Yadin Nicol defeats Kolohe Andino to earn a 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing title shot
The eighth Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event, 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing, continued to deliver high intensity action at the Huntington Beach Pier, California, with the second semi-final on Saturday, August 7.
Once the thrilling battle for the title-shot concluded, it was Australia’s Yadin Nicol who walked away with top honours, barely edging past America’s young sensation, Kolohe Andino, to secure his place in the Final.
The entire week of Nike US Open of Surfing had featured a series of exciting contests despite the fluctuating surfing conditions. However, the final day of the competition turned out to be much better, with two-to-four foot waves gracing the Huntington Beach
Pier as well as a significant improvement in weather.
After witnessing an electrifying first semi-final, expectations were pretty high from the bout between the 26-year-old Nicol and 17-year-old Andino. Despite suffering from consistency issues throughout the week, both the surfers had repeatedly managed to
bounce back with impressive performances. During the crucial quarter-final stage, they appeared to have finally removed the kinks from their form and seemed prepared to see themselves through to the very end.
As the second semi-final got underway, the San Clemente-native, Andino, immediately made use of his local knowledge of the waves to score 6.50 points off a swell, taking an early lead.
Nicol patiently kept the hunt going and eventually came across a juicy wave, which he utilised to showcase some of the most impressive tricks in his arsenal and ended up collecting an impressive 7.67 points for the effort.
A few minutes later, the Australian caught another wave to add an additional 5.77 points to his account and move to a two-wave total of 13.44 points.
As the minutes passed, pressure kept mounting on Andino while he searched desperately for the necessary score to move past his rival on the scoreboard. In the dying minutes of the heat, he made a final desperate effort, but ended up earning 6.37 points off
the wave to finish with a heat-total of 12.87 points. Finding himself in a 0.57-point deficit, Andino could do nothing but helplessly watch Nicol claim the win to go through to the finals.
Successfully surviving the semi-final battle, Nicol headed to the Final to face America’s legendary Kelly Slater for the 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing title.
For updates on the Final of 2011 US Open of Surfing, stay tuned to bettor.com
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