Jake Sylvester and Thomas Woods survive Round 2 of Championship Moves Open
Australia’s Jake Sylvester and Thomas Woods emerged triumphant in their respective heats of Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 1-Star Championship Moves Open’s Round 2 (Round of 32) that went down on Saturday, January 7, at the Jan Juc Beach in Victoria,
Australia.
With slight on-shore winds and three-foot waves on offer at the event site, the stage was set for a day full of exciting surfing battles.
Sylvester had barely managed to make the Round 2 cut after finishing as runner-up in his Round 1 heat. Returning on Day 3 to take on his countrymen Jordin Watson, Alex Dive and Noa Deane in the third heat of Round 2, Sylvester put on a much more solid performance.
He opened up his account with a 6.50-point wave and posted another 6.90 points on the score-board in the final minutes of the heat to finish with a two-wave total of 13.40 points. The score served to seal the fate of the battle in his favour and thus carry
him into Round 3 (Round of 16).
Watson had looked threatening during the course of the four-man battle as well, but failed to get the score required to surpass Sylvester. He eventually finished with a heat-total of 12.35 points, which comprised of a 6.00 and 6.35-point wave, to secure
runner-up place and advance through into the third round.
The sole New Zealand-based surfer in the competition line-up, Dive, was forced to make an exit after finishing in third place with a heat-total of 11.05 points. Deane, who had been nothing short of spectacular in his Round 1 heat, was also eliminated after
rounding out the bottom position with 7.80 points.
The fourth heat saw Woods take on his compatriots Oscar Scanes, Jake Scott and Jake Cumberland.
Woods got off to a slow start but eventually picked up momentum with a 6.00-point wave. A few minutes past the half-way stage, he caught his second business-wave to post a 6.05 on the score-board, taking his heat-total to 12.05 points. The two-wave total
held him in lead until the end, consequently taking him into Round 3.
Scanes successfully extended his life in the event after finishing with a heat-total of 9.40 points which comprised of a 5.00 and 4.40-point wave, to secure runner-up place.
Scott and Cumberland failed to make much of an impact during the course of the contest and got eliminated after finishing with a heat-total of 7.90 and 5.90 respectively.
The ASP 1-Star Championship Moves Open will continue to cut off heads with plenty of Round 2 and 3 heats still to go down at Jan Juc beach on Saturday.
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