Miguel Pupo and Nathan Yeomans power into Round 4 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro – ASP Prime Event
The first and second heat of the Billabong Azores Islands Pro’s Round of 24 (Round 3) at Praia de Santa Barbara in Sao Miguel, Portugal, on Friday, September 30 was another crowd pleaser as Miguel Pupo and Nathan Yeomans make it to the next round.
Brazil’s Pupo continued to assert his dominating form by defeating Australia’s Adam Melling in the first heat to go through to the Round of 12 (Round 4), removing his rivals from contention for the title in the process.
The second heat saw America’s Nathan Yeomans clinch a comfortable victory over his compatriot, Gabe Kling, to confirm his place in the next round, bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival.
The quality of the waves and the accompanying winds were turning out to be a nightmare for the surfers as they desperately hunted for big scores to strengthen their chances of capturing victory. The pressure of the do-or-die situation added to their anxiety,
making the battles even more intense.
As the first heat kicked off, the 19-year-old Pupo struggled to pull something exciting off the three-foot waves that were on offer. He kept searching for a decent score but was only able to collect a couple of fives to finish with a heat-total of 11.40
points. This may not have been his best performance but it still managed to carry him off to victory.
Despite the low heat-total of his Brazilian rival, Melling was unable to capitalise on the opportunity and finished in a 2.87-point deficit after scoring 8.53-points in total, which included a 4.50 and 4.03-point wave.
The 30-year-old Yeomans stole the show with an outstanding performance during the second heat of Round 3. He immediately drew first blood by locking a wave in the opening minutes of the heat to unload a series of exciting tricks and open his account with
8.17 points. He later added another 6.03 points to his total, moving to a heat-total of 14.20 points. The score remained unbeatable until the end and carried him off to victory.
Kling remained under pressure throughout the entirety of the 30-minute heat as he struggled to get his hands on the necessary wave-score. He was eventually forced to concede victory to his rival after scoring 6.50 and 5.77 off his two business-waves.
For more updates on Round 3 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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