One to Remember

DID YOU CHECK THAT BRUs? Jordy Smith claims a huge move in epic Supers. Photo WSL / Ryder

Yesterday, crowd favourite Jordy put on a clinical display against Kolohe Andino (USA) in the Elimination Round with two excellent scores above 8 points, but stumbled today, falling to in-form Ethan Ewing. The South African kept his momentum going into the afternoon and upped the ante with a 9.07 and 7.70 for a 16.77 to take a second straight win against Griffin Colapinto (USA) and move into the Quarters. A back-to-back winner at J-Bay in 2010 and 2011, Smith’s last win was a long five years ago.

The loudest cheer from the partisan home crowd came not from a surfer in the event, but when they witnessed a high flying tube ride by a surfer up at Boneyards who vanished into an incredible, never-ending barrel that spat him out not too far from where the WSL surfers were sitting. It turned out to be none other than Twiggy Baker, whose in town to steal some limelight.

It was a heart-wrenching loss for the locals when hometown hero Matthew McGillivray (RSA) was knocked out by an Ewing (AUS), who now takes credit for two SA scalps. McGillivray lit up the crowds when he took off deep for a long barrel ride and backed it up with another frothy tube. Ewing responded with smooth rail work and power carves that cut through the Supertubes walls like butter. McGillivray made a few wave selection mistakes and exits the competition earlier than South African surf fans would’ve liked.

KNIFE THROUGH BUTTER: Ethan Ewing's smooth style is amazing to watch. Photo WSL / Ryder

Local wildcards Joshe Faulkner (RSA) and Luke Thompson (RSA) were eliminated from the competition by World No. 1 Filipe Toledo (BRA) and No. 3 Italo Ferreira (BRA) in Elimination Round 2 earlier in the day. Faulkner will take this invaluable experience and shift his focus to the next Challenger Series, the VANS US Open of Surfing from July 30 through August 7, 2022 in Huntington Beach, California, to qualify for the 2023 CT.

Despite the disappointment, the crowds were treated to proper J-Bay, with a serious winter storm dishing up 4-8ft waves, with some proper 10ft+ wideswingers, particularly in the afternoon as the spring tide pushed. The contest managed a mammoth day to get through the Elimination Round 2, the men’s Round of 16, and the women’s Quarterfinals. It was a day of high jinx, drama and upsets, particularly Carissa Moore’s Quarterfinal heat, Yago Dora dispatching World No. 1 Filipe Toledo, alongside Stephanie Gilmore’s and Jordy Smith’s J-Bay masterclasses.

Moore (HAW) had a nightmare start when a big clean-up set broke right on top of her after mistiming her paddle-out from the keyhole. Her board snapped in half and she had to swim back in and run around the point to get a backup board before paddling out for her heat against Caroline Marks (USA). As many will know, paddling out in huge Supers is a skill, but trying to do it when you have only 34 minutes left to paddle out, get into position and catch two high scoring rides is a big ask.

NEW SCHOOL: Wildcard Luke Thompson is one to watch with his power game. Photo WSL / AVG

With time pressing, she paddled out hastily and promptely got washed all the way down to Impossibles before she cleared the lineup and got ferried up by a jetski. The five-time World Champion finally shook off the nerves with her opening ride for a 6.67. Marks could only bank two low-range scores, but was in the lead by a small margin. Moore waited patiently for a set wave in the dying seconds and scored the best wave of the heat to advance into the Semis.

“It’s pretty hard to reset after something like that happens,” said Moore. “I was running up the beach and my whole team was there. So much happens in a heat, it’s mother nature and our canvas is always changing so you just have to adapt. It helped that Caroline hadn’t put a score on the board so it was like we were starting from scratch. Time was winding down and I only needed a 2.26 so I knew I just need to do a turn and a half, then that wave came and it allowed me to do more so I’m really grateful.”

Seven-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) continued to demonstrate her superiority in right-hand point breaks when she defeated rookie Gabriela Bryan (HAW) in the Quarters. The Australian selected the best waves in a firing J-Bay lineup and surfed them to perfection, dropping two big scores for the winning spot into the Semifinals.

