Marcus Hickman and CJ Hobgood survive Round 1 of Billabong Pipe Masters – 2011 ASP World Tour
The 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour reached the famed North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, to get its last event underway. On Thursday, December 8, Billabong Pipe Masters kicked off at the Banzai Pipeline with Round 1, pitting Hawaii’s
Marcus Hickman against Australia’s Matt Wilkinson in the first heat while the second heat saw America’s CJ Hobgood take on Hawaii Kekoa Bacalso.
The first heat concluded with the crowd favourite Hickman walking away with top honours and consequently advancing directly into Round 3, whereas Wilkinson headed into the relegation Round 2 to surf again for the Round 3 spot.
The second heat turned out to be a low-scoring affair as both the surfers looked uncomfortable in the huge barrels. In the end, however, Hobgood managed to get his hands on victory and confirmed his place in the third round while Bacalso got relegated to
Round 2.
Surfing the Pipe was something that the elite top 34 had been looking forward to through the year. The 15-to-20 foot deadly barrels that met them at the North Shore of Oahu made the wait worth it, though not everyone seemed too happy to find themselves facing
such a challenge.
As the first heat kicked off, the 32-year-old Hickman put his local knowledge of the waves and comfort with the conditions at hand to take control of the battle early on with a 5.67 and an outstanding 8.00-point wave, finishing with a resultant heat-total
of 13.67 points.
The giant waves kept Wilkinson on the back foot throughout the 40-minute battle. Despite a desperate hunt and effort, the Australian only managed to get his hands on a 3.33 and 6.13-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 9.46 points. The outcome of the
heat moved him into Round 2, giving him another chance to earn a spot in Round 3.
The second heat saw both Hobgood and Bacalso struggling throughout the entirety of the battle to lock the huge barrels that were on offer at the Pipe. The hunt for competitive scores remained quite intense, though pretty much in vain.
The 32-year-old Hobgood eventually settled for a heat-total of 6.50 points, which included a 4.67 and 1.83-point wave. The two-wave total hardly qualified as a competitive score, but it proved to be sufficient to carry the American to victory.
Bacalso totally succumbed to the deadly waves and was unable to make any impact in the 30-minute battle. He only managed to catch one wave and even that was not much of an encouragement for the local surfer as he scored a mere 0.60 off it. Bacalso sure had
a lot to work on as he made his way into Round 2 to surf yet again for a place in Round 3.
For more updates on Round 1 of 2011 Billabong Pipe Masters, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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