yesterday as Round 2 was completed at the primary venue of Teahupo’o.
Event No. 5 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti enjoyed historic conditions for the 2011 installment, but faces the challenge of a less-than-ideal swell forecast for this season’s event. Despite this hurdle, the world’s best surfers have been tearing into the chunky lefthander of Teahupo’o the past two days and, once again, the Brazilians proved to be in top form.
Miguel Pupo (BRA), 20, led the South American charge today, netting an incredible 18.97 out of a possible 20 to eliminate Yadin Nicol (AUS), 26, and advance through to Round 3. In the young Brazilian’s first competitive showing at Teahupo’o, Pupo exhibited superb tube-riding skills on his forehand.
“The waves were really fun for our heat,” Pupo said. “The waves are stop and go out there. Some heats have waves and some do not. We were happy to have a lot of waves in our heat. This is my first time competing at Teahupo’o so I am just trying to get as many waves as I can and build my experience.”
Pupo will take on Owen Wright (AUS), 22, in Round 3 of competition.
Jeremy Flores (FRA), 24, current No. 11 on the ASP WCT ratings and last year’s recipient of the coveted Andy Irons Award, posted a commanding win today over Dusty Payne (HAW), 23. Flores’ comfort in the South Pacific reef pass is indicative of his development in powerful reefs all over the world.
“I grew up in Reunion and now live in New Caledonia so I spend a lot of time surfing over reefs,” Flores said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have conditions like we did last year, but when the waves come, Teahupo’o is still an excellent barrel. Most places in the world would kill to have waves like we have today so it’s all good.”
Flores will face Heitor Alves (BRA), 30, in Round 3 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti.
Kieren Perrow (AUS), 35, tour veteran and current ASP WCT No. 31, broke through a rough slump at the start of the year with a convincing win over Tiago Pires (PRT), 32, today. The 2011 Billabong Pipe Masters champion pig-dogged his way to an impressive 16.60 out of a possible 20 heat total and advanced directly to Round 3.
“It’s been a tough start to 2012 for me so it feels great to get a heat win again,” Perrow said. “I feel like I’m surfing well and I’m getting good boards off of Darren (Handley) so everything is there. It’s just about putting smart heats together. Today’s conditions are so much cleaner than yesterday’s so when the waves do come through they have great potential.”
Perrow will take on Round standout Adriano de Souza (BRA), 25, in Round 3 when competition resumes.
Today, a A lay day has been called for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, with only inconsistent, two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves on offer at Teahupo’o this morning.
Event No. 5 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour season, the Billabong Pro Tahiti has completed the opening two rounds of competition and will resume when conditions improve.
“Fairly small out here today and the inconsistency is the real issue,” Rich Porta, ASP International Head Judge, said. “The models are predicting a slight increase over the coming days and we’ll monitor conditions and make another call tomorrow morning.”
Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible 7am start.
Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti are calling for tomorrow to see pulsey and lully southerly swell mix continues in the 4-5’ range on the face for the sets with a slight building trend in the afternoon and very occasional/inconsistent larger sets to 6’ on the face.
When competition resumes, up first will be two-time ASP World Champion and current ASP WCT No. 1 Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, up against Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), 30, in the opening heat of Round 3.
Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be available via http://www.billabongpro.com
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 11.50 def. Willian Cardoso (BRA) 6.93
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 17.50 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 8.73
Heat 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) 12.33 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 3.40
Heat 6: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.00 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 8.97
Heat 7: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 16.60 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 10.00
Heat 8: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 18.97 def. Yadin Nicol (AUS) 16.97
Heat 9: Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.60 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 10.34
Heat 10: Brett Simpson (USA) 10.27 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 3.43
Heat 11: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.50 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 9.67
Heat 12: Kai Otton (AUS) 13.73 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 5.67
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Kai Ottonn (AUS)
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 5: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
Heat 7: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 9: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)
Heat 10: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 11: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 12: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
