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.
