Putra Hermawan (Nusa Lembongan) claimed his second consecutive victory yesterday at the Quiksilver Open 2010 6-star plus rated Coca Cola ISC tour event at Keramas Beach in Gianyar, besting Dedi Santosa (Kuta) in a mesmerizing final that saw him take not only the win but the highest single wave score of 9.25 (out of 10) and highest combined two-wave score of 17.25 (out of 20) of the entire event, in addition to also launching him into the number one spot in the ISC Open Division rankings with only one more event to go.
Hermawan takes home a Rp 25 million paycheck ($2,800 USD) and 3,500 ISC championship points for his win in the pan-ultimate Quiksilver Open 2010 plus rated event (25% more prize money and points), while Santosa nabs Rp 11.5 million ($1,300 USD) and 3,000 points.
Hermawan also nabbed the Coca-Cola Best Wave Award for his 9.25 point wave in the final.
“That was my best final ever,” said the elated 18-year-old Hermawan back on the beach, “and to win it was so amazing. The waves were great and my board felt really good so I just kept being aggressive and attacking the waves. Dedi was the number two-ranked surfer coming into the event, so I couldn’t let up even once. He kept getting high scores, so I had to keep trying harder and harder. Even when I got that 9.25 wave I still didn’t feel safe. This is such a great feeling, and I am so amped!”
The two finalists put on a great show during the 30-minute final, with Hermawan having an 8.0, a 7.4 and a 9.25 as his top three waves and having 7.0, 6.5, 8.35, and 8.4 as his top scoring waves. The spectators, competitors, and crew on the beach were treated to arguably the best and highest scoring final seen yet this the year.
Runner up Santosa was smiling as well, saying, “I really enjoyed this whole competition. Surfing at Keramas is always fun, and to have it to ourselves at a comp makes it even better. In my last ISC event I had semi final finish, so make it into the final now makes me feel great, as my consistency is improving and that is important for me. I’m looking forward to next event and a win, so I can get the 2010 championship!”
Santosa now sits in the number 3 spot in the rankings behind previous rankings leader Pepen Hendrix, who was knocked out earlier in Round 4 by Garut Widiarta.
It the tight battle for the 2010 Coca-Cola ISC Championship, with two consecutive event victories Hermawan is on a roll and in the number one spot with one more event remaining, but remains realistic. “The final event is at Kuta Beach, and though I usually do good there most of the top guys are from Kuta so it’s their home break. Guys like Pepen, Garut, Raditya, Dedi and others will be really hard to beat at their own break, so I will be training hard there over the next couple of weeks,” he said.
The wave conditions during the two days of the annual Quiksilver Open were quite consistent, with perfect 2-4 foot Keramas on offer during the majority of the event, providing the 64 Indonesian competitors ample opportunity to pit their skills against each other on a perfect playing field. Uncharacteristically the event was run during two full days, the absence of the usually prevalent mid day onshore winds creating very contestable conditions from early morning until late in the afternoon.
Contest Director Jake “the Snake” Paterson was nothing but pleased with the results, saying, “Going into the event we were dealt with a tough situation, as the wave forecast wasn’t giving us much to be optimistic about in the way of a solid swell, and normally there are the onshore winds that come up before mid day that limit how long you can run. We anticipated running the event over 5 or 6 days, but because we had a nice little swell on and the onshore winds never came up, we just kept pushing ahead and got through in two days.”
“Turns out it was the right call,” he added smiling. “That Open final was super exciting, as it went blow for blow all the way and in my opinion looking over the last two days the best surfer certainly won, so it worked out really well.”
Quiksilver SEA CEO Paul Hutson was also very satisfied with the event and from the podium at the beachside awards presentation thanked the competitors, the events sponsors, and his team for all their hard work, and also the Keramas locals for sharing their waves.
He then expressed his concern for Keramas Beach itself, saying “I hope that the locals and the government can find a solution to the current situation with the land developments at Keramas Beach as the future of this great surfing break is in their hands. We love this place and the people, and love coming here each year, so we certainly don’t want to see anything happening that puts it all in jeopardy.”
In addition to the ISC Open Division competition at the Quiksilver Open 2010, the ISC Women’s Division and the ISC Master Division also competed yesterday.
Diah Rahayu Dewi of Seminyak won her maiden ISC Women Division victory in a come-from-behind victory, sitting in third spot until just after the mid way point of the 20 minute final when she tapped first a 6.5 then added a 5.0 to take the lead over 2009 Coca-Cola ISC Women’s champion Yasnyiar Gea of Nias and Gemala from Jakarta and hold on until the horn blew.
And while Yasnyiar “Bonne” Gea may not have won the event, her second place finished cemented her number one position in the Women’s Division so on the podium she was presented with the 2010 Coca-Cola ISC Women’s Championship title for the second year running.
In the ISC Masters Division, Nyoman “Koming” Wastika was in top form and dominated the four man final for most of the 20 minutes, with the exception of a last minute charge by Ketut Wirawan whose score remained a secret until the podium. His final wave score of 7.0 fell just short of the 7.5 points he needed but he upped his final placing from 3rd to 2nd on the podium.
In addition, though Ketut “Kombong” Juliarta didn’t make it into the final at this event, he compiled enough points in the semifinal to claim 2010 Coca-Cola ISC Masters Champion title in this his first year surfing in the ISC Masters Division.
Though the surfing portion of the Quiksilver Open 2010 has been completed, an equally exciting remainder of the event has yet to be seen.
The event will wrap up on November 6 starting at 7:00 pm with the Best Surfers Party Night at the Hard Rock Hotel Centerstage, and then moving over to the Hard Rock Café for the Best After Party at 10:00 pm.
Highlights of the evening’s agenda will be Julian Wilson’s “Scratching the Surface” movie premiere, the Roxy Short Short competition, a Quiksilver and Roxy Fashion Show and the Awards Presentation. The party will then move over to the Hard Rock Café where the band I Am Giant will put on what promises to be an epic performance of their powerful and edgy brand of rock music.
Quiksilver Open 2010 Coca-Cola ISC Results:
Open Division
1. Putra Hermawan (Nusa Lembongan) 17.25 pts
2. Dedi Santosa (Kuta) 16.75 pts
3. Mustofa Jeksen (Kuta) Equal 3rd
3. Wayan Susiana (Nusa Lembongan) Equal 3rd
Women’s Division
1. Diah Rahayu Dewi (Seminyak) 11.5 pts
2. Yasnyiar Gea (Nias) 10.5 pts
3. Gemala (Java) 10.15 pts
4. Jasmine (Kuta) 6.35 pts
Masters Division
1. Nyoman Wastika (Sanur) 12.65 pts
2. Ketut Wirtawan (Kuta)12.25 pts
3. Made Lapur (Uluwatu) 9.55 pts
4. Wayan Budayasa (Sanur) 9.55 pts
Coca-Cola Best Wave Award – Putra Hermawan
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