Josh Kerr and Shane Dorian secure place in quarter-finals at Billabong Pipe Masters
Australia’s Josh Kerr and Hawaii’s Shane Dorian continued their excellent run of form at the Billabong Pipe Masters, final stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, as they won their respective Round 4 heats once
the competition resumed at Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, on Friday, December 14, 2012.
Kerr secured his place in the quarter-finals following his win in the third heat, while Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and America’s Kelly Slater finished in second and third place respectively, consequently getting relegated to the fifth round.
The fourth round saw Dorian get the better of Brazil’s Miguel Pupo and Australia’s Yadin Nicol to make his way through into the quarter-finals, sending both his rivals to the relegation round to surf another heat for a place in the quarter-finals.
Living to its reputation, the Banzai Pipeline offered pumping conditions on the final day of the competition, which had also served as the third jewel on the 30th anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.
With the best surfers from around the world competing for the coveted honours and the battle for the ASP World Title still very much alive, the crowd and online audience continued to get entertained with intense battle and exciting finishes.
The third heat featured an upset as Kerr managed to send the 11-time ASP World Champion Slater and young-gun Medina into the fifth round while securing his place in the quarter-finals.
Scoring an 8.07 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 6.50-point ride, the Australian surfer registered a heat-total of 14.57 points, which allowed him to seal the deal.
Medina finished just behind him in second place with a heat-total of 14.10 points, comprising of an 8.50 and 5.60-point ride, while Slater had to settle for third place after an uncharacteristic performance for a heat-total of 8.10 points.
The fourth heat turned out to be a low-scoring affair, with Dorian managing to claim victory with a pretty ordinary heat-total of 6.53 points, which comprised of a 3.40 and 3.13-point ride.
Pupo finished in second place with a heat-total of 5.83 points, while Nicol registered a two-wave total of 4.23 points. Both the surfers were consequently relegated to the fifth round.
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