ANGLET, France (Tue, May 1, 2007) – The Oxbow Pro World Longboard Championship, the event that will determine the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International mens world longboard champion for 2007 started a couple of hours ago and immediately the big guns in the tournament made their presence felt.

In heat 1, Kai Sallas (HAW) fresh off a victory in the Surf City Longboard Pro-Am contest last weekend at Huntington Beach, Calif continued his good form and scored an emphatic victory. One wave, which scored a 9.25, has been the highest scoring wave of the day so far.

But the other big names in the event also showed they were here for business (and the $US50,000 prizemoney on offer) with dominant first round heat wins. South Africa's Mathew Moir also scored in excess of 16 points for his two-wave score, nailing some extra long nose rides and radical cutbacks.

He will be joined by former world champion, longboarding legend and perennial favourite Bonga Perkins (HAW) who overcame Japan's Nobuhiro Ogashira and Roger Barros (BRA). Perkins, the 1996 world champion, will move straight into the third round, crucially avoiding the sudden death second round.

Fellow Hawaiian Duane de Soto is also in the same boat after winning his heat. de Soto, known for tackling the huge barrels of Pipeline and Teahupoo, managed the powerful, but slightly tricky, beachbreak conditions well, and with his huge experience will be a major threat in the competition.

There are still four heats remaing today, with defending world champion Josh Constable (AUS) and former world champion Colin McPhillips (USA) facing each other in heat 8, one of the match ups of the round.

Results to date:
Oxbow Pro World Longboard Championship
Round of 48, 1st place through to round 3
Heat 1: Kai Sallas (HAW) 16.15, Alex Salazar (BRA) 12.85, Diego Rosas (BRA) 11.75
Heat 2: Marcelo Freitas (BRA) 16.50, Phil Razjman (BRA) 16.35, Antoine Delpero (FRA) 11.50
Heat 3: Duane de Soto (HAW) 12.00, Jonathan Larcher 4.70, Jed Morouse (USA) 4.70
Heat 4: Bonga Perkins (HAW) 13.35, Alban Meric (FRA) 12.60, Tom Lloy (USA) 8.50
Heat 5: Mathew Moir (SAF) 16.10, Nobuhiro Ogashira (JPN) 9.25, Roger Barros (BRA) 8.75

Heat 6: Bryce Young (AUS) 13.00, Amaro Matos (BRA) 12.00, Carlos Bahia (BRA) 11.05

Heat 7: Jackson Close (AUS) 15.25, Taylor Jensen (USA) 11.35, Kekoha Uemura (HAW) 6.75

Heat 8: Colin McPhillips (USA) 14.60, Josh Constable (AUS) 13.60, Troy Mothershead (USA) 10.25