Round 2 bout at Quiksilver Pro France highlights the potential of John John Florence
John John Florence is living the dream after getting an opportunity to compete against the biggest surfing names at the greatest stage in the sport, the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour.
The Hawaiian surfer may not have started off great, collecting an ordinary 13-place finish in Australia, but if anyone was under the impression that the pressure of facing the elite surfers at the world stage had gotten to him, they could not have been more
wrong, as was seen at Billabong Rio Pro where the 19-year-old sensation took an overall victory.
A series of great results eventually brought him up to the fourth spot on the elite tour rankings, making him a strong contender for the coveted World Title.
Arriving at Quiksilver Pro France, the Hawaiian prodigy knew that he had a chance of getting even closer to his dream by getting his hands on a good result at the latest event and to achieve this, he needed to get off to a confident start.
Pitted against America’s Patrick Gudauskas and Brazil’s Miguel Pupo in the opening round of the seventh of ten stops on the latest version of the elite tour, Florence just could not put a good enough score on the score-board and therefore was forced to take
the longer and pressure road to the third round.
Competing in the relegation round can make even the best in the business shiver. To make the situation even scarier, Florence was going to have to take on his fellow countryperson Dusty Payne.
The battle was never going to be an easy one for Florence, though Payne had seen enough young guns over the years to know what they are capable of doing on their day and thus was not expected to let his guard down.
As the battle for survival got underway, it was Payne who drew first blood, though it was a dismal 0.57-point ride that hardly put any pressure on his rival. However, he managed to step-up as the heat progressed and locked a juicy barrel to unload a series
of exquisite tricks to earn a 7.83 for the effort.
Florence, on the other hand, was quick to adapt to the four-to-six foot waves on offer, positioning himself just right to get his hands on the best waves on offer.
He managed to score a 5.83 off his first business-wave and utilised the confidence to ride a high-performance barrel with almost perfection, compelling the judges to give him an average score of 9.17 points.
The combined total of 15.00 points placed him well over his rival on the score-board, thus allowing him to walk away with the win.
“It was definitely scary (surfing in the elimination Round 2),” Florence stated. “Just going into Round 2 is scary, and coming up against Dusty (Payne) in waves like this, big barrels, I was pretty nervous throughout the whole heat cause all he (Payne) needed
was a 7 and he could get that in his sleep.”
The experience of riding the powerful waves on offer in Hawaii had paid off for Florence, clearly highlighting his talent and potential.
After surviving a heat against Payne, Florence still had plenty of work cut out for him at Quiksilver Pro France, with America’s Taylor Knox waiting to take him on in the third round.
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