The controversial floater that won Adriano his quarterfinal over Owen Wright. Pic: ASP
Brazil’s Adriano de Souza has won the only World Tour event in his home country, the Billabong Rio Pro, beating Taj Burrow in tricky two-to-three foot beachies at Barra Da Tijuca.
The win catapults the Brazilian to the top of the ASP World Title Rankings and is the clearest signal yet that Brazil have finally arrived as a force in world surfing.
De Souza was a standout throughout the Billabong Rio Pro, and won several close (and controversial – see below) heats on the final day before a commanding victory over Taj with the support of a massive Brazilian crowd behind him.
Taj looked deadly throughout the Rio Pro and must have fancied his chances in beachbreaks, even against surfers more than 10 years younger. He posted the highest scores on the final day but despite opening his account with a 7-point wave in the final, was unable to find a second score.
“I didn’t even really start that well and (the waves) really slowed up in the Final,” Burrow said. “Adriano had a good tactic in that heat and connected with two pretty good waves. I just couldn’t find a wave out there.” Burrow, who finished runner-up on the Gold Coast to Kelly Slater, 39, was bummed after coming painfully close to another event victory.
“I’m pretty devastated right now, but eventually I’ll be able to smile about it,” Burrow said. “Two seconds is good, but I didn’t want to lose that one, I wasn’t planning on losing that one.”
The final day was filled with a number of dramatic heats and finishes, perhaps none more so that the Quarterfinal match between De Souza and Wright. This Quarterfinal bout has become the central topic of subsequent discussion between media, fans and surfers, to the point that the ASP International Judging Panel felt the need to explain their scoring for the heat. I’m not sure I completely agree with their justification – scoring 8 out of 10 for one manouvre is fair enough, but when that move is a floater?! – but it’s worth reading.
Jeremy Flores, 23, returned to form after a severe knee-injury forced him to withdraw from the season opening event on the Gold Coast. The young Frenchman eliminated current World Title No. 2 Joel Parkinson, 30, before losing to Burrow in their semifinal heat and finished equal 3rd overall.
On the other side of the draw, Stradbroke Island’s Bede Durbidge, 28, quietly advanced through the early rounds of competition before taking both his Round 5 and Quarterfinal heats with some of the day’s top scores, but the Australian powerhouse was unable to find the scores needed to surpass De Souza in their close Semifinals heat.
“Adriano’s got the whole crowd going for him with a lot of energy and he’s fired up and we just had the worst heat,” Durbidge said. “If I knew I only needed a 4 at the end I probably would have surfed differently. A 3rd is the best result of the year for me and it’s good to get some momentum going and know I can win heats again and build some confidence going into J Bay.”
Billabong Rio Pro Final:
1 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.63
2 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.17
Billabong Rio Pro Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.27 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 10.50
SF 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.00 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 8.40
Quarterfinals Results:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.26 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 14.43
QF 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.60 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.17
QF 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 16.03 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 6.27
QF 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.23 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 14.10
Next stop: J-Bay.
