Tanner Gudauskas and Mason Ho qualify for Round 3 of Billabong Pipe Masters – 2011 ASP World Tour
The surfing fans kept getting entertained with a heavy dose of thrilling surfing action as the final stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour and the 2011 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series, Billabong Pipe Masters, went on
with its Round 1 heats at Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, on Thursday, December 8. The 11th heat saw America’s Tanner Gudauskas take on the Australian wildcard Jack Freestone, while Hawaii’s Mason Ho squared off with his compatriot Hank Gaskell
in the final heat of the opening round.
The 11th heat finished with Gudauskas grabbing the win and consequently securing his place in Round 3, whereas Freestone got relegated to the second round to make another attempt at reaching Round 3.
Ho successfully downed Gaskell in the 12th heat to clinch victory and headed straight into Round 3, while the latter was forced into the relegation Round 2, hanging on his last chance to stay alive in the competition.
As the 11th heat got underway, the 23-year-old Gudauskas and event wildcard entry Freestone struggled to cope with the mammoth-sized 15-to-20 foot waves that were on offer at the Pipe. Neither of the two surfers really looked in control during
the 40-minute battle, though California-based Gudauskas eventually did manage to take the win with a hardly decisive heat-total of 4.76 points.
Freestone struggled even more than his American rival during the man-on-man battle and only managed to collect a 1.13 and 1.50 off his top-two waves, consequently finishing with a resultant heat-total of 2.63 points. The disappointing effort sent him into
Round 2.
Talking about the exhilarating experience of surfing the Pipe on the opening day of the competition, Gudauskas said, “It's as gnarly as Pipe gets. I was super nervous watching, so many gnarly wipe-outs. I just wanted to make it down the wave face but then
I didn't on one wave. It happens so fast in the moment that you don't think about it. I'm just glad to be back on the beach.”
The final heat of Round 1 saw the 23-year-old Ho take on his compatriot Gaskell. Despite holding the local knowledge of the waves, neither of the surfers looked too comfortable in deadly barrels.
In the opening minutes of the heat, Ho caught a wave to post a 6.50 on the score-board. He later added another 2.50 points to his account and took his heat-total to 9.00 points as a result.
Ho’s score remained unbeatable as Gaskell failed to offer even the slightest bit of challenge, collecting a mere 2.83 and 1.10 off his top two waves to finish with a heat-total of 3.93 points. The lacklustre performance got him relegated to Round 2 to surf
again for the Round 3 spot.
For updates on Round 2 of 2011 Billabong Pipe Masters, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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