Glenn Hall and Pablo Paulino prevail in Round 1 of Mr. Price Pro Ballito
Mr. Price Pro Ballito continued with the fifth and sixth heat of round of 96 (Round 1) at Surfers Beach in Ballito, South Africa, on Monday, July 4th.
The fifth heat saw Ireland’s Glenn Hall finish on top to reserve a place for himself in the round of 48 (Round 2). South Africa’s Royden Bryson successfully avoided elimination by taking second position. South Africa’s David Weare and Brazil’s Marco Fernandez,
on the other hand, were not that fortunate and found themselves ejected from the event title race, after finishing in third and fourth place respectively.
Brazil’s Pablo Paulino clinched top position in the sixth heat of the day, while his compatriot, Jesse Mendes, took runner-up place to advance to the next stage of the competition. Their fellow countryman, Raoni Monteiro, saw his event come to a premature
end after finishing in third place. America’s Eric Geiselman rounded out the last position, consequently joining Monteiro in the elimination list.
Hall was the sole representation for Ireland in the event and he evidently took this responsibility with utmost commitment and dedication. A string of impressive barrel rides and backhand snaps during the fifth heat earned him a heat-total of 14.60 points,
which included a 7.33 off his first wave and 7.27 off his second.
The other three surfers in the four-way battle were not really able to meet the standards of an ASP Prime event, apparently finding difficulty in adjusting to the four-to-eight foot waves. Bryson, who scored 4.33 and 4.67 off his two best waves, turned out
to be the second best surfer in the heat.
Weare finished with a two-wave total of 8.33 points for third position, while Fernandez scored 7.57 points off his two best waves to finish last.
The next heat turned out to be a low-scoring contest, with Paulino’s heat-total of 11.17 points proving to be sufficient to decide the fate of the heat. While the rest of the surfers were struggling to find a good wave, he adjusted to the conditions well
enough to collect 6.67 and 4.50 off his two best waves.
Mendes and Monteiro are considered among the new wave of Brazilian surfers who are gradually taking over the competitive surfing scene. However, the two were unable to do justice to their reputation on Monday.
While Mendes was able to stay alive in the competition with a heat total of 6.10, the performance was nothing short of disappointing and clearly showed that he needed to pick up his game if he intended to stay in the event title race.
Monteiro clinched a 3.00 and 3.03 off his two best waves to finish with a heat-total of 6.03 points, making a surprising early exit from the competition. He was joined by Geiselman, who merely earned a two-wave total of 2.07 points.
For more updates on Round 1 of Mr. Price Pro Ballito, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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