THE LULL WAIT: Stephanie Gilmore watches for a gap to go out for her heat. Photo WSL / AVG

“We’ve been sitting and watching the boys getting barreled all day so it’s hard not to imagine yourself doing the same thing,” Gilmore said. “I was lucky that there were so many sets and so many opportunities, I just knew if I could pick the eyes out of it and get one with a tube at the end I could get a good score. That heat was crucial for me and I knew I had to capitalize on these moments. It’s kind of pedal to the metal all the way to the end.”

After missing two CT events, Tyler Wright (AUS) is hungry for a good result and dispatched World No. 2 Johanne Defay (FRA) in pumping Supertubes to secure her spot in the Semifinals.

Joining the Semifinalists will also be Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) who defeated Brisa Hennessy (CRI) in the last heat of the day and with the biggest performance of the women’s draw so far. The Brazilian went all out with critical turns right under the lip of the double overhead waves to score a near-perfect 9.27 (out of a possible 10) and backed up with a 7.93.

ROCKETING IN THE POCKET: Johanne Defay was knocked out in the quarters. Photo WSL / Ryder

Yago Dora (BRA) upset the two-time Corona Open J-Bay winner, Filipe Toledo (BRA), by eliminating him in their Round of 16 matchup. Dora, the 2022 injury replacement, was behind and chasing for most of the heat, but he found an incredible wave to lay down three big backhand turns before getting slotted super deep on the inside. The judging panel gave it a near-perfect 9.50 and Dora moved on to the Quarterfinals, sending the 2018 J-Bay winner home in 9th place.

The current World No. 2 Jack Robinson (AUS) had to pull all the stops to defeat 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) in the final moments of their battle. A very tense heat until the final minutes, Slater started on a wave needing a mid-6 score, which he eventually got, but on the very wave behind him, the West Australian surfer found one of the deepest tubes of the event so far and posted a final score of 9.10 to make his way into the Quarters.

“I was excited to have a heat with Kelly here,” Robinson said. “I had to contain myself because the waves were so good.”

Highlights available at www.WorldSurfLeague.com and on the WSL App.

Elimination Round 2 Results
HEAT 1: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.33 DEF. Joshe Faulkner (ZAF) 6.76
HEAT 2: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.30 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 11.66
HEAT 3: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.34 DEF. Luke Thompson (ZAF) 11.84
HEAT 4: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 14.07 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 11.83
HEAT 5: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 15.00 DEF. Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.03
HEAT 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 12.26 DEF. Barron Mamiya (HAW) 9.23
HEAT 7: Callum Robson (AUS) 12.93 DEF. Jackson Baker (AUS) 10.40
HEAT 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.93 DEF. Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.80

Men’s Round of 16 Results
HEAT 1: Yago Dora (BRA) 15.17 DEF. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.83
HEAT 2: Jack Robinson (AUS) 15.77 DEF. Kelly Slater (USA) 12.87
HEAT 3: Samuel Pupo (BRA) 16.94 DEF. Callum Robson (AUS) 11.00
HEAT 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 17.64 DEF. Nat Young (USA) 14.74
HEAT 5: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 16.26 DEF. Caio Ibelli (BRA) 11.77
HEAT 6: Connor O'Leary (AUS) 12.77 DEF. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 11.97
HEAT 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.77 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 7.27
HEAT 8: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 15.76 DEF. Matthew McGillivray (ZAF) 14.00

Men’s Quarterfinal Matchups
HEAT 1: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. Samuel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 2: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Connor O'Leary (AUS)
HEAT 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Ethan Ewing (AUS)4

Women’s Quarterfinal Results
HEAT 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 14.00 DEF. Johanne Defay (FRA) 11.76
HEAT 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.26 DEF. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 12.17
HEAT 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.50 DEF. Caroline Marks (USA) 8.93
HEAT 4: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 17.20 DEF. Brisa Hennessy (CRI) 13.67

Women’s Semifinal Matchups
HEAT 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
HEAT 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA)