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NEW UPDATES - SEMI-FINAL RE-CAP
After an intense Qualifiers the Semi's were not for the faint-hearted. Join us as recount the Semi-Finals in preparation for the Finals in a couple of days time.
The bouldering round was full of powerful problems and sketchy slab movements. We saw Han Jisung dominate the bouldering wall which was to be expected from the World Champion for the past three years. The GB turned Korean climber showed off his top-form as he flashed all three boulders. No problems at all for him as he breezed through the problems.
Closely behind him was Lee Minho, his teammate who flashed two of the three boulders. Similar to their Qualifying round. Fortunately it seems that Minho's shoulder seemed to be fairing a lot better after his injury in the last bouldering round during the Qualifiers. Still with some tape on, but he seemed relaxed on the wall and happy with his performance.
We saw Cole Liom top every boulder problem, however after quite a few attempts on each of the problems his score had dropped considerably. He showed strong composure and stayed calm despite the frustration of not topping the route in a few short attempts.
The Australian climber Lee Felix seemed to struggle during these bouldering problems, only managing to hit the zones for two of the climbs and not reaching a zone on the slab problem. Felix is known for struggling on slab problems and so it was a shame that the Australian missed out on a zone for that problem.
Both US climbers Seungmin and Hyunjin did well getting almost the exact same score, both climbers got two tops and a zone. The only difference was Hyunjin flashed the first two tops, showing off his bouldering skills. Seungmin is more of a lead climber and so it was excellent to see his bouldering well.
Jakob Schubert seemed to struggle during these three boulders, managing to flash all three zones but failed to reach the tops on each climb. Not the worst score but he has work to do for the lead climbing. Similar to Colin Duffy who struggled with the top holds, with a top and a zone for his climb.
Speaking with one of the Route Setters they have explained that this Semi's was purposefully tougher than usual, they wanted to have a good split going into the lead climb so that they can see which climbers make themselves stand out from the crowd.
Sam Avezou from France had a great bouldering round. With two tops and a zone. Unfortunately didn't manage to get any flashes for the top points but his calm approach to each problem has helped him gain as many points as he can with his current skills. A very similar score to his qualifying round.
We saw Seo Changbin prove he's worked hard during the last combined competition, his bouldering improving dramatically. With two flash tops and some struggle on the power boulder it was great to see the problem solving Changbin dealt with as he broke the beta on one of the boulders.
Spanish climber Alberto Gines Lopez had a great climb, he reached all three zones, unfortunately being timed out so was unable to get any tops. It's clear the nerves were getting to him as some of his moves became inaccurate when he was getting nearer the top.
Due to an injury Toby Roberts only managed to get a top on one problem. On his second climb when he fell off the dynamic move to the zone hold, he fell awkwardly on his knee. He was unable to finish his round.
Rankings after Bouldering Semi-Finals
Han Jisung - 75
Cole Liom - 73.8
Lee Minho - 65
Hwang Hyunjin - 64.7
Seo Changbin - 64.6
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