Blake Thornton keeps his tour dreams alive by winning his round 1 heat
After 7 straight days of flat conditions greeted the Billabong Pro Tahiti, a small swell has finally arrived on the reef and the top 44 got to dust off their quivers. While not the big scary tubes we were hoping for, the waves did look very contestable, with some overhead barrels bending into the west bowl on the best sets. With the waiting period rapidly coming to an end, contest director Luke Egan started heat 1 at 6:30 am and ran all the way up to heat 6 of round 2 by sunset time. Some big upsets went down, including world number 2 Taj Burrow losing to Tahitian wildcard Manoa Drollet, Bede Durbidge lost out to Heiarii Williams, and past champion Bobby Martinez lost in an absolute shocker to Marco Polo. Rounds 2 and 3 are on for today, check it out here..
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.07, Jay Thompson (AUS) 1.83, Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 1.00
Heat 2: Luke Stedman (AUS) 10.33, Nate Yeomans (USA) 8.83, Jadson Andre (BRA) 4.40
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.16, Marco Polo (BRA) 5.33, Bobby Martinez (USA) 5.33
Heat 4: Blake Thornton (AUS) 15.50, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 12.00, Dane Reynolds (USA) 11.60
Heat 5: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.66, Tim Reyes (USA) 5.34, Roy Powers (HAW) 2.73
Heat 6: Joan Duru (FRA) 10.10, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 7.60, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 6.90
Heat 7: Tamaroa McComb (PYF) 14.77, Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.50, Adam Melling (AUS) 5.70
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.30, Manoa Drollet (PYF) 10.40, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 8.41
Heat 9: Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.66, Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.40, Tuamata Puhetini (PYF) 10.43
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.00, Andy Irons (HAW) 13.97, Heiarii Williams (PYF) 12.57
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.50, Dusty Payne (HAW) 9.03, Drew Courtney (AUS) 0.20
Heat 12: Owen Wright (AUS) 11.27, Brett Simpson (USA) 8.53, Neco Padaratz (BRA) 7.73
Heat 13: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.93, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.46, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 8.43
Heat 14: Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.23, Dean Morrison (AUS) 9.00, Mick Campbell (AUS) 5.43
Heat 15: Luke Munro (AUS) 14.03, Travis Logie (ZAF) 12.94, Taylor Knox (USA) 9.93
Heat 16: Ben Dunn (AUS) 10.87, Chris Davidson (AUS) 7.90, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 6.92
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Manoa Drollet (PYF) 14.76 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.33
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.00 def. Tuamata Puhetini (PYF) 7.27
Heat 3: Heiarii Williams (PYF) 14.03 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.43
Heat 4: Dane Reynolds (USA) 16.27 def. Tim Reyes (USA) 12.50
Heat 5: Marco Polo (BRA) 9.84 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 7.83
Heat 6: Nate Yeomans (USA) 12.73 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.00
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 7: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 8: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Drew Courtney (AUS)
Heat 9: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 10: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 11: Adam Melling (AUS) vs. Mick Campbell (AUS)
Heat 12: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 13: Roy Powers (HAW) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 14: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Dean Morrsion (AUS)
Heat 15: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 16: Dusty Payne (HAW) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
