25 Nov 2017 WWA WAKE PARK WORLD SERIES FINALE | TWP KORAT
PROS AND AMATEURS FIERCELY BATTLE IT OUT
DURING DAY ONE OF THE 2017 KORAT OPEN
Korat, Thailand (November 25, 2017) – The field of riders narrows down as day one of the Korat Open has completed. The final stop of the 2017 WWA Wake Park World Series, the entire season all comes down to tomorrow’s competition. The brand new Thai Wake Park Korat saw amateur and professional men and women wakeboard divisions along with the Open Wakeskate division put every feature on display today with some amazing riding. With professional quarterfinals and amateur semifinal rounds now in the books, the level of riding continues to get better and better as the event moves on.
Traditional Cable kicked off the day in Juniors, Intermediate Men and Open Men. Local rider Bobby Grant put the future of wakeboarding on display, winning his heat with a score of 97.70. Grant’s steezy nose grab to tail grab backside 180 off the kicker impressed the judges along with all of his rail and surface tricks on his way to the win. Fellow local shredder Dong Hyun Park won his heat with a near-perfect run.
The Open Men’s division had a large, diverse field of riders representing countries from every part of the globe. Anton Tkachenko from Russia made it through the thick cut of riders by stomping a rail-to-rail on the new a-frame double-rail feature, a maneuver traditionally only seen during the Pro Men’s division. Along with Anton, Thai Wake Park’s own Sanya Pontip was able to advance into Sunday’s Open Men’s final.
One of the largest divisions in the event, the Open Wakeskate riders gave the crowd an insane show. Israel’s Jonathan Silvershatz absolutely slayed the course with a stand-up run to win his heat, landing a perfect backside bigspin in the flats and a switch toeside-backside 180 off the kicker. Joining him in tomorrow’s final is a stacked lineup that includes Andy Kolb, Marc Greitzke, Belgium’s Victor Salmon, Andrew Pastura and the local crowd favorite Daniel Grant.
The Professional Women’s division was perhaps the highlight of the day as Germany’s Julia Rick showed everyone why she is the World Champ, earning a perfect score of 100 in her heat. Rick stomped a switch frontside-heelside 720, a switch mobe and tons of technical rail hits on her way to a perfect score. However, the Netherland’s Maxine Sappulette also won her heat and will be giving it everything she’s got during tomorrow’s final.
“My plan is to go all out in my run for the final” said Maxine Sappulette. “Julia is such a great competitor and she is so dialed in on the course. I plan on giving it my all so that this will be the best women’s final ever seen at an event!”
The day finished with Open and Professional Men’s Features Only. The usual suspects were on top for the Open Men as riders from Russia, and Thailand dominated the semifinal round. In the Pro Men’s division, it was a different story. Austria, Sweden, Belgium, and Germany all had riders win their heats during the quarterfinal round. Thai Wake Park Lamlukka’s Victor Salmon recorded the highest score in the division, landing his double grabbed toeside backside 720, very technical rail to rail hits and also having the best flow in the line section. Look for Victor to be a favorite going into tomorrow’s semifinal.
Day one was an absolute success and a ton of fun, but it will only continue to get better as day two begins. Tomorrow evening we will crown Korat Open winners in several different divisions as well as the Overall 2017 WWA Wake Park World Series Titles. Come out to Thai Wake Park Korat tomorrow for an amazing day of high-flying action for semifinals and finals!
CLICK HERE to view Saturday’s full results.
Check out Podiums HERE
↓ ABOUT DAY 1 ↓
2017 WWA WAKE PARK WORLD SERIES FINALE KICKS OFF IN STYLE AT THE NEW TWP KORAT
Korat, Thailand (November 24, 2017) – Thailand’s newest wake park, Thai Wake Park Korat plays host to the final event of the greatest WWA Wake Park World Series (WPWS) season in history. With athletes from every inhabitable continent and one of the largest fields of Pro riders ever at a wake park event along with a new cable stacked with technical features, this may prove to be the best wake park event ever.
Not only does the Korat Pro crown event winners, it also determines the overall WWA Wake Park World Series podium in both Pro Men’s Features Only and Traditional cable divisions. With the largest amount of overall prize money up for grabs to date, riders from all over the planet will have the chance to compete for overall titles and more than $55,000. The 2017 WWA Wake Park World Series brought riders to two different and unique events in the United States with both the Nautique WWA Wake Park National Championships presented by Rockstar Energy at BSR cable park and the California Wake Park Open with its unique “hack” park layout and progressive format. Following those two events, the WPWS headed to Europe at Lago de Azul for the Portugal Pro and then moved on to the Philippines for the WWA Wake Park World Championships presented by Nautique Boats before concluding here in Thailand for the Korat Pro.
Guenther Oka (USA) has firm lead coming into the final event for the overall title in the Features Only race and is currently tied for first with Busty Dunn (AUS) in the Traditional category. The two-time double category Wake Park World Champion will have to bring everything he’s got and remain flawless in every round to take home the overall titles this weekend.
“Stoked to be in the lead right now for both categories, but with the amount of insanely good riders here, it can be anybody’s game to take the lead at this point,” said Guenther Oka. “The feature layout at TWP Korat is exactly what the riders want at a park, so it will definitely provide an amazing show for the finale.”
Along with the Professional Men’s categories, the Korat Open will feature the top riders in the world for the Professional Women’s Traditional competition. Germany’s Julia Rick is riding very strong here in Korat looking to cap off her season on the podium with a win. She will have to make it through a field of very strong Pro Women’s riders including Holland’s Maxine Sapulette, Sweden’s Caro Djupsjo and several very talented Russian riders. The level is sure to be at an all-time high here in Korat.
Along with the professional divisions, this event will feature top amateur wakeboard and wakeskate competitors from around the world. Men and Women from over twenty countries will be represented on the water tomorrow for an amazing finale to the 2017 WWA Wake Park World Series here at the Korat Open. A heated day of riding will see the world’s best battle through the qualification rounds with hopes of making it through to Sunday’s final. Check-in with the WWA on social media for updates throughout the event!
