fourth heat to move directly into the quarter-finals. Andino and Camarao were dropped to Round 5 after finishing in second and third place respectively.
The quality of the waves and the strong on-shore winds continued to trouble the surfers as the fourth round continued. Getting big scores was evidently a daunting, or some might even claim impossible, task in the given conditions. Therefore, the experience
and innovation of surfers came into play, compelling them to formulate strategies to help them in getting a decent heat-total.
As the third heat got underway, the 29-year-old Patacchia went through a few waves before eventually locking a couple of waves to unleash a series of gouges and rail carves. The two waves earned him a 7.67 and 6.00, taking him to a heat-total of 13.67 points.
The score kept him in the lead until the end, eventually sealing the fate of the contest in his favour.
Commenting on the heat afterwards, Patacchia said, “In these kinds of conditions you have to roll the dice on a few weird looking ones and hope they materialise. I got off to a good start with a 7 and that felt good and my boards feel good under my feet
so I feel if I can get the right waves then I can get excellent scores.”
Simpson put up a remarkable fight to reach out for victory, but fell just short of it after finishing with a heat-total of 13.60 points, which included a 7.03 and 6.57-point wave. Logie was unable to come up with the necessary scores as well and finished
in third place with a heat-total of 10.24 points.
The next heat featured yet another fierce battle as the 32-year-old Hobgood crosses paths with the progressive Californian force, Andino. Camarao was also present in the battlefield, though he failed to make much of an impact.
As the three-man battle got underway, Andino got off to a flying start with an 8.00-point wave, clinching an early advantage. However, Hobgood soon caught a wave to score 7.33 points off it and narrow down the lead that his countryman had over him.
As the heat progressed, Hobgood further utilised his experience to collect yet another 7.33 off a wave, moving to a heat-total of 14.66 points. Andino had an opportunity on his hands to secure victory comfortably but he blew the chance by merely scoring
5.80 points off his final wave, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 13.80 points. The 0.86-point deficit forced him to surrender the direct quarter-final spot to his compatriot.
Camarao rounded out the bottom position after finishing with a heat-total of 11.87 points, which included a 6.70 and 5.17-point wave. Both him and Andino were relegated to the fifth round after conceding victory to Hobgood.
For updates on Round 5 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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