A REVIEW

Miguel Pupo was 85 points short of tying Kanoa Igarashi for the 5th and final spot at Lowers. Griffin was 65 points below Miggy. What could have gone differently for these guys throughout the year that would have, could have made a difference? Let’s look back at the year and see if we find anything that stands out.

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For Miguel, we can look to the first contest of the year. In the first semi final of the Billabong Pro Pipeline, Miguel lost to the GOAT Kelly Slater by 1.18 points. He even had this interference on what was the first wave either surfer would take off on. I actually don’t even remember this happening, so reviewing this now is wild. The difference in getting through this heat was a minimum of 1,715 points, which would have put Pupo in the 4 spot. 

Sunset Beach was not a great look on the older Pupo brother, losing in the Elimination round. Then looking at Portugal, he lost to Italo in R16. The waves were really good, they were both trading barrels. Compare this 6.5 for Italo to this 6.27 for Miguel and you tell me what you think. Here’s what I think; Miggy’s take off was more technical, his wave was bigger and better, he spent more time in the tube, and his finishing maneuver was better. Pupo had a shot at the end on this 6.57, but he fell on the air attempt. He needed a 7.90. Was there any turn or air he could have finished the wave with to get the score? I’m not sure. He missed out on a minimum 1,425 points by not getting to the quarters here.

He had a great showing at Bells. He lost in the quarters to eventual finalist Callum Robson by .54 points. He needed a 5.95 with less than a minute remaining, and laid this down under priority. I can’t believe he didn’t get the score. There goes another 1,340 points, at least. 

Italo gave Miggy the works at Margarets River in R16. Miguel looked to be picking the wrong waves, they only had one major section before falling flat-ish. Italo was ripping off a few snaps per wave.

He lost another close heat (.50 points) in R16 at G-Land, this time to Griffin Colapinto. This was a good heat and Griff got the score he needed somewhere near the 5 minute mark.

His worst loss, in my opinion, was to Jake Marshall in tricky conditions at El Salvador. He didn’t have any waves even counting a 1 point ride until under the 5 minute mark. The difference in losing in the Elimination Round and R16, after the cut, is 1,990 points.

I remember watching his quarterfinal heat against Italo in Brazil. They tied. Italo won on a countback of the higher scoring wave, an 8.17, the exact score he needed with under 4 minutes left. Now if you’ve watched Italo in the past you know he’s a pretty animated guy. After this ride there was no claim, no yelling, just straight on the board and in to get the ski ride. I believe he didn’t even think he got the score. Also, looking at their lower scores, I think Italo got overscored on this 5.17. Another 1,715 gone.

J-Bay only provided another heartbreaker for Miggy, losing by .30 to Connor O’Leary in R16. Super close heat in pretty damn good conditions, the Ozzie winning by virtue of being more aggressive and vertical than Miguel. Pupo was on the longer, more horizontal runners. Bye-bye 1,425 points.

And finally, Miguel said to hell with all of the losing by mere fractions of points. He went and took out the final contest of the year, the OuterKnown Tahiti Pro, covered in full here. 

Here are the margins Miguel lost his heats by:

1.18 – Pipe

*skip Sunset*

1.33 – Portugal

0.54 – Bells

*smoked at Margies*

0.50 – G-Land

1.06 – El Salvador

Tied – lost by countback – Brazil

0.80 – J-Bay

Miggy was right there the whole year, and we didn’t even notice. Would he have made a difference in the final 5? If the Finals day was held somewhere different, say, Cloudbreak, would you look at his situation differently? Interesting thoughts creep into my mind looking at his situation. Let’s have a look at Griff.

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For the young surfer from San Clemente, we can also go back to the first contest of the year. He lost to Caio Ibelli at Pipeline by .80 points. As I write this, however, I find that the margin of loss is actually insignificant. Griffin needed a 5.74, which would have been his best wave of the heat; he only had a 5.50 to this point. 

Go ahead and throw away the majority of what I said about Miguel. Except for his interference, and his tie with Italo. Those two end results left him INCHES away from a Final 5 spot.

