The World Championship Tour began its second men’s event of the 2014 season at the Drug Aware Pro on Wednesday in Margaret River, Australia. The opening round got underway on the first day of the waiting period and Kauai’s Sebastian
The World Championship Tour began its second men’s event of the 2014 season at the Drug Aware Pro on Wednesday in Margaret River, Australia. The opening round got underway on the first day of the waiting period and Kauai’s Sebastian Zietz took part in the morning’s second heat.
It wasn’t the start that Seabass would have hoped for during the three-man, non-elimination heat. He paddled out alongside South African powerhouse Jordy Smith and Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro. All three surfers are hoping to gain a good result at Margaret River, since none advanced out of the second round during the season-opening Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.
On Wednesday, things took a while to get going. None of the three found a wave to ride for more than 10 minutes of the 30-minute heat. They sat clustered together, wondering where the big waves from the early morning had gone since the horn had sounded. Because there was nothing worthy of a ride, the judges called a heat reset, putting a full 30 minutes back on the clock.
Just seconds after that decision, Smith took charge of the heat, picking off an 8.33 ride on his first wave. He took a right into a small tube and then came out with a few big carves, staying in control as he whipped around the face of the wave.
Seabass got into a paddle battle with Monteiro for the next ride and was able to take ownership, but he lost his footing after a carve and couldn’t regain his balance. It wound up being a 0.93 score that had potential for much more.
Despite the restart and Smith’s quick bomb, there was still a lack of overall scoring opportunity. Monteiro didn’t catch his first wave until nine minutes into the new clock, so he was in the water for about 20 minutes before finding a wave on which to take off. He got started with a 4.50, using a few quick turns to receive some love from the judges and move into second.
Zietz was solid on his second wave, pulling off a deep drop and adding a few sharp turns, then doing some rail work on the small end sections. His 5.33 score moved him back ahead of Monteiro and put him in position to need a seven-point ride to move ahead of Smith.
But Smith made things more difficult, later backing up his early score with a 7.00 ride that placed him firmly in first place. He used some high and powerful turns with huge torque, maneuvers that have become his calling card. That score put Smith’s competitors in the position of needing near-perfect waves to wrestle away the win.
That never happened. A short 1.13 ride was all Zietz was able to add, leaving him in third place with a 6.46 total. Monteiro took second, which isn’t much consolation in the opening round. The winner gets the bye, second and third place move into the head-to-head elimination round.
At the year’s first event – the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast – Seabass was also forced into the elimination round after a second-place in his opening heat. He was unable to advance, falling short as he went head-to-head with Brazil’s Jadson Andre.
As of press time, five heats were completed in the opening round at Margaret River. Winners advancing straight to the third round were Brazil’s Felipe Toledo, Smith and the Australian trio of Taj Burrow, Adam Melling and Yadin Nicol.
Ten surfers are heading into the second round after failing to win those opening heats. They are Nat Young, Aritz Aranburu, Monteiro, Zietz, Brett Simpson, Freddy Patacchia, Joel Parkinson, Mitch Coleborn, Kelly Slater and Bede Durbidge.
