Joel Parkinson and Josh Kerr to face-off in Billabong Pipe Masters final
Australia’s Joel Parkinson and his fellow countryperson Josh Kerr earned themselves a shot at Billabong Prime Masters, the final stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after claiming top honours in their respective
semi-final heats that took place at the Banzai Pipeline on Oahu, Hawaii, on Friday, December 14, 2012.
Parkinson put on a phenomenal performance in the first semi-final to down America’s Damien Hobgood, advancing to the final while removing his rival from the contention for the event title.
The second semi-final saw America’s Kelly Slater getting eliminated from the competition after delivering an ordinary performance, thus surrendering victory to Kerr.
With the best surfers from around the world in contention for top honours at the most high-profile event of the year, the crowd was right to expect a heavy dose of thrilling action and mesmerising performances.
Banzai Pipeline continued to live to its reputation as well, with the quality of waves nothing short of superb in terms of providing a perfect opportunity for the surfers to put their skills on display.
The first semi-final pitted Parkinson, the front-runner for this year’s coveted ASP World Title, against Hobgood in a man-on-man battle for a place in the final.
As the battle got underway, the Australian surfer wasted hardly any time to put his rival under pressure. Locking a juicy wave, he unloaded a series of exquisite tricks to earn a 9.13 off his first business-wave.
As the heat continued, he added an additional 8.17 points to his account, thus moving to a heat-total of 17.30 points.
Hobgood responded with a 7.93 off his first business-wave and went on to back it up with a 6.70-point ride, thus registering a heat-total of 14.63 points. As a result, he was forced to surrender victory to his rival.
The second semi-final saw Kerr get the better of 11-time ASP World Champion Slater to earn a shot at the event title.
Kerr scored an impressive and decisive 9.20 off his first business-wave and went on to add an additional 1.93 points to his account, thus registering a heat-total of 11.13 points.
Slater put on an uncharacteristic performance and only managed to earn a 3.00 and 1.90 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 4.90 points. As a result, he got eliminated from the competition.
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