Owen Wright topples CJ Hobgood to clinch semi-final spot at Billabong Pro Tahiti
Australia’s Owen Wright put on an outstanding performance to get the better of America’s CJ Hobgood in the second Quarter-final at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, the fifth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, which down at Teahupo’o in Taiarapu, Tahiti, on Monday, August 27.
Both the surfers had been in prime form upon reaching the primary event site, all pumped-up to put their stylish and exquisite surfing skills on display in firing waves that were on offer.
Wright had shown with the current battle zone last year, when he managed to make it into the finals during the previous edition of Billabong Pro Tahiti, though he finished just short of the top honours in the end.
Returning back this year with the aim of finishing what he had started last year, the 22-year-old Australian powerhouse had held nothing back during his battles with the elite ASP surfers in front of a huge crowd in attendance, not to mention the global audience who were catching every second of action live through webcast.
Hobgood, another seasoned ASP World Tour contender, had been nothing short of impressive during the course of the competition either, doing pretty good to tame the shifty waves offered by the sea to register just enough wins to earn himself a place in the quarter-finals.
As the contest for the semi-final spot got underway, both the surfers got off to a solid start, eager to post a couple of big scores on the score-board as soon as possible to put the other under pressure.
Almost halfway through the way, Hobgood got hold of a juicy wave to unload a series of powerful turns, earning an 8.33 for the effort and thus moving into the lead. He soon backed it up with a 7.27-point ride, thus reaching a heat-total of 15.60 points.
Wright trailed his rival for most part of heat, but stepped up in the dying minutes to collect a 9.50 off what got registered as his first business-wave. He immediately followed it up with a 9.40-point ride to jump to a heat-total of 18.90 points, which allowed him to grab the lead and consequently the win from Hobgood.
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