Patrick Gudauskas and Thiago Camarao enter Round 3 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro – ASP Prime Event
Billabong Azores Islands Pro continued to bring some intense surfing action to the fans with the 11th and 12th heat of Round of 48 (Round 2) on Friday, September 30.
The 11th heat saw America’s Patrick Gudauskas clinch a convincing victory to go through to the Round of 24 (Round 3). South Africa’s Shaun Joubert finished in second position to earn his place in the next round as well. Hawaii’s Tonino Benson
and Japan’s Masatoshi Ohno rounded out the third and fourth positions respectively, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
Brazil’s Thiago Camarao emerged triumphant in the 12th heat to confirm his place in the next round. He was accompanied by the USA’s CJ Hobgood, who finished in second place to survive and earn a Round 3 spot. Brazil’s Willian Cardoso and France’s
Joan Duru rounded out the bottome spots, which led to their removal from contention for the event title.
As the 11th heat got under-way, the 25-year-old Gudauskas wasted no time in asserting his excellent form and locked a wave to show-off some of the tricks in his bag, earning 7.17 points for the effort. He continued the momentum to add another
7.00 points to his account, finishing with a heat-total of 14.17 points. The two-wave total remained unbeatable until the end and eventually carried him off to victory.
Joubert did not look too comfortable in the testing waves and struggled to take control of the waves during the early stages of the heat. However, a desperate effort in the dying minutes of the four-man battle allowed him to collect a 5.03 and 6.13-point
wave, finishing in second place as a result.
Benson finished in third place with a heat-total of 10.40 points, while Ohno rounded out the bottom positions after scoring 9.34 points in total off his top-two waves. The bottom-two finish got both surfers ejected from the competition.
The final heat of Round 2 pitted Camarao against Hobgood, Cardoso and Duru in a battle for the Round 3 spot. All four surfers had exhibited promising form during their Round 1 bouts and were no strangers to the testing three-foot waves and strong winds.
As the 12th heat got underway, the 23-year-old Camarao got off to a shaky start and failed to find a good score. However, he refused to let the surfing conditions get the better of him and remained persistent. The determination paid off as he
eventually collected a 6.67 and 6.93-point wave in the final minutes of the heat to finish off with a heat-total of 13.60 points. The score turned out to be a decisive one and served to seal the fate of the contest in his favour.
Hobgood managed to extend his life in the event by securing runner-up place with a heat-total of 11.50 points, which included a 6.17 and 5.33-point wave. The effort was not a commendable one, but one could hardly raise a finger at his performance taking
the quality of the waves and strong winds into account.
Cardoso and Duru got eliminated from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 10.40 and 9.53 points respectively. The two surfers had performed quite impressively during Round 1, but seemed to have lost their will to fight during the latest heat.
For updates on Round 3 of Billabong Azores Islands Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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