Raoni Monteiro and Adrian Buchan prevail in 2011 Vans World Cup of Surfing Quarter-Finals
The second stop of Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, Vans World Cup of Surfing, continued to treat the crowd to a heavy dose of thrilling action as the surfing heavy-weights took each other on during the third and fourth Quarter-Finals on Friday, December 2.
The third Quarter-Final saw Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro square off with America’s CJ Hobgood, Hawaii’s Hank Gaskell and his compatriot Joel Centeio, while Australia’s Adrian Buchan took on his countryman Matt Wilkinson, Hawaii’s John John Florence and his compatriot
Ian Walsh in the fourth Quarter-Final.
Monteiro clinched a convincing victory in the third Quarter-Final to go through into the Semi-Finals, while Gaskell’s runner-up finished ensured his survival in the event as well. Hobgood and Centeio got eliminated from the competition after rounding out
the third and fourth position respectively.
The fourth Quarter-Final turned out to be an intense affair between Buchan and Florence, though the Australian surfer managed to walk away with the win in the end. Walsh finished in third place, while Wilkinson rounded out the fourth position. Their bottom-two
finish resulted in their removal from the contention for the event-title.
The defending event-champion Monteiro stole the show during the third Quarter-Final with his solid performance. As the four-man battle got underway, he wasted no time in gaining control of the heat with a 7.50-point wave, only to add another 7.27 points
to his account a few minutes later. The resultant heat-total of 14.77 points remained unbeatable throughout the course of the contest and consequently carried him off to victory.
Gaskell came up with a pretty decent performance as well, earning 5.50 points off his first and 6.17 points off his second business-wave. The heat-total of 11.67 points ensured his survival in the competition as well by adding him to the Semi-Final line-up.
Hobgood barely missed out on making the Semi-Final cut after finishing with a heat-total of 11.50 points. Centeio rounded out the bottom position after struggling to find a single good wave and eventually finishing with a heat-total of 4.86 points.
The fourth Quarter-Final featured an intense battle between Buchan and Florence as both the surfers fought tooth and nail for top honours until the very last minute. The 19-year-old Florence drew first blood with a 7.00-point wave, but Buchan responded quite
strongly and took the lead with a 7.17-point wave.
As the heat progressed, the crowd-favourite Florence added an additional 7.23 points to his account, moving into the lead once again with a heat-total of 14.23 points. After a lengthy and determined search, Buchan managed to find a 7.67-point wave in the
later stages of the battle to overtake his Hawaiian rival and successfully secure the win.
Walk rounded out the third place after finishing with a heat-total of 13.37 points, while Wilkinson finished fourth with a heat-total of 9.43 points. As a result, both surfers were ejected from the race for the event-title.
For updates on the Vans World Cup of Surfing Semi-Finals, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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