The Rip Curl Pro is only the fifth prime event of eight this year.  The day saw twenty heats in the first round with pretty good conditions with 3-foot waves.   The day also saw plenty of high scores for a first rounder but it’s not surprise considering that the Rip Curl Pro counts for more points than the other 6-Star events.  So the surfers made it a point to establish themselves early to put the pressure on the other competitors.

Jadson Andre of Brazil is currently rising among the ASP World Qualifying Series campaigners and it showed with today’s performance winning the 9th Heat over Euro surfer Jose Maria Cabrera and Miguel Ximenes.   Andre scored an impressive 18.40-point heat tally from his two runs.

“The waves were tricky out there and I just looked for better potential ones,” Andre said. “It kind of came my way then I tried to get a couple of big airs and completed them so it gave me some big scores.”

Andre, who got in the spotlights in the ASP WQS 6-Star in Japan last month, is slowly rising with his impressive progressive and fast surfing and will be a potential giant killer when Round 2 resumes.

“I had a good result in Japan and it boosted my confidence pretty good,” Andre said. “This event is a Prime one and there are many points to grab so I hope I can get things going well tomorrow.”