Boardmasters wraps up on Sunday with four new winners and a European title.
Boardmasters wrapped up today in two-to-three foot surf at North Fistral and crowned four event champions! Here's a breakdown of the Finals:
The Final everyone was waiting for, both for the Fistral local being part of it, and for the tension of deciding the European Longboard title in a showdown between two of the best longboarders in the world. Delpero wasted no time to showcase his incredible nose riding skills, posting a 7.50 and a 9.33. He further pushed the requirement for Skinner with an 8.17 and sealed the deal immediately.
Edouard Delpero is a longboarding wizard. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
Despite Skinner's best efforts, the gap was too big and Delpero walked away with both the event win and the 2018 European Men's Longboard title, the second of his career.
"I am extremely happy to take this win today," he said. "It was a major Final for both of us and I was lucky I got those waves to start with. It was tough for one of us (brothers) not to come here and I didn't know I would have to go all the way to claim the title, but in the end it was a great event and I'm stoked I got to battle it out with Ben."
Skinner surfed a great event on home turf, reaching the Final for a shot at upsetting the Delpero dominance. He also led a crew of great surfers from the U.K, with three British athletes in the European Top 5 this season.
The lineup slowed down a bit for the start of the men's QS Final as both surfers exchanged mid-range scores at first. Things got a lot more interesting at the five minute mark when Tanaka started on a long left and performed four good backhand turns for a 6.83.
Criere started on a slightly bigger left right behind and tore it apart on his forehand to post an excellent 8.17 and get back in pole position. He then caught a similar set wave to further extend his lead with a combination of carves and snaps, marching away with the win, the second of his young career.
Andy Criere is a rising star on the European tour. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"This win is just as good as the first one," he said. "It takes surfing a lot of heats to get to the final and I usually perform better when I get a chance to build momentum in a day. I started the event quite average but I sort of figured everything out along the way and definitely peaked and did my best surfing today! I couldn't have hoped for a better start to this summer leg in Europe."
Tanaka had previously been the strongest surfer of the event, posting numerous high scores, including a 9.17 to defeat local wildcard Jay Quinn in their semifinal matchup.
Both surfers got active early on and posted a couple of numbers to build a scoreboard. Lacome found a good right with multiple turns and posted a 6.00 to take an early lead. Hopkins found a good right as well and pushed three powerful turns for a 6.10.
In the final minute, Lacome used her priority to block her opponent on a good looking left and posted the highest score of the Final with a 6.17 to claim her first-ever Qualifying Series event win at only 15 years old. The French surfer also jumped a few spots up the regional rankings to the fifth position.
At only 15, Juliette Lacome has a bright future ahead of her. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"It's incredible, it's my first win ever!" she said. "I've had a pretty average year so far and my goal was to try to win a Junior event, but I never expected this. I've had a great time here with all the Roxy crew and my good friend Vahine (Fierro). I'm going to do the next four events so it's good to start like this. I feel like I've learned a few things recently that has helped me make heats so hopefully I can continue."
Hopkins showed great skills on her way to reaching her first-ever Final on the WSL tour.
The Final was a low scoring affair in difficult conditions at mid-tide and both surfers struggled to find sections to work with. It eventually came down to a deciding wave in the last seconds of the heat. Agudo started on a smaller insider and cruised to the nose of her board for a few seconds before the wave disappeared. Eventually the score came in as a 3.9, enough for Agudo to overtake Rubegni and take the win.
Aping Agudo caught a big break by winning her first-ever LQS event. - WSL / Laurent Masurel
"It's unbelievable, I can't even describe how happy I am!" she said. "I never expected to win this so I'm just super happy. It's a little bit cold for my taste but the waves were fun."
The Filipino surfer claimed her first-ever WSL event win, while the Italian with her runner-up result today climbed up to second on the European rankings.
With the completion of Boardmasters, the European rankings have been shuffled. Here's the new current Top 5:
European Men's QS Top 5:
1 - Jorgann Couzinet
2 - Gony Zubizarreta
3 - Maxime Huscenot
4 - Andy Criere
5 - Ruben Vitoria
European Women's QS Top 5:
1 - Pauline Ado
2 - Camilla Kemp
3 - Marion Philippe
4 - Justine Dupont
5 - Juliette Lacome
The European Longboard Qualifying Series are now over, here are the final rankings' Top 5:
European Men's LQS Top 5:
1 - Edouard Delpero - European Champion
2 - Antoine Delpero
3 - Ben Skinner
4 - Ben Howey
5 - Jack Unsworth
European Women's LQS Top 5:
1 - Justine Dupont - European Champion
2 - Francesca Rubegni
3 - Emily Currie
4 - Nienke Duinmeijer
5 - Jennifer Pendlebury
Surfers will now travel over to France for the upcoming Caraïbos Lacanau Pro, starting Tuesday, August 14, 2018.
Tune in from August 8-12, 2018 and check out all the photos, videos and updates right here! For more information about the festival, visit boardmasters.com.
