More than 2,000 spectators turned out on Saturday 19th September to see the world’s first ever stadium-style surfing event, Red Bull Unleashed.
It was a surprisingly scorching afternoon in North Wales as the final eight riders went head-to-head at Surf Snowdonia’s artificial wave pool. In the end it was crowd favourite Albee Layer (HAW) who became the first ever Red Bull Unleashed champion, after a string of spectacular displays carried him to victory over the plucky Billy Stairmand (NZL).
The competition was able to bring the crowd closer to the action than has ever been seen before, paving the way for a new era in competitive surfing. The athletes and spectators revelled in the unique man-on-man duel concept, which saw pairs of surfers go head to head, wave for wave, in a best of five format.