Now, for this last wave from Griffin at Pipeline, he was awarded a 4.93. Turns after the barrel, at waves of consequence, apparently mean nothing at all. I will write an opinion piece about this soon.

The judges handed him a tough loss at Sunset beach via an insane floater from Connor O’Leary, which you can view here. 9.43 is pretty steep for that, as gnarly as it was. Back to back early losses for Colapinto. Then comes the biggest moment of his career to date; a Championship Tour victory at the MEO Portugal Pro.

Following this pinnacle moment was yet another early loss at Bells beach, this time at the hands of Owen Wright. Griff looked to be surfing confidently but fell on his last opportunity at the buzzer. 3 losses in the Round of 32 to go with a win.

At Margie’s he gave John John everything he could handle in the quarterfinals. With John doing typical John things out there, Griffin needed an 8.68. He claimed his way to an 8.33 with only a few minutes on the clock, just short. 

In back to back Quarter showings, he next lost to Filipe at G-Land. The heat was a sleeper, Griffin keeping a 1 point ride in his scoreline. His 7.67, which you can see here, was pretty sick. Nonetheless, Griffin couldn’t find the 4.93 he needed in 16 minutes. Following the Rumble in the Jungle, Griffin took his second victory of the year, and his career. In a hotly debated final, Colapinto took out his neighbor Filipe Toledo.

Subsequently receiving death threats from Brazilian surf fans, Colapinto would lose in the Elimination Round to local wild card Miguel Tudela in Rio. Tudela needed a 5.51 with under 2 minutes left, and was unanimously given the score for a corked air reverse. Griffin’s worst result of the year, although point wise it was the same as the early exits prior in the year, due to this contest coming after the mid-year cut. 

At J-Bay, the all time favorite Jordy gave Griffin the business. Griff also copped a weird interference at the end of the heat. In rewatching this via the WSL heat analyzer, it showed a pretty low heat total for Griffin, as well as an interference on the screen. Watching back through his waves I could not find the interference. It doesn’t happen until maybe :05 on the clock. I believe because he took off on Ethan Ewing – who was in the following heat, underneath priority – Griff was rewarded with his second score being cut to zero. I believe. I didn’t hear or see anything about it from the commentators during the event. Even without the interference Griff loses this heat fair and square against Jordy.

The last contest is probably still fresh on everyone’s mind. Loads of surfers, presumably half of SoCal’s core lords, thought Griffin was underscored and got the short end of the stick in Tahiti. I personally didn’t think the wave provided enough for him to get the score and move through. In case you missed it, here is the wave in question. Needing a 5.94 and counting down the last 15 seconds of the heat, Griffin snags a 5.63, losing his control over the end of his season. 

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Looking back at the year both of these surfers had is pretty interesting. At the Lower’s venue, it’s hard to argue against the thought of Griffin being in the Final 5. It’s his homebreak. The clips and video parts he has put out on that wave are mind blowing. And the wave just fits his style of surfing; explosive and unpredictable. He’s got the X factor. I remember when that was the term used to describe Julian Wilson’s surfing. And now looking at it, I could see Griffin having a very similar career trajectory. It’s a bummer he won’t be in the Final in the next 2 weeks, but, browsing back through his year, I can see how he is not. 

Miggy Pupo’s year actually shocked me. He was seriously right there, only an interference and a tie away. If both of those heats went his way, that’s 3,430 additional points to his score, putting him within striking distance of Ewing and the 3rd place slot. Not to mention a few of the other close calls –  notably against Callum at Bells, and O’Leary’s big floater score at Sunset. What kind of surfing would we have expected to see from Miggy out at Lowers against the worlds best?

The 10 year veteran was silently one of the strongest performers of the year. Considering his younger brother winning Rookie Of The Year, Miggy will be looking to keep his momentum rolling next year. These Pupo brothers could be as dangerous as Venus and Serena Williams. They may be as prosperous as Peyton and Eli Manning. And they certainly have as much passion as Jim and John Harbaugh. Great year boys.

-hwilsin