Another great day of action took place at the Soup Bowl in Bathsheba, Barbados yesterday, as we saw the U18 Youth Division completed in epic fashion with a great display by the talent of the future, followed by Men's Round 3.
The opening round of the youth competition saw stand out performances from Puerto Rico's Maximillian Torres, Brazil's Kauan Terra, Spain's Juan de los Reyes and Hawaii's Zane Saenz, with all 4 athletes advancing onto the 4 man, 30 minute final, with a great show from local talent, Jacob Binnema from Barbados.
After the completion of Men's Round 3, the Final took center stage, as all four athletes put everything on the line for the Barbados Pro Title in some of the best conditions of the day.
Out of the gates early was Maximillian Torres from Puerto Rico who strung together high performance turns to post some solid scores. However, Kauan Terra from Brazil soon found his rhythm, posting wave after wave in the 30 minute final to take victory despite a last minute surge from Hawaii's Zane Saenz, who finished in a close 3rd behind Maximillian Torres, with Spain's Juan de los Reyes finishing in 4th.
One thing is for sure: the future is very bright here on the APP World Tour, as the U18 division clearly showcased its future Champions in the making and it is an exciting prospect to say the least.
Check out the highlights and broadcast replay from today's action and join us LIVE from 7:30am local time tomorrow at appworldtour.com & @appworldtour.
Bernd Roediger made a statement in Round 3 posting the second highest heat score total of the day, impressing the Judges with his commitment and flow, linking together crtitical turns to advance through to the quarterfinals.
While there is no doubt that Bernd is one of the stand outs of the contest so far and there is no doubt that he is among the favorites at this stage for the event win, perhaps of even more significance is that he is also the person that has the most potential of stealing the World Title from under Poenaiki Raioha's grasp.
Bernd finished 2nd in Sunset, meaning that if he was to win here and in Gran Canaria, he would certainbly win the World Title, and if he is to win here, coming into Gran Canaria, he and Poenaiki Raioha would be sitting on exactly the same top scores. It would therefore all come down to who finishes ahead of the other in the Final event of the year, adding even more anticipation and excitement around finals day here at the Barbados Pro.
Check out the highlights and broadcast replay from today's action and make sure to join us LIVEtomorrow for all the action from Finals Day of the Barbados Pro, stop #3 of the 2019 APP World Tour at appworldtour.com and @appworldtour
There is no doubt that current World Champion Sean Poynter is feeling it here in Barbados, consistently posting the highest scores of the day and now the event with a unique combination of maneuvers and perfectly executed waves. Revelling in the fast, clean walls of the Soup Bowl, Sean has found his groove and is looking strong coming into finals day.
You can watch Sean LIVE today from Bathsheba coming up in Men's Quarterfinal number 3 as he takes on one of Brazil's leading lights and one of the most in form surfers of the event, Matheus Salazar at www.appworldtour.com and @appworldtour
In the most highly anticipated heat of Round 3 between current World #2 and high flyer Luiz Diniz and World #3 Wellington Reis, both from Brazil, it was Wellington Reis who stepped up his performance to best his fellow countryman in an intense battle.
It was a battle with real implications, as Luiz Diniz's World Title hopes have faded considerably with the Round 3 loss, but Wellington Reis' hopes light up coming into Finals Day, as he will need to keep Poenaiki off the top spot to stay in contention.
Wellington has one of the most dynamic backhands of anyone on Tour, and it has been in full effect here at the 2019 Barbados Pro. There is no doubt that he is a frontrunner to watch out for today and you can watch him in action this morning in Quarterfinals #4 as he comes up against the ever impressive Peruvian, Tamil Martino.
Check out the highlights from yesterday and join us LIVE from Barbados right now at appworldtour.com and @appworldtour