Owen Wright clinches comfortable win over Brett Simpson in Round 3 heat at Volcom Fiji Pro
The Australian surfing powerhouse Owen Wright put on a phenomenal performance to claim a comprehensive victory over America’s Brett Simpson in the ninth heat of Volcom Fiji Pro’s Round 3 that continued at the alternate venue of Restaurants in Tavarua, Fiji,
on Saturday, June 9.
With his success in Round 3, Wright confidently moved into the fourth round at the fourth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, while bringing the competition to an early end for his rival in the process.
The highly-anticipated massive swell had already arrived at the main venue of Cloudbreak on Friday, turning out to be exactly what the elite surfers had hoped for. While the free surfing session that followed made the excitement of ASP World Title contenders
apparent, the event organisers did not find it appropriate to run the contest in such huge waves, fretting that the swell was disorganised and thus a little risky. Therefore, the action moved to Restaurants on Saturday for the Round 3 and possibly Round 4
heats. The four-to-six foot waves on offer at the secondary event site seemed perfect for a day full of enthralling battles.
Wright, current No.9 on the ASP World Title rankings, found himself pitted against Simpson, current No.18 on the elite tour rankings, in the ninth heat of Round 3, with only one of them to go through into the next round.
As the man-on-man heat got underway, the Australian sensation made his intentions known in the opening minutes of the heat. He only took a few moments before launching towards a perfect barrel to ride it with profound class, earning a near-perfect 9.70-point
ride for the effort. He immediately backed it up with another stunning effort, this time scoring a 9.57 off it to reach a heat-total of 19.27 points.
Simpson, on the other hand, looked completely out of sorts throughout the course of the battle. The American surfer not only struggled to catch waves, but also had a hard time making the most of the opportunities that came his way. In the end, he finished
with a heat-total of 4.00 points, which included a 2.10 and 1.90-point wave. The dismissal performance forced him to surrender a comfortable win to Wright.
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