Wiggolly Dantas and Josh Kerr triumph in Round 1 of Mr. Price Pro Ballito
The seventh Associations of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event of the year, Mr. Price Pro Ballito, kicked off with the first and second heat of round of 96 (Round 1) at Surfers Beach in Ballito, South Africa, on Monday, July 4th.
Brazil’s Wiggolly Dantas prevailed in the first heat, while Northern Spain’s Hodei Collazo finished in runner-up place to advance to the next round of the competition. South Africa’s Greg Emslie and America’s Brett Simpson were forced to make an early exit
after rounding out the third and fourth positions respectively.
The second heat saw Australia’s Josh Kerr walk away with top honours to secure a place in the next round. South Africa’s Brandon Jackson took second place to stay alive in the event-title race. Brazil’s Andre Silva finished in third place, while Australia’s
Dion Atkinson took fourth position. Both the surfers were eliminated from the competition.
With occasional four-to-eight foot swells gracing the primary event site, it turned out to be a perfect start to the event. While the opportunity was there for the surfers to showcase the most technical tricks in their arsenal, it was never going to be easy
for the less experienced surfers to cope with the waves.
As expected, the first heat turned out to be quite one sided, with the experience of Dantas coming into play and separating him from the rest of the field. However, it was not exactly smooth sailing for the Brazilian. He did face trouble during his hunt
for a couple of good scores, but eventually managed to land an 8.33-point wave in the later stages of the heat and soon followed it up with a 5.83-point wave. The heat-total of 14.16 remained unbeatable and carried him off to victory.
The other surfers in the four-way battle were unable to cope with the conditions and luck did not exactly favour them either. A 4.67 and 4.57-point wave was all it took for Collazo to clinch second position and extend his life in the event. Emslie’s 8.26
earned him a third place finish, while Simpson’s disappointing heat-total of 4.24 put him in last place.
The next heat turned out to be a one man show for ASP World No. 12, Kerr. The Australian came up with an almost flawless performance, scoring an amazing 8.83 off his first wave and following it up with a near-perfect 9.60-point wave, to reach a heat-total
of 18.43.
Talking to the media after the heat, Kerr said, “I was pretty excited for that heat. I had a fun free surf up the beach and then was just watching going ‘are you kidding me it’s pumping!’ I was just excited to get out there and rack up some really good scores.”
Jackson was the only other surfer who was able to jump over the five-point mark on a single wave. His scores of 5.83 and 4.87 got him second position and allowed him to advance to the round of 48 (Round 2).
Silva scored 8.17 points off her two waves, while Atkinson managed a heat-total of 6.77 only. The two had clearly succumbed to the challenge that the big swell presented and had to make a early exit from the event as a result.
For more updates on Round 1 of Mr. Price Pro Ballito 2011, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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