Jay Quinn and Alain Riou enter Round 4 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro – ASP Prime Event
The ninth Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event of the year, Billabong Azores Islands Pro, continued to deliver a heavy dose of surfing action with the third and fourth heat of Round of 24 (Round 3) at Praia de Santa Barbara in Sao Miguel,
Portugal, on Friday, September 30.
The third heat saw New Zealand’s Jay Quinn clinch a convincing victory to go through to the Round of 12 (Round 4), eliminating his compatriot, Richard Christie, from the competition.
Tahiti’s Alain Riou prevailed over France’s Marc Lacomare in the fourth heat to confirm his place in the next round, removing his opponent from the contention for the event title.
The surfers had quite a daunting task of getting good scores off the meagre three-foot waves. To further add to their worries, there were strong winds blowing at the event site which made riding waves even more difficult.
As the third heat got underway, the 28-year-old Quinn gradually built momentum and eventually caught a wave almost halfway through the heat to post 7.00 points on the score-board. He continued to search for another good score and barely managed to add another
6.50 points to his account in the dying minutes of the heat, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 13.50 points.
Despite his persistence, Christie failed to get his hands on a decent wave-score. He finished the heat with a heat-total of 9.17 points, which included a 4.67 and 4.50-point wave. The disappointing performance forced him to surrender victory to his rival,
The fourth heat of Round 3 turned out to be yet another intense affair, as both Riou and Lacomare struggled to find good scores. Things were not easy out there in the sea, making one almost feel sorry for the surfers.
As the head-to-head battle commenced, the 28-year-old Riou got off to a really slow start and only managed to collect 4.00 points off his first business-wave. However, he made a desperate charge on the final wave, pulling off a string of exquisite tricks
to collect 7.67 points for the effort. The resultant heat-total of 11.67 points proved to be a decisive one, carrying him off to victory.
Lacomare had no luck with the waves either and a lengthy struggle allowed him to collect a 4.73 and 6.00-point wave. The lacklustre performance proved costly, forcing him to concede victory to his rival and he was dealt with elimination from the competition.
For more updates on Round 3 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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