Taj Burrow and Filipe Toledo dominant in Round 2 of Burton Toyota Pro – Surfing News
Australia’s Taj Burrow and Brazil’s Filipe Toledo collected comprehensive victories in the opening heats of Round 2 (Round of 96) during the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest in New South Wales, Australia,
on Wednesday, March 14.
As Burrow and Toledo made their way into Round 3 (Round of 48) of the event, they were accompanied by Brazil’s Krystian Kymerson and South Africa’s Shaun Joubert who extended their life in the competition by securing runner-up positions in the first and
second heat respectively.
Burrow, currently No.1 on the ASP World Title Series, was without any doubt one of the biggest crowd-puller at the latest edition of Burton Toyota Pro. The 33-year-old Australian had bested the world’s biggest surfing names during the opening event of the
2012 ASP World Tour, Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, which had the likes of 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater in contention.
Burrow continued his excellent of form from Snapper Rocks at Merewether as he took on his compatriots Luke Egan and Dean Bowen, along with Brazil’s Kymerson in two-to-three foot waves during the first heat of Round 2.
The event’s top-seed went through a series of small waves before locking his first business-wave to launch into a string of his signature aerials to post an 8.33 on the score-board. He soon backed it up with another splendid wave, throwing a series of fins
free snaps to earn an 8.50 for the effort and consequently moving to a heat-total of 16.83 points. The score proved to be a decisive one, earning Burrow a convincing victory to take him into the next round.
“I’m pretty happy with those scores,” Burrow said. “They felt like good turns, but I didn’t know I’d get scores that big. I’m stoked they rewarded them. The two sections I got were sick for throwing your tail out, it was pretty fun. It was hard to get up
for the early start, but I woke up when I hit the water.”
Kymerson made the Round 3 cut as well after clinching runner-up place through his heat-total of 12.66 points, which included a 5.83 and 6.83-point wave.
Egan and Bowen got eliminated from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 10.60 and 6.60 points respectively.
The second heat saw Toledo put on an impressive performance to down his fellow countryman Cesar Aguiar, South Africa’s Joubert and Ireland’s Glenn Hall.
The Brazilian surfer remained on the back-foot for most part of the heat before eventually collecting a 6.40 off his first business-wave and following it up with a spectacular 8.07-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 14.47 points.
Joubert was forced to settle for runner-up place after scoring a 6.57 and 4.40 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 10.97 points.
Aguiar and Hall rounded out the third and fourth positions respectively, with the Brazilian surfer barely missing out on the Round 3 spot after finishing with a heat-total of 10.96 points while the latter scoring a heat-total of 10.47 points.
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