Owen Wright defeats Mick Fanning in third Quarter-Final at Hurley Pro – 2011 ASP World Tour
The seventh of eleven stops on the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Hurley Pro, continued to treat fans to a heavy dose of action during the third Quarter-Final that went down at the iconic point-break of Lower Trestles in California,
America, on Wednesday, September 21.
The man-on-man showdown between Australia’s Owen Wright and his compatriot, Mick Fanning, turned out to be a real thrilling affair. However, the young Wright managed to walk away with top honours in the end, consequently going through to the Semi-Finals.
To say that the 21-year-old Wright has been on fire over the last month would not be an overstatement. The young Australian was proving to be a formidable force to be reckoned with and was quite consistently following one epic performance with another. The
previous two stops of the elite tour had seen him make his way comfortably into the Finals, getting pitted against America’s Kelly Slater on both the occasions.
While he succumbed to the surfing icon during the Billabong Pro Tahiti Final, he successfully overcame the legend in the waves of New York during Quiksilver Pro to register his first victory of the season. He carried the momentum to Lower Trestles and was
going really strong so far.
His opponent in the third Quarter-Final was none other than former two-time ASP World Champion, Fanning. The experienced ASP World Tour veteran appeared to be struggling to maintain consistent form at Hurley Pro, and had ended up in the relegation round
twice. However, he did manage to bounce back strongly on both occasions. Despite not being in his top form, it was lethal to undermine Fanning as he was perfectly capable of grabbing a win and going forward in the competition without offering his 100 percent.
As the third Quarter-Final got underway, Fanning got-off to a blazing start, locking a juicy wave in the opening minutes to unload a series of exquisite tricks and earning 8.10 points for the effort. A long and patient hunt allowed him to add an additional
7.57 points to his account, taking him to a heat-total of 15.67 points.
Wright got-off to a cautious start and gradually built up momentum to collect 7.50 points off his first business-wave in the later stages of the heat. He immediately followed it up with an impressive wave, earning 8.17 points for the effort and reaching
a heat-total of 15.67 points.
Both the surfers sat at an identical two-wave total by the end of the heat, causing the judges to determine the winner by taking the highest wave-score into account. Wright’s best wave-score of 8.17 against Fanning’s 8.10 earned him victory and sent him
through to the Semi-Finals.
While it was a rather unlikely win, it surely was not an undeserved one as Wright had definitely put up a remarkable performance despite pitting against a formidable opponent.
For more updates on the Hurley Pro Quarter-Finals, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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