Surfing Champions Crowned at 2018 Boardmasters
Nicolas Leroy
Boardmasters wrapped up today in two-to-three foot surf at North Fistral and crowned four event champions! Here's a breakdown of the Finals:
UGG Men's Longboard Pro Final: Edouard Delpero vs. Ben Skinner
The Final everyone was waiting for, both for the Fistral local being part of it, and for the tension of deciding the European Longboard title in a showdown between two of the best longboarders in the world. Delpero wasted no time to showcase his incredible nose riding skills, posting a 7.50 and a 9.33. He further pushed the requirement for Skinner with an 8.17 and sealed the deal immediately.
Despite Skinner's best efforts, the gap was too big and Delpero walked away with both the event win and the 2018 European Men's Longboard title, the second of his career.
"I am extremely happy to take this win today," he said. "It was a major Final for both of us and I was lucky I got those waves to start with. It was tough for one of us (brothers) not to come here and I didn't know I would have to go all the way to claim the title, but in the end it was a great event and I'm stoked I got to battle it out with Ben."
Skinner surfed a great event on home turf, reaching the Final for a shot at upsetting the Delpero dominance. He also led a crew of great surfers from the U.K, with three British athletes in the European Top 5 this season.
Quiksilver Open Final: Daiki Tanaka vs. Andy Criere
The lineup slowed down a bit for the start of the men's QS Final as both surfers exchanged mid-range scores at first. Things got a lot more interesting at the five minute mark when Tanaka started on a long left and performed four good backhand turns for a 6.83.
Criere started on a slightly bigger left right behind and tore it apart on his forehand to post an excellent 8.17 and get back in pole position. He then caught a similar set wave to further extend his lead with a combination of carves and snaps, marching away with the win, the second of his young career.
"This win is just as good as the first one," he said. "It takes surfing a lot of heats to get to the final and I usually perform better when I get a chance to build momentum in a day. I started the event quite average but I sort of figured everything out along the way and definitely peaked and did my best surfing today! I couldn't have hoped for a better start to this summer leg in Europe."
Tanaka had previously been the strongest surfer of the event, posting numerous high scores, including a 9.17 to defeat local wildcard Jay Quinn in their semifinal matchup.
Roxy Open Final: Juliette Lacome vs. Yolander Hopkins
Both surfers got active early on and posted a couple of numbers to build a scoreboard. Lacome found a good right with multiple turns and posted a 6.00 to take an early lead. Hopkins found a good right as well and pushed three powerful turns for a 6.10.
In the final minute, Lacome used her priority to block her opponent on a good looking left and posted the highest score of the Final with a 6.17 to claim her first-ever Qualifying Series event win at only 15 years old. The French surfer also jumped a few spots up the regional rankings to the fifth position.
"It's incredible, it's my first win ever!" she said. "I've had a pretty average year so far and my goal was to try to win a Junior event, but I never expected this. I've had a great time here with all the Roxy crew and my good friend Vahine (Fierro). I'm going to do the next four events so it's good to start like this. I feel like I've learned a few things recently that has helped me make heats so hopefully I can continue."
Hopkins showed great skills on her way to reaching her first-ever Final on the WSL tour.
UGG Women's Longboard Pro Final: Aping Agudo vs. Francesca Rubegni
The Final was a low scoring affair in difficult conditions at mid-tide and both surfers struggled to find sections to work with. It eventually came down to a deciding wave in the last seconds of the heat. Agudo started on a smaller insider and cruised to the nose of her board for a few seconds before the wave disappeared. Eventually the score came in as a 3.9, enough for Agudo to overtake Rubegni and take the win.
"It's unbelievable, I can't even describe how happy I am!" she said. "I never expected to win this so I'm just super happy. It's a little bit cold for my taste but the waves were fun."
The Filipino surfer claimed her first-ever WSL event win, while the Italian with her runner-up result today climbed up to second on the European rankings.
With the completion of Boardmasters, the European rankings have been shuffled. Here's the new current Top 5:
European Men's QS Top 5:
1 - Jorgann Couzinet
2 - Gony Zubizarreta
3 - Maxime Huscenot
4 - Andy Criere
5 - Ruben Vitoria
European Women's QS Top 5:
1 - Pauline Ado
2 - Camilla Kemp
3 - Marion Philippe
4 - Justine Dupont
5 - Juliette Lacome
The European Longboard Qualifying Series are now over, here are the final rankings' Top 5:
European Men's LQS Top 5:
1 - Edouard Delpero - European Champion
2 - Antoine Delpero
3 - Ben Skinner
4 - Ben Howey
5 - Jack Unsworth
European Women's LQS Top 5:
1 - Justine Dupont - European Champion
2 - Francesca Rubegni
3 - Emily Currie
4 - Nienke Duinmeijer
5 - Jennifer Pendlebury
Surfers will now travel over to France for the upcoming Caraïbos Lacanau Pro, starting Tuesday, August 14, 2018.
Tune in from August 8-12, 2018 and check out all the photos, videos and updates right here! For more information about the festival, visit boardmasters.com.
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Boardmasters wraps up on Sunday with four new winners and a European title.
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