The 6 Star Prime Quiksilver Pro Durban and the 6 Star Estoril Quiksilver Pro completed in fine fashion this weekend, propelling two Brazilians up the current ASP World Qualifying Series ratings. Serious campaigner Jadson Andre took down the 2009 Quiksilver Pro Durban, while fellow countryman Alejo Muniz destroyed the local competition at the 2009 Estoril Quiksilver Pro.
Jadson Andre took down a frothing Owen Wright (AUS) in a high scoring final down in South Africa at the 2009 Quiksilver Pro Durban. In the waning minutes of the heat, Andre left Owen searching for a 9.67 to take the lead. On the way to the final, Andre topped Matt Wilkinson (AUS) in the semis, who just came off his second place finish at the Billabong Pro at Bells Beach; Ireland’s top surfer, Glenn Hall in the quarterfinals; local South African Brandon Jackson in Round 6; Kirk Flintoff (AUS) in Round 5; Leigh Sedley (AUS), Rudy Palmboom (ZAF) and Victor Ribas (BRA) in Round 4; and David Richards (ZAF) and Izuki Tanaka (JPN) in Round 3. Jadson’s 3500 point hall bumps him to number 2 in the rankings, with a solid footing towards 2010 qualification, while Owen’s runner-up finish at the event puts him in the number one spot in the rankings, leading Jadson by a mere 13 points.
While Jadson Andre was busy kicking ass south of the border, compatriot Alejo Muniz took out a very in-form Masatoshi Ohno in Portugal at the 2009 Estoril Quiksilver Pro. Muniz took down a solid roster of international surfers on his way to the winner’s podium, including current World Tour surfer and DailyStoke favorite, Marlon Lipke (DEU) in the semifinals; World Tour surfer Tim Boal (FRA) in the quarters; a solidly comboed Vincent Duvignac in Round 5; top Canary surfers Jonathan Gonzalez and Jose Maria Cabrera in Round 4; fellow Brazilian Robson Santos and surging Fronchie, Marc Lacomare in Round 3; and World Tour surfer Micky Picon (FRA), Oliver Kurtz (USA) and Richard Christie (NZL) in Round 2. Alejo’s 2500 point haul is his first showing of the year, immediately ushering him into the top 100 in the 2009 WQS rankings. Masatoshi’s solid runner-up finish has rocketed him to number 15 in the rankings, giving his best 6 star finish to date and a very good head start to be the first ever Japanese surfer to qualify for the World Tour.
Log on the the event websites for complete recaps, photos, videos and heat sheets, and tune in to DailyStoke tomorrow for a full ASP World Qualifying Series rankings update.
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