Surfing
Red Bull Unleashed: The Results
Hawaiian surfer Albee Layer triumphs at the world's first-ever surfing event on man-made waves.
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Albee Layer and Billy Stairmand share a moment
© Olaf Pignataro
Albee Layer made history this weekend as he became the inaugural Red Bull Unleashedchampion on Saturday (September 19).
Layer became the first person to win a surf contest on man-made waves, at Surf Snowdonia artificial wave lagoon in north Wales.
The 24-year-old from Haiku, Hawaii, defeated New Zealand's Billy Stairmand 3–1 in Saturday's final in front of a raucous 2,000-strong crowd.
Watch highlights below, and scroll down for the full Red Bull Unleashed results...
1 min
Red Bull Unleashed: The Highlights
Red Bull Unleashed: The Highlights
Over two days of head-to-head competition on the venue's identical man-made waves, Layer consistently looked the man to beat.
The world's top surfers took each other on in 30-minute long, best-of-five-waves matches, with three judges awarding points out of ten for each performance.
The event offered a new perspective on surf competitions for competitors and spectators, with the latter able to watch the action at close-quarters from the Wavegarden's central pier.
While the new format, combined with the man-made and consistent conditions, were expected to favour the lighter surfers in the draw, it was to be two of the heavier athletes - Layer and Australia's Jack Freestone - who looked strongest, with both progressing to the semi-finals.
Albee Layer en route to glory
© Olaf Pignataro
To get the win is crazy.
In the semis, Layer had to come from 2–0 down to beat Australian Mitch Crews 3–2 on his final wave, in the best duel of the event.
Meanwhile, in the other semi-final, Billy Stairmand thrashed Freestone 3–0 in an all-Antipodean encounter.
Sprayed with champagne on the podium, Layer, who normally shuns events but was lured by the world-first nature of this amazing competition, beamed with pride.
"I didn't know what to expect coming here," he said.
"It has been incredible; surfing so close to so many people; music playing; heaps of energy in the air. To get the win is crazy. If more events were like this, I'd do them!"
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Red Bull Unleashed - The Results
Final
Albee Layer (HAW) 3 def. Billy Stairmand (NZL) 1
Semi-finals
SF1. Billy Stairmand (NZL) 3 def. Jack Freestone (AUS) 0
SF2. Albee Layer (HAW) 3 def. Mitch Crews (AUS) 2
Quarter-finals
QF1. Billy Stairmand (NZL) 3 def. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 1
QF2. Jack Freestone (AUS) 3 def. Kai Hing (AUS) 1
QF3. Albee Layer (HAW) 3 def. Jayce Robinson (GBR) 1
QF4. Mitch Crews (AUS) 3 def. Ian Crane (AUS) 1
Round One (Heats)
H1. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 3 def. Alan Stokes (GBR) 0
H2. Billy Stairmand (NZL) 3 def. Leo Fioravanti (ITA) 1
H3. Jack Freestone (AUS) 3 def. Evan Geiselman 0
H4. Kai Hing (AUS) 3 def. Kalani David (HAW) 0
H5. Jayce Robinson (GBR) 3 def. Hiroto Arai (JPN) 0
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