Keanu Asing, The Title Contender Killer

We waited, they held, we waited, they held. And, eventually, Kieren Perrow made the call. The gals took to the French sandbar first, and by the second semifinal Tyler Wright had secured her first World Title. As the marine layer hung low, clean conditions were on hand for the opening round of the Men’s featuring John Florence and Keanu Asing.

Semifinal One, John Florence v Keanu Asing: 
Keanu Asing? Where the fuck’d he come from? While Gabby Medina (the returning champ) and John are the most dominant at France in the last few years, with five minutes left in semifinal one, Mr Asing had two eights on the board, leaving double John searching for a 9.1. As the clock drained and the surf stayed calm, the likeliness dimmed. But you never know with Mr Florence, he’s pulled nine point rides out of single manoeuvres before. With four minutes he found a chest-high runner and surfed its guts out onto the sand. The hard backside turns and a fins free reverse wouldn’t be his nine-point ride but would better his situation by the two-minute mark. He get’s an 8.4 and with a minute left, John’s searching for an 8.38. He finds a less-than-hopeful wave in the final seconds, goes to the air and the offshore wind blow his board away. Keanu slides into his first CT final. Which couldn’t have come at a better time, he’s currently 33 on the leader board. 

Semifinal Two, Gabriel Medina v Kolohe Andino: 
If anyone is going to take out Gabs here, it’s Kolohe. Early in the semis he put up a high seven…then Gabs pumped a massive alley-oop, and the above statement lessened. Gabs gets the reward of an 8.83. If Kolohe can’t work out two high scores v Gabby, we’d be blown sideways if Keanu out surfed the young Brazilian in the final. Although he did just out surf John…

By the 25 minute mark, Gabs already has a 15.16 heat total, his low score’s a mid-six which he looks sure to strengthen by the buzzer. Kolohe’s in tune, looking electric on his backhand and is looking for an eight to take the lead back from Mr Medina. Toward the final ten minutes of the heat, the surf slowed down. And Gabriel has not been able to back up his mid-six. Kolohe, in the final three minutes has priority, still searching for that eight-point ride (well a 7.84 to be exact). At two minutes Kolohe snagged a soft one, he worked it for all it was worth, but the wave didn’t stand up enough to allow for the surfing needed to steal the lead from Gabs. It’s down to the last 20 seconds. Medina with priority steals the wave of the set–surfs it for a nine– leaving table scraps for Brother. It’s a Gabby Keanu final. 

The Final, Gabs v Mr Asing: 
Keanu came out quick against Gabs, in what’s set to be a heat chock-full of compact surfing. With 20 minutes left, Keanu’s got two mid-range scores, while Gabs hasn’t surfed anything worthwhile. Gabs is working the rights halfway through the heat, and for the time being, Keanu is out surfing the returning Quik Pro champ. With ten minutes left, Gabs is looking for a nine and Keanu is staying busy as the tide drops and the lefts start to flatten out. Gabs isn’t able to find the nine, and Keanu wins his first CT event. 

ROXY PRO FRANCE FINAL RESULTS:
1- Carissa Moore (HAW) 16.63
2- Tyler Wright (AUS) 9.83

ROXY PRO FRANCE SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 16.40 def. Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 14.16
SF 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.90 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 15.67

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE FINAL RESULTS:
1- Keanu Asing (HAW) 13.94
2- Gabriel Medina (BRA) 7.00

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Keanu Asing (HAW) 16.94 def. John John Florence (HAW) 16.07
SF 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.83 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.03

WSL Women’s Top 5 (after Roxy Pro France):
1. Tyler Wright (AUS) 67,700
2. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 59,400
3. Carissa Moore (HAW) 54,400
4. Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 48,400
5. Johanne Defay (FRA) 43,650

WSL Men’s Top 5 (after Quiksilver Pro France):
1. John John Florence (HAW) 48,150
2. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 45,450
3. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 38,250
4. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 35,700
5. Kolohe Andino (USA) 32,150