Miguel Pupo clinches victory at the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro – Surfing Update
The final of the third Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event of the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro took place on Saturday, May 7 at Lower Trestles in Clemente, California.
The nail-biting contest ended with Miguel Pupo becoming the first Brazilian to prevail in an event at Lower Trestles. He accomplished the feat by overcoming the American surfer, Tanner Gudauskas.
The site of the event had been renowned for offering A-class waves, ideal for surfing contests. However, the conditions had turned out to be pretty disappointing during the current week, with low tides prevailing at the break. The two finalists had managed
their best in the conditions to get this far in the competition.
Regardless of the non-cooperation shown by mother-nature, the final battle between the Brazilian and American surfer was expected to be a real exciting. Gudauskas was making his way into the final as the only surfer who had remained undefeated throughout
the event.
On the other hand, Pupo had turned out to be the Most Valuable Player (MVP) just a day before the final showdown. The two surfers were definitely not short of confidence as they prepared to face other for the $40,000 prize money, coveted ASP ranking points
and the 14-carat gold trophy worth $30,000.
The final contest got off to a slow start, with both surfers struggling to find a good wave. The Clemente local eventually took the lead through his inverted air reverse on his first wave. Almost half way through, the Brazilian finally started to find his
rhythm. Throwing off smooth rail carves and technical air reverses, he earned himself a first wave score of 8.33 to move in the lead.
The battle became real intense as near the end stages of the final. Pupo got another good wave to move to a final two-wave score of 13.63 and leaving Gudauskas in a 6.14 point deficit.
With less than a minute left, the American surfer locked his second wave and threw down three solid turns on his forehand amidst the cheers of the local supporters. However, the wave earned him a score of 6.07, causing him to surrender the victory to his
Brazilian rival due to a 0.7 point deficit.
Talking to a journalist after his victory, the ecstatic Pupo said, “I’m just so happy to win this event and I’m sorry I took down the town’s local guy. I can’t believe I won, I’m just so happy. I was working on my boards with my father before the event,
and I brought him here and it’s the first time he’s gone to a contest with me, and things just went my way. It’s my dream to make the World Tour and these points will help.”
After a valiant effort in the finals, Gudauskas still ended up in the runner-up position. He stated, “Miguel ripped and it makes it exciting when it’s a close Final. Congratulations to him, it’s been a fun week. I am just coming off of an ankle injury and
wasn’t expecting anything, and I just started making heats and then I was in the final.”
Throughout the event, the potential and rapid growth of the up-and-coming surfers had been made evident. There is little doubt that we will get to see these young guns give even more sensational performances in the future and contribute to the progression
of the sport.
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