Kenta Hayashi and Teppei Tajima prevail in Round 2 heats at Murasaki Quiksilver Jeju Open of Surfing
Japan’s Kenta Hayashi and his compatriot Teppei Tajima qualified for the quarter-finals at the inaugural Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 2-Star Murasaki Quiksilver Jeju Open of Surfing after emerging triumphant in their respective Round 2 (Round
of 16) heats that went down at Jungmun Beach in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, on Saturday, June 16.
Australia’s Connor O’Leary accompanied Hayashi into the next stage of the competition after claiming runner-up position in the third heat. Hawaii’s Nick Mita and Japan’s Taishi Kawabata, however, were unable to keep themselves alive in the contention for
the event title after finishing in third and fourth position respectively.
The fourth heat saw Japan’s Izuki Tanaka advance to the quarter-finals as well after securing second-place finish. His compatriots Takayuki Wakita and Kaito Ohashi were forced to leave the competition field following their bottom-two finish.
The first-ever ASP-sanctioned surfing event in the Republic of Korea received an enthusiastic response from both the local and international surfing young guns as well as the local fans of the sport. The two-foot waves on offer and sunny weather promised
to a series of exciting performances and thrilling action.
The third heat saw Hayashi put on a superb performance to claim victory. The Japanese surfer locked a juicy wave in the opening minutes of the heat to unload a series of exquisite manoeuvres, earning an 8.50 for the effort. He went on to back it up with
a 6.10-point ride to eventually finish with a decisive heat-total of 14.60 points.
O’Leary successfully extended his life in the competition as well after collecting a couple of scores in the six-point range for a heat-total of 13.40 points, which served to put him in second-place finish.
Mita finished third with a heat-total of 7.50 points, while Kawabata rounded out the bottom-position after finishing with a two-wave total of 6.00 point. The lacklustre performances brought an end to their stay in the event.
The final heat of Round 2 saw Tajima move into the quarter-finals after scoring a 5.00 off his first business-wave and immediately backing it up with a 6.75 off his second business-wave to finish with a heat-total of 11.75 points.
Tanaka collected a 3.75 off his first business-wave and added an additional 7.50 to his account in the final minutes of the heat for a heat-total of 11.25 points. The score proved sufficient to get him a second-place finish, thus sending him through into
the next round.
Wakita and Ohashi finished with a heat-total of 9.65 and 7.25 points respectively, which led to their elimination from the competition.
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