Sebastien Zietz and Joel Parkinson into the quarter-finals at Billabong Pipe Masters
Hawaii’s Sebastien Zietz and Australia’s Joel Parkinson jumped straight into the quarter-finals at the Billabong Pipe Masters, the final stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after emerging triumphant in their
respective Round 4 heats at the Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, on Sunday, December 9, 2012.
Zietz got the better of America’s Damien Hobgood and Dane Reynolds in the opening heat of Round 4 to secure his place in the quarter-finals, forcing his rivals to take a trip to the relegation Round 5 in the process.
The second heat concluded with Parkinson stamping an authoritative victory over his fellow countryperson Kieren Perrow and America’s CJ Hobgood, sending the latter two into the fifth round to surf again for a place in the quarter-finals.
Renowned for its pumping waves and challenging yet exciting conditions, the Banzai Pipeline was living up to its reputation on the latest day of the competition, delivering plenty of gripping surfing action between the best in the business.
The first heat of Round 4 saw Zietz, who had clinched the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing following his Round 2 win, take on Hobgood and Reynolds.
The Hawaiian surfer continued his excellent run of form and navigated the Pipeline and Backdoor expertly during the battle to eventually post an 8.57 and 7.83 on the score-board for a heat-total of 16.40 points. The score held up until the end to seal the
deal in his favour.
Hobgood finished in second place with a heat-total of 14.17 points, while Reynolds finished third after failing to go any higher than a two-wave total of 9.96 points.
The second heat saw Parkinson, the top contender for this year’s ASP World Title, exchange blows with Hobgood and Perrow, the defending event champion.
Parkinson’s performance during the heat can aptly be defined as phenomenal, with the Australian showing off his class and experience as he tamed the six-to-eight foot waves that were on offer.
Scoring a near-perfect 9.50 off his first business-wave and backing it up with an 8.60-point ride, Parkinson registered a heat-total of 18.10 points, which remained unbeatable until the end to see him through to victory.
Hobgood finished in second place with an ordinary two-wave total of 6.20 points, while Perrow finished with an even lower heat-total of 5.83 points. Both the surfers consequently got relegated to the fifth round.
Tags: