Quiksilver King of the Peak

Sebastian Inlet North Jetty Florida
15 - 16 November 2008

Cody Thompson crowned 2008 Quiksilver King of the Peak

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 18 November, 2008 : - - Cody Thompson of Jacksonville, Florida joined the prestigious ranks of former Kings, Quiksilver team-rider Kelly Slater and Floridian C.J. Hobgood this past weekend taking the coveted crown at the 14th Annual Quiksilver King of the Peak Skins event. The two day surf contest at Sebastian Inlet wrapped up Sunday.

With only one wave score counting in each heat and 92 surfers, two rounds, 46 heats total and $12,000 on the line, this year’s King of the Peak brought out the best of the best and was one of the fiercest contests to date.

The $100 entry fee from each surfer is pooled together towards the total prize purse. For each heat win, surfers are awarded a Skin ($245) and advance to the next heat. The surfer with the most Skins at the end of the two-day contest is crowned the winner and the Quiksilver King of the Peak. ESM threw in some extra cash for the five-star ESM Air Show.

The action began with 23 heats of Round One on Saturday in solid 3-4 foot surf and clean light offshore winds. Surfer’s names were pulled out of a hat to determine the heat draw and match-up. Wesley Desouza of South Florida led the first campaign claiming two Skins, only to be halted by Matt Keenan. Later in the round, Asher Nolan took home the most Skins of the day rallying up three in a row while posting the highest scores of the round.

Day one finished up with the ESM Air Show with 18 surfers vying for the $500 cash prize. Nine-time World Champion and Florida-local Kelly Slater made an appearance to sit in alongside the judges. First prize went to Blake Jones for his impressive clean successful Superman launch three feet above the lip. Eddie Guilbeau and Jensen Callaway tied for even second.

Round Two was held on Sunday with the heat draw flipped. The swell picked up a little and the Inlet delivered consistent four foot wedges all day long. Skin leader, Asher Nolan was in good position with three Skins and seeded in the middle of the round.

Hitting the water earlier than Asher, Jacksonville local Cody Thompson went for broke in the one-wave heat score format and put together four Skins before coming face-to-face with his closest challenger. In the end, Cody prevailed over Asher with a clean open barrel and the highest score of the event, 8.33. Cody went on to grab two more Skins and the 2008 title Quiksilver King of the Peak.

www.quiksilver.com

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Tobias Coffman

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