Tomas Hermes and Santiago Muniz prevail in Round 1 of Hainan Classic
Brazil’s Tomas Hermes prevailed in the seventh heat, whereas Argentina’s Santiago Muniz clinched top honours in the eighth heat of Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Hainan Classic’s Round 1 (Round of 64) that went down on Wednesday, January 11, at Wanning in Hainan Island, China.
America’s Gabe Kling also kept himself alive in the competition by securing runner-up place in the seventh heat. Japan’s Kento Takahashi and Venezuela’s Rafael Pereira got eliminated from the competition after finishing in third and fourth place respectively.
South Africa’s Brandon Jackson took runner-up place in the eighth heat to advance through into Round 2 (Round of 32), while Basque’s Ethan Egiguren and Chinese Taipei’s Rory Macdonald got removed from the contention for the event title after rounding out the third and fourth position.
The second event in the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival Presented by Quiksilver promised to deliver a heavy dose of exhilarating surfing action as three-to-five foot waves continued to grace the event site, setting the stage for a series of gripping battles.
As the seventh heat got underway, Hermes wasted no time in asserting his dominance in the four-man battle by locking a wave in the opening minute to earn a 7.17 off it. He immediately followed it up with an 8.33-point wave to move to a heat-total of 15.50 points. The two-wave total kept him in the lead until the end, consequently carrying him off into the next round.
Kling got off to a solid start as well, earning 8.50 points off his first business-wave, but failed to challenge Hermes’ position after merely adding another 6.27 points to his account. Finishing with a heat-total of 14.77 points, the American secured runner-up place to advance through into the next round.
Takahashi finished in third place with a heat-total of 11.93 points, while Pereira finished fourth with 8.50 points, which comprised of a 4.67 and 3.83-point wave.
The eighth heat saw Muniz completely steal the show with his phenomenal surfing. He pushed his competitors on the back-foot early in the bout by scoring 7.50 points off his first business-wave, before adding an additional 8.00 to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 15.50 points. The two-wave total served to seal the fate of the heat in his favour, consequently carrying him off into the next round.
Jackson claimed runner-up place after scoring 5.83 points off his first business-wave and 6.70 points off his second business-wave to finish with a heat-total of 12.53 points.
Egiguren and Macdonald got eliminated from the competition after finishing with a heat-total of 9.67 and 5.14 respectively.
The opening day of Hainan Classic was turning out to be a real treat for the surfing fans in China as they got to witness the talent from all around the globe giving their all to remain alive in the contention for the event title.
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