Gabriel Villaran and Parrish Byrne surge into the second round of Burton Toyota Pro – Surfing News
Peruvian surfer Gabriel Villaran and Australia’s Parrish Byrne claimed victory in their respective Round 1 (Round of 144) heats of the 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued at Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Monday,
March 12.
Both Villaran and Byrne advance through into the second round (Round of 96) of the event after clinching a successful result in their Round 1 heat. Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam and Australia’s Ty Watson successfully extended their life in the event as well after
securing runner-up positions in the seventh and eighth heat respectively.
Part of the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS), the 6-Star Burton Toyota offered the surfers an opportunity to improve their position on the ASP World Ranking by award ASP rating points. Another motivation for the surfers to perform well at the latest event
was the coveted prize cheque.
Villaran read the conditions prevailing at the event site quite nicely and adjusted well to the tricky three-foot waves on offer in the seventh heat. The Peruvian surfer got off to a decent start, scoring a 5.83 off his first business-wave and soon locked
his second business-wave to showcase his stylish moves for an 8.67. The resultant heat-total of 14.50 points proved sufficient to earn him a convincing victory over his rivals in the heat, namely Boukhiam, Japan’s Yujiro Tsuji and Hawaii’s Dylan Goodale.
Boukhiam advanced through into the next stage of the competition as well after scoring a 3.70 and 6.67 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 10.37 points.
Tsuji finished third with a heat-total of 9.44 points, while Goodale rounded out the bottom position with a two-wave total of 5.80 points. The bottom-two finish by the Japanese and Hawaiian surfer led to their elimination from the competition.
Byrne took down his fellow countryman Watson, France’s Maxime Huscenot and America’s Taylor Thorne by collecting a couple of pretty impressive waves during the eighth heat. He got busy with a determined search in the opening minutes of the battle to post
a 7.00 on the score-board and managed to back it up with a 5.30-point wave in the final minutes of the heat. The resultant heat-total of 12.30 points served to seal the fate of the battle in his favour, carrying him through into the next round.
Watson ensured his survival in the contention for the event-title as well by scoring in the five-point range off a couple of waves for a heat-total of 11.50 points.
Huscenot finished in third place with a two-wave total of 10.53 points, while Thorne finished fourth with a heat-total of 8.84 points. Both the Frenchman and American surfers were consequently forced to make a premature exit from the event.
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