WADE CARMICHAEL IS THE NEW CHAMPION AT THE SURF OPEN ACAPULCO

Translation: Heido Sundstrom

Australian surfer, Wade Carmichael, becomes the new champion of the Surf Open Acapulco, presented by Vans and the Guerrero State Government. The “ultimate battle” at Playa Revolcadero took place around noon on Saturday, with waves of up to eight feet.

Carmichael faced American, Tim Reyes, who drew from his experience all throughout the competition but just couldn’t manage to overcome the Australian, Carmichael, who was caught the first left wave in the final group, man-to-man, and did various maneuvers that kept him in first place until the end. He scored a 13.50 for his best two waves, compared to Tim Reyes’ 8.50 score, although Reyes performed well over the five days of the competition. Twenty-year-old Carmichael was ranked fifth in the ASP World Junior Tour last year and this year is starting to dabble in the QS (and what a way to do it!).

Venezuelan surfer, Francisco “Lolo” Bellorin was the most prominent Latino surfer, finishing in third place overall. Bellorin possessed extraordinary strength in his surfing, doing high aerials and other tricks in the Revolcadero waves. Unfortunately, in one of the semifinals, Tim Reyes caught a huge floater and received a high score that Bellorin just couldn’t beat.

Japanese surfer, Kaito Ohashi, had a really good competition, with hits and risky tricks, but was also unable to advance to the final. In the semifinal, he faced off against who would later become the champion of the Surf Open Acapulco, Wade Carmichael. Ohashi also tied with Bellorin for third place.

Brazilian competitor, Wesley Santos, at just 16 years old, scored the only perfect 10 wave of the event when he caught a large tube, earning the first perfect score of his career.  

THE “MEXICAN DREAM” CUT SHORT ON DAY FOUR OF THE SURF OPEN ACAPULCO

Translation: Heido Sundstrom

With the presence of the uninvited tropical storm, “Erick”, the fourth day of the Surf Open Acapulco (presented by Vans and the Guerrero State Government) kicked off with less than favorable conditions.

“Erick’s” presence was felt on Friday morning, bringing rain and eight foot waves to Playa Revolcadero. The 32 remaining competitors competed in extreme conditions, with slightly difficult waves and a heavy current, challenging these athletes who showed off their skill and experience.

Brazilian surfer, Wesley Santos (17 years old), gained the best score for his top two waves with a 15.37.

Defending champion, Tanner Hendrickson, also managed to stay in the competition by passing first in his heat.

Meanwhile, the Latinos that are still in the running for Round 16 tomorrow include: Brazilians, Allan Donato, Alejandro Chacon, Italo Ferreira and Wesley Santos. And from Costa Rica, we have Noe Mar McGonagle, as well as Francisco Bellorin from Venezuela.

Unfortunately, the Mexican hopeful and Playa Revolcadero local, Jose Manuel “Yuco” Trujillo, ended up being eliminated in Heat 3, which meant Mexico was out of the competition.

Tomorrow, contest organizers will analyze the weather conditions to determine the start of the day’s competition, where we’ll find out who will be crowned the champion of the Surf Open Acapulco. Will it be the defending champ, Tanner Hendrickson? Or, perhaps another Hawaiian surfer? Then there are the Brazilians, who are also competing strong. Or, will the experience of Tim Reyes bring him the victory? Place your bets and we’ll see you tomorrow at the final.

ITALO FERREIRA PUTS ON A SHOW FOR DAY THREE OF THE SURF OPEN ACAPULCO

Translation: Heido Sundstrom

Without a doubt, Brazilian surfer, Italo Ferreira, at just 18 years old, shined on the third day of the Surf Open Acapulco, presented by Vans and the Guerrero State Government.

As we approach the final day of competition, the action heats up and in Round 64 of Day Three (which the announcer dubbed the “Revolcadero Battle”), it was truly a battle to pass to Round 32 for following day.

In Heat 11, Italo Ferriera earned the best scores of the event, with a 9.47 and 9.07 for several spectacular aerials (like a flying fish plowing through the waves at Playa Revolcadero).

“It was a good competitive series because there were a lot of good surfers in this round,” commented Ferreira. “The waves were a little smaller and I was a little nervous in the beginning because I didn’t really get the waves at first, but soon I started to feel more confident and caught some big aerials.”

Meanwhile, the defending champion, Hawaiian surfer, Tanner Hendrickson, really had to struggle to stay in the game and ended up finishing second in his heat behind fellow Hawaiian, Alex Smith.

Heat 14 saw a bit of controversy regarding second place, while first place went to Hawaiian competitor, Dylan Goodale. Second place was between Wesley Santos from Brazil and Mexican surfer, Dylan Southworth. Santos ended up taking first place, forcing Southworth out of the competition even though it was clear that Santos went after Southworth and made it hard for him to catch any waves. They even called interference on him, but in the end the judges declared otherwise.

With the elimination of Dylan Southworth and Diego Cadena, the only Mexican surfers left remaining for the fourth day is Jose Manuel “Yuco” Trujillo, a local from Playa Revolcadero who enjoyed a good day of competition with intense tricks and aerials.

Follow the action live at:

www.surfopenacapulco.com

HEATED DAY TWO OF THE SURF OPEN ACAPULCO

Translation: Heido Sundstrom

The second day of the SURF OPEN ACAPULCO, presented by Vans and the State Government of Guerrero, got off to an early start, with waves that had gone down in size compared to the previous day. They maintained good conditions, however, and the peaks remained consistent. Without a doubt, this year’s competition has been more fierce and of a higher quality, with the waves playing a huge part in showcasing the talent of these athletes.

The figure of the day was Venezuelan surfer, Francisco Bellorin, who took a left wave and did a combination of tricks, gaining the highest score of the day with a 9.43.

18-year-old Brazilian competitor, Italo Ferreira got the highest score of the day in his two best waves, with a combined score of 16.27 in the eleventh heat.

In the fifth heat, defending champion, Tanner Hendrickson, returned to lead the group with a score of 11.40. Coming in second was Kaito Ohashi from Japan, who scored a 6.60 for his best two waves.

The American champion of the Los Cabos Open of Surf, Dillon Perillo, passed first in his heat with a score of 12.60.

Meanwhile, the young Mexican surfers, Jony Corzo (13 years old) and Luis Rey Hernandez (14 years old) had to say goodbye to the competition on this day, as the experience and craft of the pros that surf the ASP circuit was a bit too much for their short experience. Both have a gift for this sport, however, and we see a bright future ahead.

Watch the event live:

 www.surfopenacapulco.com