Ramzi Boukhiam and Jesse Mendes earn CHIKO Pro Junior title shot at Newcastle’s Surfest
Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam and Brazil’s Jesse Mendes put on phenomenal performances to walk away with top honours in the respective Semi-finals of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued at the Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia,
on Sunday, March 11.
Boukhiam got the better of South Africa’s Beyrick De Vries in the first Semi-final to earn a shot at the event-title, while Australia’s Jordin Watson succumbed to Mendes in the second Semi-final to send the latter into the Final.
With clean three foot waves on offer at the primary event site, the surfers and event organisers could not have asked for better conditions on the final day of the 4-Star Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Men’s Junior Qualifying event.
Boukhiam and De Vries had done exceptionally well to ensure their survival in the competition and reach the Semi-finals despite facing pretty challenging surfing conditions during the initial stages of the event. They were also facing some of the most promising
young talent from around the globe, which further added to the challenge, though they met it quite adeptly.
The first Semi-final between the two surfers turned out to be a pretty exciting affair. As the man-on-man battle got underway, Boukhiam drew first blood with an 8.50-point wave. De Vries posted a 6.65 off his first business-wave in response, enabling his
rival an early advantage.
As the heat progressed, the South African stepped up his surfing and added a 7.15 to his account, moving to a heat-total of 13.80 points. However, Boukhiam comfortably reclaimed the lead by scoring an 8.10 off his second business-wave, finishing with a resultant
heat-total of 16.60 points.
Mendes and Watson met in the battle to decide who got to take on the winner of the first Semi-final in the Final. After a series of phenomenal performances from both the surfers over the last few days, it was difficult to pick a favourite.
As the heat kicked off, Watson locked his first business-wave early in the heat to post a 7.00 on the score-board. However, Mendes edged past him with a 7.90-point wave to claim an early lead.
Watson, the last Australian remaining in contention for the event-title, added another 7.00 to his account to move to a heat-total of 14.00 points. However, the score proved inadequate as his Brazilian rival scored a 9.65 off his spectacular second business-wave
to finish with a winning heat-total of 17.55 points, walking away with a convincing victory.
Mendes was going to face Boukhiam, winner of the first Semi-final, in the final battle of the 4-Star CHIKO Pro Junior at Merewether Beach.
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