Raoni Monteiro succumbs to Kai Otton despite heroic effort in Round 2 of Volcom Fiji Pro
Australia’s Kai Otton secured his place in the third round of Volcom Fiji Pro, the latest stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after barely claiming victory over Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro in the 12th
heat of Round 2 that went down at the primary event site of Cloudbreak in Tavarua, Fiji, on Friday, June 8.
The clash turned out to be a real nail-biting affair, with both the surfers putting on a determined effort to try and keep themselves alive in the contention for the event title.
The Australian powerhouse, however, cemented his lead through a last-minute effort to eventually walk away with top honours.
“It is really really big out there,” Otton said. “Really big and really perfect. Raoni (Monteiro) gets the hero award today. He pulled into a monster and got crushed for it. If that wave didn’t come in for me at the end, that would have been it for me. Thankfully
it did and I survive to surf another day.”
The action had been on hold at the open ocean reef pass since the conclusion of the first 10 heats of Round 2 on Monday, after which the deterioration in the swell had compelled the event organisers to make use of the event window to wait for an improvement
in the surfing conditions. With the arrival of the highly-anticipated massive swell at Cloudbreak on Friday allowed the remaining heats of Round 2 got get underway.
The final heat of Round 2 saw Otton take on Monteiro in a man-on-man battle for the Round 3 spot. Failing to make much of an impact during Round 1 on Sunday, both the surfers found themselves relegated to the second round, pushed against the edge with the
pressure of elimination hanging over their heads.
As the battle got underway, Monteiro drew first blood with a 4.67-point ride in the opening minutes of the heat and moved to a heat-total of 12.34 points after riding a monster of a barrel to add a 7.67 to his account, sustaining a knee injury in the process.
Otton got off to a modest start, taking his time to get a feel of the surfing conditions on hand. Almost halfway through the heat, he rode deep into a huge barrel and emerged from it cleanly to post an 8.50 on the score-board. He backed it up with a 5.83-point
wave to finish with a heat-total of 14.33 points, this finishing with a heat-total of 14.33 points. The 1.99-point lead served to seal the fate of the battle in his favour to carry him through into the next round.
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