Twiggy commenced his BWWT title defence by making the final in Peru.
Reigning Big Wave World Tour champ, Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, finished fifth overall in the Billabong Pico Alto to kick-off his title defence with a solid Finals berth. It was a brave performance by the Saffa charger as he took a heck of a tumble after his Round 1 heat, which he advanced from in third position.
Twiggy shook-off the effects of this heavy beatdown following his Round 1 heat.
It may have rattled the champ, but he did the business to advance to the Final in third spot once again in Semi-Final Heat 1. In the final, Twiggy waited for much of the heat for his single scoring ride, which was one of the biggest of the day and scored a solid 8.00 (check it out at 2:00 in the final recap below).
Unfortunately it was the only wave he managed to grab in the final, while Hawaii’s Makua Rothman picked off a series of high-scoring rides to grab victory over Americans, Anthony Tashnick and Shawn Dollar. Local charger, Gabriel Villaran, finished in fourth, with Twiggy in 5th and Billabong XXL champ, Greg Long, in 6th.
Makua Rothman was in total control during the final of the Billabong Pico Alto.
Makua looked comfortable out at the giant Peruvian peak, even though it was his first time surfing out there. His confidence showed in the final as he waited and waited, before dropping down a huge vertical face on his winning ride. It deserved a massive score. Check it out at 1:23 in the highlights video below.
BILLABONG PICO ALTO RESULTS:
1st – Makua Rothman (HAW) – 27.33pts*
2nd – Anthony Tashnick (USA) – 22.00pts
3rd – Shawn Dollar (USA) – 20.26pts
4th – Gabriel Villaran (PER) – 16.80pts
5th – Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker – 16.00pts
6th – Greg Long (USA) – 7.00pts
* Two rides are counted out of 10, with the top-scoring ride getting doubled to give a score out of 30.
For all the heat reviews, some epic wipeout videos, and all the results, check out aspworldtour.com.
