Nathan Yeomans and Leonardo Neves emerge triumphant in Round 2 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro
The first stop on the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing World Cup, the Reef Hawaiian Pro, kept the action running at the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Monday, November 21, as America’s Nathan Yeomans took on Hawaii’s Mason Ho, Brazil’s Jano Belo and Guadeloupe’s
Charles Martin in the seventh heat, while Brazil’s Leonardo Neves squared off Hawaii’s Kekoa Bacalso, his compatriot Love Hodel and Tahiti’s Alain Riou in the eighth heat of the Round of 96 (Round 2).
The seventh heat saw Yeomans come up with an outstanding performance to secure top honours and advance through into the Round of 64 (Round 3). Ho extended his life in the competition as well by securing the runner-up place. Belo and Martin rounded out the
third and fourth positions respectively, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
The eighth heat turned out to be quite intense as Neves and Bacalso fought tooth and nail for victory during the 20-minute battle. In the end, however, it was Neves who emerged triumphant, making the latter settle for runner-up place. The third and fourth
place finish by Riou and Hodel prevented them from making the Round 3 cut.
With clean head-high waves on offer at the primary event site, the surfers found themselves facing demanding surfing conditions during their hunt for competitive scores and a place in the next round.
As the seventh heat got underway, the 30-year-old Yeomans got off to a patient start, but gradually built momentum to eventually landed a flurry of exciting tricks on his first business-wave late in the 20-minute four-man battle to post a 7.17 on the score-board.
He soon followed it up with an even more impressive 7.83-point wave to take his heat-total to 15.00 points. The score eventually sealed the fate of the battle in his favour.
Ho got off to an excellent start, scoring 7.67 points off his first wave, but was unable to follow it up with an equally competitive score and only managed to add another 5.60 points to his account. The score proved sufficient to earn him the runner-up place
and carry him into the next round.
Belo scored a couple of fives to finish in third place with a heat-total of 11.53 points, while Martin finished last with a two-wave total of 9.00 points, which comprised of a 2.83 and 6.17-point wave.
The eighth heat featured an intense battle between Neves and Bacalso for top honours. Both the surfers kept pushing hard until the very last minute of the four-man battle.
As the heat got underway, the Saquarema-based Neves got off to a strong start, posting a 6.43 on the score-board off his first business-wave. He immediately followed it up with a 6.77-point wave to take his heat-total to 13.20 points.
Bacalso had no intention of letting his Brazilian rival dominate the proceedings and put up a determined fight. After collecting a 7.33-point wave, the Hawaiian found himself in a position to comfortably take the win, but he missed out on the chance by failing
to earn the required score and only managing to add a 5.50 to his account. As a result, he was forced to settle for runner-up place while conceding victory to his Brazilian rival, Neves.
Riou finished in third place after scoring 10.67 points in total off his top-two waves, while Hodel’s disappointing performance enabled him to get to a two-wave total of 1.87 points, which included a 1.00 and 0.87-point wave. Both the surfers got eliminated
from the competition as a result of their bottom-two finish.
For more updates on Round 2 of the Reef Hawaiian Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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