I’m here to say I told you so. That QS event in Mexico was great viewing. Two future CT surfers had an absolute cracker of a Final, and there were 7 “excellent” heats (16 points or above) surfed since I told you to watch. Sorry you missed it, but I’ll fill you in.
From the Round of 16 on, every surfer in the draw could have won the event. That being said, there were clear standouts. Taro Watanabe didn’t post a heat total lower than 15.37 the entire event. He found himself in his second final in a row, somehow nabbing runner-up for the second contest in a row. A couple weeks ago he lost by less than a point to Dimitri Poulos in Puerto Rico. This time around Jett Schilling got the better of him by 0.20 points. How about that?
Jett was fucking ripping though. His lowest heat total of the event was 14.67 – still great surfing. He almost dropped a 10 in the Round of 16 for a big straight boost, directly into an aggressive blowtail reverse, and finishing it off with a solid ender tap. 9.93. Not sure what else he could have done for the 10. All the maneuvers were about as clean as they could be, I didn’t see any bobbles. Anyways.
The Final was nuts. Taro started off with a 9.17 to Jett’s 5.33. Jett got a quick backup that was nice, a 7.33 for some strong backhand surfing, but Taro immediately bettered even that second score with a 7.83. Schilling was in trouble early, needing a 9.67, even after dropping a solid 7.
Taro got a bomb with priority and went for one of those insane laybacks he does and, lucky for Jett, he didn’t pull it. Even more beneficial to Schilling was the second wave of the set; He dropped an 8.17 that he really needed, mostly garnered off of one dynamic backside snap. Taro bettered his backup score with an 8.53 for two sharp turns on a right. He pushes so hard.
Even though he still needed a 9.53, it felt like Jett was right in it now. He was looking for a ramp, and he had some massive attempts. You had the feeling if (when) he landed one, that would be enough to shift the heat. Guess what happened?
Yeah.
He needed a 9.53, got a 9.73. I don’t know how I feel about it, other than poor Taro. He’ll get a win sooner or later, but damn. Back-to-back runner-ups have to be bittersweet.
I’m not sure how the rankings work for the QS. The Wozzle seems to have it all fucked up right now on the website. I think technically this contest is a part of the 2025 season? I’m not sure, it’s a confusing mess. What I do know is that Taro should be up near the top of the rankings just based off of those last two results.
Next up will be the HIC Pro, always worth a watch. The window opens tomorrow. Haleiwa is very entertaining, in my opinion. To me, that looks like one of the most relatable, surfable waves on the North Shore, so I love to watch events there. After that is Morro Bay, December 5th – 8th. So, I’ll be back with some more QS action soon. Yew.
Cheers,
hwilsin
Drew Stanfield