Nic Muscroft and Matt Banting claim top honours in Round 3 of Burton Toyota Pro – Surfing News
Australia’s Nic Muscroft and Matt Banting confirmed their spot in the fourth round (Round of 24) of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest after winning their Round 3 (Round of 48) heats that took place
at Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday, March 15.
Australia’s Adrian Buchan and America’s Gabe Kling also advanced through into the next round of the event after taking first runner-up position in the fifth and sixth heat of Round 3 respectively.
The world’s best surfers had stepped into the contention for the handsome winning prize cheque and coveted ASP rating points that were on offer at the latest ASP 6-Star event in Australia. Mother Nature seemed to be in a generous mood as well, blessing the
site with decent rippable waves, which lay in two-to-three foot range on day 4 of the event.
The local crowd got to witness an intense battle during the fifth heat of Round 3, with Muscroft and Buchan going at each other with everything they had.
Muscroft got off to a superb start with an 8.00-point wave, but Buchan managed to better him with an 8.10-point wave to take the lead. Both the surfers kept breathing down each other necks as the heat progressed, with the lead changing hands a number of
times.
Buchan eventually managed to add an additional 7.37 points to his account to move to a heat-total of 15.47 points. Getting a bit desperate, Muscroft locked a wave and gave it his all. The string of exquisite manoeuvres earned him a 7.77, putting him ahead
of his compatriot on the score-board with a heat-total of 15.77 points.
Basque Country’s Aritz Aranburu and Brazil’s Jano Belo were unable to advance further in the event after finishing third and fourth place with a heat-total of 10.37 and 9.26 points respectively.
The sixth heat featured a phenomenal performance by Banting as he took down his fellow countryman Daniel Ross, America’s Kling and Reunion Island’s Adrien Toyon.
Banting remained pretty busy during the heat, catching wave after wave as he carried out his hunt for a good score. Almost half-way through the heat, he locked his first business-wave to post a 9.00 on the score-board and went on to catch another juicy wave
to unload a string of exquisite tricks for an 8.20-point wave. The resultant heat-total of 17.20 points remained unbeatable, taking them through into the next round.
Kling put on an impressive performance for his runner-up place, scoring a 7.67 off his first business-wave and backing it up with an 8.27-point wave for a heat-total of 15.94 points.
Ross and Toyon got eliminated from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 14.96 and 10.00 points respectively.
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