Miguel Pupo prevails in intense Round 1 heat of Billabong Rio Pro – Surfing News
Brazil’s Miguel Pupo barely managed to jump into the third round of the Billabong Rio Pro, stop number 3 on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title Series, after emerging triumphant in what turned out to be a real nail-biting Round 1 heat at the secondary event venue of Arpoador in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday, May 9.
Portugal’s Tiago Pires and French Polynesia’s Michel Bourez were forced into making a trip to the relegation Round 2 after rounding out the second and third place respectively in the 10th heat of Round 1.
With clean two-to-four foot left-handers breaking at the secondary event site of Arpoador, the event organiser’s decision to shift the first round of the latest elite tour event from the main site of Barra da Tijuca to the alternate venue turned out to be a rewarding one. Throughout the day, the best surfing talent from around the world squared off for a place in the third round and little changed as the competition continued during the afternoon. The waves remained promising, while the three-man bouts continued to deliver a heavy dose of thrilling action.
The 10th heat of Round 1 pitted Pupo against Pires and Bourez in a three-man battle for the Round 3 spot.
All three surfers were more than capable of stealing the show on their day, though the scales were slightly tipping in the favour of Pupo due to his local knowledge of the waves.
Living up to the expectations, the 20-year-old Brazilian put on an impressive show, though victory did not come easy. Going through a series of average scores, the Sao Paulo-based surfer caught a relatively juicy wave to earn a 6.50 off it and immediately backed it up with a 7.40-point ride to reach a heat-total of 13.90 points.
Pires, however, did not allow Pupo to relax for even one bit during the course of the 30-minute heat. He opened his account with a spectacular 9.07-point wave and followed it up with a 4.10-point wave for a heat-total of 13.17 points. He needed to improve his heat-total by only a little, but he failed to take that small step and thus ended up surrendering victory to his Brazilian rival.
Scoring a 4.07 and 7.50 off his best-two waves, Bourez had to settle for a third-place finish. Both he and Pires still had an opportunity to getting into the third round of the competition, though that could be possible only through success in their respective Round 2 heats.
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