Azores Islands O’Neill Pro
Presented by Nissan

ASP 6 Star Mens WQS event
Ribeira Granda, Azores
25 - 30 August 2009

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc 

Cardoso Bests Andre to Claim First Ever Azores Islands Pro Title      > Portugues embaixo

Surfersvillage Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 30 August, 2009 : - - Sao Miguel Azores Islands -- Willian Cardoso (BRA), 23, has won the first edition of the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) Azores Islands Pro pres. by Nissan today after defeating fellow finalist and ASP WQS No. 2 Jadson Andre (BRA) in a 100% Brazilian final.

Cardoso, who made the best out of the clean but tricky two to three foot (0.6 to 1 meter) waves on offer, clinches 2500 ratings’ points which rocket him from No. 31 to No. 14, a seventeen-places jump to get back into the race for the ASP World Tour qualification while Andre’s runner-up consolidates his No. 2 spot reaching 14663 points.

Cardoso, who posted a good 13.57 point heat result in the final battle of the Azores Islands Pro including a 7.17 point ride, had defeated local favorite Tiago Pires en route to the final with the best scores of the day using his unstoppable powerful backhand attack, led the final from start to finish with smart tactics and wave choice reading the conditions perfectly to wait for the better waves and end-up winning his second ASP WQS title ever.

“I am over the moon right now, that win was unbelievable and I have made it all the way through to the crown,” Cardoso said. “It’s been a hard week with several close heats coming down to one wave many times and I have had big names on my way so to win this one after such an intense draw is just perfect. That board I have been surfing all week was working so well in the solid conditions and I am stoked.”

Cardoso, whose first career win on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) was at Pantin last year, struck back today impressing the ASP judging panel with his control and commitment on each of his turns, and grabs US$ 20.000 for his performance at Ribeira Grande, main location of the Azores Islands Pro.

“It’s been a tough first half of the year for me and I feel like I got back to my level this week,” Cardoso said. “I had a third this year but I wanted to win an event and the atmosphere here suited me so well in and out of the water. I am looking forward to keeping that roll going in the next events in Spain and hopefully grab another big finish.”

Placing runner-up for another exceptional result this year was 19-year-old Jadson Andre (Santa Catarina, BRA), the ASP WQS No. 2 consolidating his overall ratings’ points total to go above the 14.000-point mark and go closer to his ASP Top 45 ticket for 2010. Andre, who displayed the most progressive surfing of the week popping massive airs and flying floaters, was not able to get the better waves in the final but leaves the Azores Islands confidently knowing his finish today unofficially qualifies him for the ASP Dream Tour.

“The conditions were hard today and there wasn’t space for the two of us in that final,” Andre said. “William (Cardoso) go the longer waves and I didn’t find any launching ramps to try and get airborne so I am just stoked for him because it makes a huge difference for his ranking and it’s still pretty amazing for me. I want to thank the immense support we’ve had here and from Brazil and I can’t wait to get back to work and keep that good feeling going.”

In the spotlights since his arrival on the Portuguese island of Sao Miguel in the Azores archipelago, Tiago Pires (Ericeira, PRT), 28, placed equal 3rd in the event after giving the local crowds a great show throughout the week with the only perfect 10.00 point ride of the event in Round 5 and the best heat score of 18.00 points in the Quarterfinals. Pires, who was not able to best Andre in their 30-minute exchange, left the water disappointed but with solid confidence before heading to Lower Trestles where he will compete in the sixth event of this year’s ASP World Tour.

“I didn’t surf as well as the previous heats today and Jadson did well picking up the good waves,” Pires said. “I am pretty happy though to make it through to the Semifinals of the event and get a third as I came here to train and get back into competition mode and it seems like the hard work since Jeffreys Bay has paid off.”

Pires, who is on his second year on the ASP World Tour, has been focusing on the elite ASP Dream Tour this year leaving his ASP WQS ratings’ campaign aside to try and shine amongst the ASP Top 45 where he has already shown he had the skills to go big.

“I have been injured the last couple of months and it seems like things have healed pretty well so I am confident for the next event,” Pires said. “As I said before, the support has been great here as anywhere else in Portugal and it was great to get back under pressure and get to surf well this week.”

Pires’s result will not make any significant change for his WQS ratings but may have given the Portuguese Tiger a solid confidence boost before he competes against the world’s best surfer in California in a couple of weeks.

Austin Ware (Califonria, USA), 28, was one the best performers in the event this week making his through to the Semifinals to place equal 3rd and get a significant result which rockets him to No. 10 on the international WQS ratings. Ware, who reached the 11575 point mark today, his career best total ever, came short of one wave in his Semifinal against Cardoso, their encounter coming down to the one first wave of the heat that was taken by Cardoso leaving the Californian in the chase through the whold battle.

