Patrick Gudauskas and Junior Faria prevail in Round 2 of Mr. Price Pro Ballito
The sunrise of Wednesday, July 6, in Ballito, South Africa, marked the beginning of Mr. Price Pro Ballito’s round of 48 (Round 2). A total of 48 surfers were going to go against each other in 12 four-way battles with the hope of securing their place in the
next round.
In the first heat of the Round 2, America’s Patrick Gudauskas clinched the win to become the first surfer to advance to the next round. Following him to the next round was Brazil’s Wiggolly Dantas, who finished in runner-up place. Australia’s Josh Kerr faltered
during the heat and finished in third place to get eliminated from the competition, along with South Africa’s Dale Staples, who finished in fourth position.
The second heat saw Brazil’s Junior Faria walk away with top honours, while South Africa’s Brandon Jackson extended his life in the competition by finishing in second position. America’s Kolohe Andino and Northern Spain’s Hodei Collazo were removed from
the contention for the event title after finishing in third and fourth positions respectively.
Riding one of the biggest barrels of the day, the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World No. 27, Gudauskas outclassed his competition in the first heat of the day to clinch a convincing victory. His best-scoring waves came in the final minutes
of the heat, earning him a 7.50 and 6.33, to carry him to a heat-total of 13.83 points and sealing the fate of the event with him as the winner.
Dantas remained the most impressive surfer in this 4-way battle. Scoring 4.83 and 5.83 off a couple of waves in the middle stages of the heat, he climbed to a heat-total of 10.66 points and successfully secured second position, consequently confirming his
place in the next round.
After an almost flawless performance in the first round, Kerr looked to be a completely different man on Wednesday. While he scored massive scores in the first round, he only managed to earn a 4.67 and 3.53 in his latest heat, finishing with a heat-total
of 8.20 to land in third place and getting eliminated as a result. Staples shared the unfortunate fate of the Australian after finishing with a heat-total of 5.27 points.
The next heat saw Faria remind everyone on the scene why the Brazilian army of surfers is the one to really look out for. The 23-year-old only rode three waves during his hunt for the top scores of the heat. Earning 6.00 from of the waves and 6.67 from another,
he finished with a heat-total of 12.67 points to emerge triumphant.
Jackson gave the local fans something to cheer about after successfully securing the runner-up place. Opening his account with a 3.00-point wave, he soon bounced back into competition with the second-highest score of the heat, 6.20, to stay alive in the
event.
Andino is undoubtedly one of the most promising young-gun that America has to offer. However, the 19-year-old was undone by the huge swells of Ballito and had to settle for third place after finishing with a heat-total of 7.53 points.
Collazo remained the most unimpressive surfer in the heat, scoring 4.00 off his first wave and 3.33 off his second to finish with a two-wave total of 7.33 points. Both him and Andino were eliminated from the competition.
For more updates on Round 2 of Mr. Price Pro Ballito, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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