Kai Sallas and Taylor Jensen enter Bear Pro Final – 2011 ASP World Long-board Tour
The fourth stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Long-board Tour, Bear Pro, treated the fans to a heavy dose of exciting surfing action as Hawaii’s Kai Sallas took on Eduardo Bade in the first Semi-Final, while America’s Taylor Jensen squared off with his compatriot Tony Silvagni in the second Semi-Final that went down at Andora, Italy, on Sunday afternoon, November 20.
The first Semi-Final turned out to be pretty one-sided with Sallas completely stealing the show through his outstanding performance and giving no room to his rival, Bade, to reach out for victory. As a result, the Hawaiian advanced through into the Final, consequently eliminating his rival from the competition.
The second heat saw Jensen prevail over Silvagni to confirm his spot in the Final while removing the latter from the contention for the event title. The Semi-Final victory also allowed Jensen to seal the deal for the 2011 World Long-board Tour, capturing his maiden World Championship title.
The 30-year-old Sallas had been nothing short of superb during the first and only round of the Bear Pro, presented by Jeep, to advance into the Quarter-Finals. He made it through the Quarter-Final without a scratch to enter the Semi-Final in order to face an in-form Bade for the title shot.
As the battle for the coveted title shot got underway in clean yet small one-to-foot waves of Andora, Sallas took control of things early on and pushed his rival on the back foot. As the heat progressed, the Hawaiian maintained his dominance over Bade and eventually went on to seal the fate of the contest in his favour, finishing with a heat-total of 16.17 points against his Brazilian rival’s 12.83 points.
The second Semi-Final saw the 24-year-old Silvagni attempt to take the in-form California-based Jensen down, though to no avail. Despite being simply outstanding during his Quarter-Final bout against the 2009 ASP World Long-Board Tour champion Harley Ingleby of Australia, the North Carolina-based Silvagni faltered in the face of Jensen.
As the battle commenced, Silvagni got off to a shaky start and struggled to find a good score in the low waves that were on offer at the back-up event site. In the end, he was only able to get to a heat-total of 10.37 points.
Jensen, on the other hand, seemed much more in control during the heat and after a determined search, managed to collect a couple of good waves to get to a heat-total of 14.66 points. The score carried him off to victory and moved him through into the Final, where he was to face Sallas for the event title.
Jensen’s victory also allowed him to secure his maiden ASP World Long-board Tour title, making him the most formidable long-board surfer of the year 2011.
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