Kai Otton jumps into Round 5 of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime – Surfing News
Kai Otton from Australia confirmed his place in the fifth round (Round of 16) at the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola after clinching a convincing victory in the second heat of Round 3 (No-Loser Round of 24) that went down at the point-break
of Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on Thursday, May 24.
Australia’s Perth Standlick finished in second place while Brazil’s Simao Romao had to settle for a third-place finish. Both the surfers were consequently forced to make a trip to Round 4 (Round of 24) to have another shot at earning their place in the fifth
round.
The third day of the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME event of the year saw two-to-three foot waves on offer. The surfing conditions promised a heavy dose of thrilling action as some of the most exciting action sports athletes converged
at Itauna Beach to compete for a slice of the $US 250,000 prize money and up to 850 ranking points that were on offer. The motivation was enough to push the surfers into putting on an exquisite performance, much to the delight of the huge crowd that had turned
up to catch the action live.
The second heat of Round 3 saw Otton take on Standlick and Romao in a three-man battle for a spot in the fifth round. While a failure to earn victory in the heat did not mean elimination from the competition, a chance to move straight into the fifth round
without having to surf in a pressure Round 4 heat was a solid enough push for the surfers to hold nothing back and deliver optimal performance.
As the second heat got underway, Otton got off to a strong start, locking his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post a 6.10 on the score-board. Going through a series of ordinary scores, the defending event champion added an additional
4.93 points to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 11.03 points. The effort remained unbeatable until the end to see him through into the next round.
Standlick finished runner-up place after collecting a 4.50 and 3.40 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 7.90 points.
Romao rounded out the third place after collecting a couple of scores in the three-point range, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 7.60 points.
Both Standlick and Romao headed into the relegation Round 4 to surf again for a place in the fifth round.
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