Sara Lopez wins second consecutive shoot-off to make Lockdown Knockout final
Colombian world number two Sara Lopez beat the USA’s world number three, Paige Pearce, in a single-arrow shoot-off to secure her place in the final of the Lockdown Knockout against Anders Faugstad of Norway. Sara shot a tiebreak 10, Paige a nine.
“I’m really happy because I wanted higher scores this time from my side because I wasn’t really proud of the last one,” said Lopez. “But for sure I had a lot of fun and it’s a pleasure to have been selected with all these girls. I admire them so much, so I’ll be sure I win this for them.”
It is the second consecutive shoot-off win for Sara in the Lockdown Knockout. She defeated Toja Ellison in a quarterfinal tiebreak.
Her semifinal against Pearce was a back-and-forth affair.
Leading by one after the first three arrows, Pearce had levelled the match by the 12th. The pair entered the fifth and final end tied at 116 points apiece.
Reigning World Archery Field Champion Pearce started, shooting two 10s, while Sara dropped her first into the nine. Paige had a chance to win it with her last arrow but also dropped one out of the middle.
Sara needed a perfect final shot to force the shoot-off and, doing what she does best, delivered what was required.
Shooting first in the tiebreak, having chosen to open the match as the highest qualifier, Paige pushed a low nine, leaving the door open for the five-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion. Lopez duly followed with a 10, winning the shoot-off and securing her place in the Lockdown Knockout final.
“Sara’s is closer,” said Pearce as the two women went downrange to score their arrows. “Honestly, [the shot] actually felt good, I was happy with it when it broke, so it’s just how it goes.”
Lopez will face Norwegian world youth champion Anders Faugstad in the Lockdown Knockout final at 17h00 CET on Sunday 17 May.
The winner of the first international remote archery tournament will collect 1000 CHF while second place earns 500 CHF. Sara has previously said she will donate any winnings to charities combating the COVID-19 outbreak in Colombia.
Sunday is a Norwegian national holiday.
Anders has been the top scorer in the tournament so far. He qualified with 596 out of a possible 600 points and has shot matches of 148 and 149.
“It’s going to be hard but we need to show them that we can be better than the guys,” said Sara.
The Lockdown Knockout is the first remote international event being streamed live across World Archery’s digital platforms.