“We had pretty similar scores in that heat but that one wave I let William (Cardoso) paddle into in the first minutes made the difference and there is not much I could do about it. I could have sat right next to him for the very first minute but it went the other way and Ihe deserves his result here. He has been surfing well all week and I am still very happy to get that 3rd.”

Ware, whose ASP World Tour qualification campaign has been rolling well this year, managed to confirm his consistency this week securing another significant finish that pushes him a bit closer to his goal.

“I haven’t been thinking of the ratings actually but more on winning an event or getting to the final,” Ware said. “This is why I am going to the next couple of events in Spain because I am definitely hoping to make a final this year. It’s looking good at the moment to be up there but this is not really a major concern and I am focused on my heats.”
 
The ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) caravan now moves to the Basque Country where another 144-man field will get back to work for the ASP WQS 5-Star event starting Tuesday, September 1 and running until Sunday, September 6.

AZORES ISLANDS PRO FINAL
1st, William Cardoso (BRA) 13.57 pts
2nd, Jadson Andre (BRA) 10.80 pts

AZORES ISLANDS PRO SEMIFINALS
Heat 1: William Cardoso (BRA) 14.00 pts Def. Austin Ware (USA) 10.36 pts
Heat 2: Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.27 pts Def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 11.94 pts

Check the Full Results

Current WQS ratings

1	Ross,Daniel	AUS	14975
2	Andre,Jadson	BRA	14663
3	Wright,Owen	AUS	13588
4	Melling,Adam	AUS	12801
5	Gudauskas,Patrick	USA	12513
6	Wilkinson,Matt	AUS	12150
7	Duru,Joan	FRA	12050
8	Simpson,Brett	USA	11863
9	Logie,Travis	ZAF	11851
10	Ware,Austin	USA	11575
11	Payne,Dusty	HAW	11425
12	Gudauskas,Tanner	USA	10950
13	Thornton,Blake	AUS	10826
14	Cardoso,Willian	BRA	10026
15	Yeomans,Nathan	USA	9925
16	Munro,Luke	AUS	9727
17	Atkinson,Dion	AUS	9638
18	Courtney,Drew	AUS	9575
19	Sedley,Leigh	AUS	9526
20	Nicol,Yadin	AUS	9488
21	Hall,Glenn	IRL	9450
22	Thompson,Jay	AUS	9438
23	Howse,Jarrad	AUS	9375
24	Neves,Leonardo	BRA	9363
25	Dantas,Wiggolly	BRA	9338
26	Dornelles,Rodrigo	BRA	9101
27	Polo,Marco	BRA	9076
28	Gonzalez,Jonathan	CNY	8975
29	Zubizarreta,Gony	ESP	8826
30	Gossmann,Shaun	AUS	8788
31	Bryson,Royden	ZAF	8763
31	Cloitre,Romain	FRA	8763
33	Jackson,Brandon	ZAF	8526
34	Da Silva,Jean	BRA	8400
35	Aranburu,Aritz	EUK	8313
36	Giorgi,Marco	URY	8288
37	Ohno,Masatoshi	JPN	8264
38	Toth,Brian	PRI	8139
39	Sodre,Yuri	BRA	8025
40	Collazo,Hodei	EUK	7863
41	Riou,Alain	PYF	7851
42	Pupo,Miguel	BRA	7763
43	Hedge,Nathan	AUS	7744
44	Paulino,Pablo	BRA	7713
45	Dorrington,Brent	AUS	7564
46	Moura,Paulo	BRA	7539
47	Robertson,Adam	AUS	7414
48	Muscroft,Nic	AUS	7251
49	Padaratz,Neco	BRA	7201
50	Miranda,Bernardo	BRA	7188

Check the Full Ratings

William Cardoso : photo Aquashot/aspeurope.com

Portugues

William Cardoso vence primeiro mundial de surf nos Açores

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 28 August, 2009 : - - Sao Miguel, Azores islands -- O atleta brasileiro William Cardoso foi o grande vencedor do Azores Islands Pro presented by O’Neill and Nissan, que hoje terminou, na Praia do Monte Verde, Ribeira Grande, ilha de S. Miguel, com boas ondas de 0,5 m a 1m, cumprindo uma promessa feita há quatro anos, quando foi vice-campeão numa prova júnior, realizada na Ericeira.

William, que tinha sido um dos surfistas mais consistentes ao longo da semana, sempre com bons scores e um surf explosivo, entrou para história do surf mundial, ao conquistar o primeiro título de sempre desta prova, derrotando na final o seu compatriota Jadson André e conquistando ainda 20.000 dólares de prize-money, bem como importantes 2500 pontos, que o levaram da 31ª para a 14ª posição do ranking mundial WQS.

