Marcus Hickman and Evan Valiere power into Round 3 of Billabong Pipe Masters – 2011 ASP World Tour
The 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour continued to treat the surfing fans to a heavy dose of exciting surfing action as Billabong Pipe Masters started off with its Round 2, pitting Hawaii’s Marcus Hickman against Australia’s Adrian
Buchan in the first heat, while the second heat saw Hawaii’s Evan Valiere square off with Brazil’s Miguel Pupo at Banzai Pipeline, the famed North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Thursday, December 8.
Hickman came up with an outstanding performance to take the win in the first heat and move into Round 3, much to the joy of the local crowd, while another disappointing effort led to Buchan’s elimination from the competition.
The second heat featured yet another local surfer steal the show, the fireworks coming from Valiere this time. The victory carried him through into the third round, while bringing the competition to a premature end.
With 15-to-20 foot waves gracing the North Shore of Oahu, Hickman took on Buchan in a battle for survival. Both the surfers had struggled to hold their own in their Round 1 heat, but the pressure of elimination was expected to bring out the best in them
during their latest heat.
As the heat got underway, the crowd-favourite, Hickman, got down to business right away and caught a wave in the opening minutes to post a 8.00 on the score-board. He soon added another 8.50 points to his account, taking his heat-total to a decisive score
of 16.50 points.
Buchan succumbed to the waves yet again and only managed to collect a 5.50 and 3.80 off his best two waves, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 9.30 points. As a result, he was forced to make an early exit from the competition.
The second heat saw Valiere bounce back quite strongly after a rather disappointing performance in Round 1. Facing the young Brazilian sensation, Pupo, in the second heat, Valiere got off to a slow start but eventually followed a modest 4.17-point wave with
a superb 9.43-point wave in the final minutes of the heat to finish with a heat-total of 13.60 points. The score served to seal the fate of the contest in his favour.
Pupo evidently had no strategy to handle the mammoth-sized waves on offer at the Pipeline and thus completely succumbed to the challenge. As a result, he got to a mere heat-total of 3.70 points, which comprised of a 2.10 and 1.60-point wave. The disappointing
performance led to his elimination from the competition.
For more updates on Round 2 of the 2011 Billabong Pipe Masters, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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