Australia’s Mitch Parkinson clinches 2019 So Sri Lanka ProQS3000 title

By Hishan Welmilla

Australia’s Mitch Parkinson (AUS) has put on an outstanding performance to win the 2019 So Sri Lanka Pro World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 3000 at Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka/

2019 So Sri Lanka ProQS3000. The competition attracted more than 124 competitors from all corners of the globe which raised the bar but it was 2012 World Champion Joel Parkinson’s little cousin Mitch Parkinson that stole the show by winning the Championship.

Indonesia’s Onrey Anwer clinched the second place after he went down fighting in the finals.

Mitch Parkinson (AUS) has put on an outstanding performance in clean three-to-four foot surf at Arugam Bay. In the biggest win of his career, Parkinson dominated every heat he surfed with an amazing display of aerial surfing.

Gold Coast local Parkinson made it to the final with clutch performances all event, posting perfect and excellent scores in the final minutes of his heats to progress to the next round. In the Final, however, he did all the damage early, posting a perfect 10-point ride with his first wave. His second ever, the perfect score came from a huge, full rotation ‘alley-oop’ which he immediately backed up with a 9.17 for a huge air-reverse. This left his opponent Oney Anwar (IDN) chasing a two-wave combination of 19.17 for the lead.

Te Kehukehu Butler (NZL) from New Zealand and Victor Bernardo (BRA) from Brazil were unlucky to not make the Final as they both performed exceptionally all event but fell just short in their respective Semifinals. Both surfers leave Sri Lanka with an equal third-place finish.

The So Sri Lanka Pro 2019 Men’s WSL QS3,000 was held from 25-29 September in Arugam Bay in the eastern part of Sri Lanka which is considered one of the best surfing locations in the world which attracts many surfers worldwide.