Nathan Yeomans defeats Jay Quinn in first Semi-Final of Billabong Azores Islands Pro – ASP Prime Event
USA's Nathan Yeomans barely edged past New Zealand’s Jay Quinn in the first Semi-Final of the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event, Billabong Azores Islands Pro, which is being held at Praia de Santa Barbara in Sao Miguel, Portugal,
on Saturday, October 1.
The 30-year-old American guaranteed himself a title shot by prevailing in the Semi-Final, while bringing the competition to a premature end for his Kiwi opponent in the process.
A quick look at the performance of Yeomans over the last few days clearly showed that he had been in quite remarkable form. Even though the surfing conditions had turned out to be quite demanding, Yeomans had still managed to remain quite consistent.
After drilling through a talented field of surfers, the San Clemente-based surfer found himself pitted against Quinn. The 28-year-old Kiwi had been nothing short of spectacular during the initial rounds of Billabong Azores Islands Pro either. He has never
made it to the Semi-Final stage of an ASP Prime event before, so he was already sitting at his career best result. However, a victory would have surely added to the joy, making the trip to Portugal even more satisfying for the Kiwi.
As the 30-minute encounter between Yeomans and Quinn got under-way, it was the latter who drew first blood by locking a wave to pull off a rather mediocre trick and posting 4.67 points on the score-board. The lead proved to be extremely volatile as the American
almost immediately moved ahead with a 5.33-point wave.
Almost half-way through the heat, Yeomans added an additional 5.90 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 11.23 points. The score hardly seemed like a threatening one and presented Quinn with a huge opportunity to take the win. However, the Kiwi
was unable to capitalise on the opportunity after falling on his last wave and failed to get the required score, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 10.67 points.
Expressing his disappointment over the missed opportunity during in the Semi-Final, Quinn said, “I pretty much just had to stay on my feet and I would have made it. I am really disappointed at the moment because I had one foot in the door and didn't take
advantage of it.”
After yet another winning performance, Yeomans headed to the Finals to await his next opponent who was going to be determined through the second Semi-Final.
For updates on the second Semi-Final of Billabong Azores Islands Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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