Matt Banting and Jordin Watson enter the Championship Moves Open Semi-finals
The thrilling surfing action resumed at Jan Juc Beach in Victoria, Australia, on Sunday, January 8, with the first and second Quarter-final of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 1-Star Championship Moves Open.
The first Quarter-final saw Australia’s Matt Banting extend his winning streak by adding his in-form compatriot Shane Holmes to his list of victims after what was nothing short of an epic showdown for the Semi-final slot. Banting advanced through to the
next stage of the competition while eliminating his rival in the process.
The battle between Australia’s Jordin Watson and Thomas Woods turned out to be a nail biting contest as well, with both the surfers giving their all to secure the win. As the dust settled, it was Watson who stood victorious with his place confirmed in the
Semi-finals, while Woods was removed from contention for the event title.
The Port Macquarie-based Banting had been displaying a threatening form since the very first day of the competition at Jan Juc Beach, taking down a series of opponents to gradually and steadily make his way into the Quarter-finals. Things were expected to
get tougher for him though as the first Quarter-final pitted him against yet another surfer who had indeed looked formidable over the last few days, Holmes.
As the battle for the Semi-final slot began, Holmes got off to a solid start, locking a wave early in the heat to unload a series of exquisite manoeuvres for a 7.00. Banting soon responded with a 6.90-point wave to narrow down the gap and keep the contest
from slipping out of his hands.
As the battle entered the dying minutes, Holmes added another 5.90 points to his account to get to a heat-total of 12.90 points. With hardly any time left in the heat, Banting only had one shot at taking the lead. Much to his relief, a juicy wave appeared
just in time to give him an opportunity to pull off a series of quick turns to score 6.90 points, thus taking his heat-total to 13.80 points and sealing the fate of the first Quarter-final in his favour.
The second Quarter-final featured yet another gripping battle between two Australian surfers, this time Watson taking on Woods. Both the surfers carried out their search for competitive scores with determination and persistence, making the three-foot waves
on offer seem excellent for surfing.
As the battle started, Woods pushed his rival on the back-foot with an impressive 7.00-point wave. However, Watson soon recovered with a 6.90-point wave, refusing to let his competitor enjoy a comfortable lead.
A little past the mid-way stage, Watson locked a wave to unload a series of exciting tricks, earning 8.50 points for the effort to move to a heat-total of 15.40 points. Woods was only able to add another 7.20 points to his account off his second business-wave,
thus falling 1.20 points short of victory.
With his win in the second Quarter-final, Watson advanced through into the Semi-final stage to face Banting for the Finals’ slot.
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