More great news for South African surfing, this time coming from Adin Masencamp, the 18-year-old wonder kid. This past weekend the Strand local was the on fire, unfortunately, in the final, he lost out to Nick Squiers a surfer who is almost 20 years his senior. Great to see saffas making a name for themselves and our country on tour.
Burleigh Heads, QLD/AUS (Sunday, January 28, 2018) – South Africa’s Adin Masencamp delivered his career-best performance in World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) event when he finished runner-up to Australian Nick Squiers in the QS1,000 Flight Centre Burleigh Pro in choppy 1.0 to 1.3 metre waves at Burleigh Point in Queensland, Australia on Sunday
The 18-year-old from Strand in the Western Cape was the form surfer on the final day, posting eight and nine-point rides (out of 10) in each of his five heats, including one of the highest heat totals of the event – 18.15 (out of 20) – to defeat defending Burleigh Pro champ Oney Anwar (IND) in their semi-final duel. Masencamp could not find the waves he needed to overcome Squiers in the finale but will leave Burleigh proud to have reached his first QS Final. He pocketed R15,000 and 750 precious rankings points, which sees him jump to No. 17 on the latest QS leaderboard. “This has been an amazing experience for me,” Masencamp said. “I was in an amazing rhythm all day but sort of lost it in the final which was a shame. Nick (Squiers) is such an amazing surfer and deserves the win. My focus this year is to move up the seed list so to get a final this early in the season is amazing.”
36-year-old Squiers from the NSW South Coast has been hunting for a QS win since he took out the Carve Pro Maroubra in 2016. Despite a painful blue-bottle sting while paddling out for the final, the powerful natural-footer posted a winning heat total of 17.40 and ran away with the win. “It’s been a little while between wins so it feels really good to be back on the podium,” Squires said. “It was great that the waves showed up here at Burleigh, it was pretty much pumping by the end of the day. My seed has dropped a bit in the last few years so to start this season off with a win is great for the confidence.”
FLIGHT CENTRE BURLEIGH PRO FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Nick Squiers (AUS) 17.40
2 – Adin Masencamp (ZAF, Strand) 16.0
FLIGHT CENTRE BURLEIGH PRO RESULTS:
SF 1: Adin Masencamp (ZAF, Strand) 16.0 def. Oney Anwar (IND) 12.65
SF 2: Nick Squiers (AUS) 15.25 def. Keanu Kamiyama (JPN) 14.65