“Estou muito feliz com este resultado,” afirmou o campeão, que venceu o seu primeiro campeonato do WQS no ano passado, em Pantin, na Galiza. “Senti-me muito bem ao longo de toda a prova, com a prancha certa, confiante contra uma série de atletas mais cotados e, na final, tudo deu certo. Estive muito concentrado, apanhei as melhores onda e acabei mesmo por vencer… ainda nem acredito! E assim cumpri a minha promessa, de um dia vencer uma prova deste nível em Portugal, que tem ondas boas e fortes… adorei tudo,” afirmou o atleta de 23 anos, de Santa Catarina, que dedicou esta vitória ao seu pai, gravemente doente há sete meses.

Na segunda posição ficou o “brasileiro voador”, Jadson André, de 19 anos, ex-campeão mundial júnior por equipas (título conquistado em 07, na Costa de Caparica, também em Portugal), actualmente na segunda posição do ranking mundial que, visivelmente cansado na final, não conseguiu encontrar ondas tão boas como as de William, para executar os seus famosos aéreos.

“Realmente, na final acabei por me desconcentrar e por acusar algum cansaço. Foram três baterias ontem e duas hoje! Mas estou à mesma muito feliz com este resultado, que é a minha segunda final este ano, e parabéns ao William, que surfou muito durante todo o evento,” confidenciou o surfista de Natal, que ficou muito perto do primeiro lugar do ranking mas que, mesmo assim, garantiu já a sua presença no World Tour de 2010.

Jadson foi o responsável pela eliminação do último atleta português em prova, Tiago Pires, na segunda meia-final do dia. Apesar de terem feito um heat bastante equilibrado, Jadson conseguiu apanhar uma onda boa perto do final, onde fez uma das suas quase registadas manobras aéreas, deixando Saca na terceira posição da geral.

“Foi pena não ter conseguido surfar melhor a minha primeira onda e ter caído na última, pois acho que tinha dado para passar, mas este é um óptimo resultado e, como disse antes, serve perfeitamente o meu grande objectivo ao vir para esta prova, que era voltar à competição, depois de dois meses parado, devido a uma lesão num ombro. Acho que estou perto dos 100% e assim vou muito mais confiante para os EUA, onde se vai realizar em breve a próxima etapa do World Tour. Não posso deixar de agradecer ao muito público aqui presente na praia, que torceram por mim mas também aplaudirem os restantes atletas. Não imaginam a força que isso nos dá dentro de água! Muito obrigado e até para o ano,” afirmou o melhor surfista português, que prometeu voltar.

Também em terceiro lugar, ex-aequo com Tiago, ficou o norte-americano Austin Ware, que voltou a conseguir um bom resultado este ano, subindo assim ao 10º lugar do ranking do circuito de qualificação e encontrando-se agora em boa posição para entrar no Dream Tour em 2010.

“Foi um evento fantástico e o balanço não podia ser mais positivo,” afirmou Rodrigo Herédia, da DAAZ Eventos, no final da animada entrega de prémios. “Tivemos bom tempo, ondas excelentes e fomos muito bem recebidos, por isso não podia estar mais satisfeito com o resultado desta aposta. A Association of Surfing Professionals ficou muito bem impressionada e já nos garantiu que teremos este prova novamente em 2010, talvez mesmo com mais pontos. Agora temos de falar com os nossos patrocinadores, mas posso afirmar que está tudo muito bem encaminhado,” concluiu o responsável pela prova, em parceria com a USBA – União dos Surfistas e Bodyboarders dos Açores. Até para o ano!

O Azores Islands Pro presented by O’Neill and Nissan foi organizado pela União dos Surfistas e Bodyboarders dos Açores (USBA) e pela DAAZ Eventos e contou com o alto patrocínio do Turismo dos Açores, com o patrocínio da Câmara Municipal da Ribeira Grande, da O’Neill, da Nissan, da Sumol e da TMN, bem como com os apoios da SATA, Açores Piscinas, Homelife, Marques, Segma, CrediTotal, Surf Portugal, Diário de Notícias, 24 Horas, Surf Total, RTP Açores e RDP Açores.

Check the Live Coverage 

Previous reports:
# 1 : ASP WQS Azores Islands O’Neill Pro na Ribeira Grande 
# 2 : Azores Islands Pro starts Tuesday at Ribeira Grande...
# 3 : Monteiro flares in solid swell at the Azores Islands Pro

# 4 : Top seeds charge on Day 2 of Azores Islands Pro 6 Star  
# 5 : Great surfing lights up Day 3 of the Azores Islands Pro  
# 6 : Andre & Atkinson set pace as Azores Isle Pro nears end  
# 7 : Tiago a-go-go: Pires hot as Azore Islands Pro nears end  

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www.wqsazores.com/info
www.aspeurope.com/live/azores09 

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