Mason Ho emerges triumphant in Round 1 of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime – Surfing News
Hawaii’s Mason Ho confirmed his place in the second round (Round of 48) of the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola after walking away with the win from the 16th heat of Round 1 (Round of 96) that continued at the point-break of Itauna
Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on Tuesday, May 22.
Spain’s Gony Zubizarreta finished in runner-up place to secure his place in the next round of the competition as well. Australia’s Adam Melling finished third, while America’s Matt Pagan rounded out the fourth position. Both the surfers were consequently
forced into making a premature exit from the contention for the event title.
Some of the top surfers from around the globe had arrived at Brazil to compete in the fourth event on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME calendar, looking to grab a slice of the $US 250,000 prize purse and coveted ASP ranking points
that were on offer. The six-to-eight foot waves that were on offer served as an ideal stage to host the intense battles and deliver a heavy dose of thrilling action to the huge crowd that had turned up at Itauna Beach on the opening day of the competition.
The 16th heat of Round 1 pitted Ho against Zubizarreta, Melling and Pagan in a four-man battle for the Round 2 spot.
As the battle got underway, Ho wasted very little time before beginning his charge. Locking his first business-wave in the early stages of the heat, he unloaded a series of quick turns to post a 6.67 on the score-board. He soon backed it up with a 4.53-point
ride to finish with a heat-total of 11.20 points, which held up until the end to seal the fate of the four-man bout in his favour.
Zubizarreta finished in runner-up place with a heat-total of 10.77 points, which included a 6.00 and 4.77-point ride. The effort proved sufficient to carry him into the next round of the competition.
Melling and Pagan rounded out the third and fourth place respectively, with the Australian surfer scoring a heat-total of 10.53 points, while the American surfer finishing with a two-wave total of 9.30 points. Both the surfers consequently found themselves
eliminated from the ASP PRIME event.
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