John John Florence defeats Miguel Pupo to advance to Round 4 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing
The round of 24 (Round 4) of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing wrapped up with the 12th heat that went down at the Huntington Beach Pier, California, on Friday, August 5.
The heat saw Hawaii’s John John Florence come up with an exceptional performance to prevail in his head-to-head battle against the young Brazilian talent, Miguel Pupo. The fate of the face-off sent Florence to the next round, while bringing his rival’s current
Association of Surfing Professional (ASP) Prime event campaign to a premature end.
The 17-year-old Oahu-native had made his way this far in the way after making a solid impact in his first and second round heats despite the challenging conditions that had troubled even the elite ASP surfers. His current form was nothing short of exceptional,
making him a strong contender for the event title.
On the other hand, the 19-year-old Pupo enjoyed a somewhat psychological advantage as he had walked away with an ASP Prime event victory, winning Nike Lowers Pro the last time he had set foot on the American soil. He was proving to be sensational during
his heats in the American waves yet again. However, the Round 3 battle against Florence was surely going to put his form to test.
With two-to-four foot waves gracing the event site, the third round battle between Florence and Pupo commenced. Florence instantly took control of the heat to put his rival under immense pressure. He caught a couple of high-performance peaks that appeared
during the 30-minute heat to move to an impressive heat-total of 15.83 points.
Pupo’s desperate hunt for good scores turned out to be futile as he finished with a heat-total of 12.60 points, leaving him with no option but to surrender victory to his rampaging Hawaiian rival.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Florence said, “I was super-stoked to get through that Round of 24 heat because Miguel (Pupo) is so gnarly. I was definitely pretty nervous going into that heat, but I just got lucky. There are so many fun waves out
there.”
With the conclusion of the 12th heat, the fourth round wrapped up. By now, the competition field had been narrowed down to top-twelve surfers, setting up the stage for extremely intense battles in the non-elimination round of 12 (Round 4).
For updates on Round 4 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing, stay tuned to bettor.com
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