If you ever listen to surf podcasts then you probably know who Scott Bass is. I don’t even like to admit this, but over the past year or so I have become a big hater. This isn’t to say I personally dislike the guy; I’ve never met him, never had any interactions with him. All I am saying is that I heavily disagree with a lot of the stuff he says on the podcast titled ‘Spit!’. As with all of life, however, there is some common ground to be found. I do agree with Mr. Bass in saying that 3 days to finish a surf contest is a solid time period, which is exactly what we just got at Teahupoo.
I’m not going to dive any deeper on Scott, if you want to find more of my complaints you can just follow my twitter (or X, I guess it’s called now – @ hwilsin1). I don’t get around to the Threads thing too much yet.
Anyways, the contest. 3 days full of action. Done and dusted before you knew what happened. Obviously the waves weren’t what was expected for Chopes, wish it could have been better, but I was still pretty engaged. I’ve also got a mildly hot take – maybe the Final 5 is a good thing for surfing (read: entertainment). I was thinking about the Quarter Finals in particular. 3 of the 4 heats had Final 5 implications on the line. I didn’t miss one wave from any of those heats. Heat 3 featured Barron Mamiya against Mihimana Braye, and no knock to either of those guys, but I couldn’t be bothered with that heat. Filipe would have also clinched the Title after winning his Round 1 heat. Instead, we head to Lowers. Who all is heading there for a one day shot at history anyways?
Well, Filipe Toledo of course. As mentioned, he shored up the number 1 seed by making it straight past the Elimination round. He’s now 2 heats away from defending the title at his adopted homebreak. Maybe the 2% crew should try and bring Toledo into their squad. You know, bolster the numbers. Hedge your bet. Anybody sitting below this man will be crossing their fingers for some solid swell.
Griffin Colapinto will be the star of the show. The hometown crowd is going to be a spectacle, I guarantee you that. He’ll need to make it through one heat for a real shot at the crown. The head noise started even before he got on the plane home from Chopes. Can he journal, meditate, and smile his way to a World Title at home? It feels like more pressure than one could handle, but we all know that Griff is pretty zen. A ton of the younger generation will be watching before, during, and after this process to see how Griff handles business. I’m throwing all my chips on this kid. Let’s go.
Ethan Ewing. I’m not even going to dive into this. I feel so bad for Ethan. Every other guy on this list will breathe a sigh of relief if Ewing can’t surf. I’m not a doctor by any means, but honestly, I’m just looking forward to next year for Ethan. He is your favorite surfer’s favorite surfer. He’s a young kid with a huge future ahead of him, and next year he will be an Olympian, with a chance to return to the wave that spoiled his Title chances. I sincerely think this kid could win the Olympics at Teahupoo solely based on that storyline. That’s where I’ll leave that. Head up Eth, you’ll be back soon.
Things got pretty dicey for Joao Chianca, but he’ll be there. Losing out in the Elimination round was not ideal for Chumbinho. A lot could have happened. Actually, a lot did happen. The 4 surfers directly behind him all made the QF’s – Yago, Medina, John John, and Jack. Somehow, some way, Joao is on his way to Lowers. His style and approach will be interesting to watch out there. He reminds me of Robbo last year, in that I think this year will be tough for him to shine, but he’s also a bit of a wildcard – not really sure what we’ll get. This is the last surfer I would put my money on for the day. No disrespect at all. If and when Finals Day is held elsewhere, Joao will be getting much more of a look.
The surprise of the day, and the event, Jack Robinson. I think he had to win the event to get in, and look what he did. See, I think that Griffin and Robbo are similar with their whole zen approach, but I feel like Jack actually puts in the work behind the scenes, whereas Griffin is sort of doing it for the Social Media looks and the influence it has on the kids below him. It seems like Jack is putting in the work behind doors. If we’re deciding who’s got the most confidence going into Finals Day, look no further than Jack. He already knows he can win this thing, regardless of the position he’s in. I think he is the biggest benefactor if Ethan cant surf. We’re going to see a completely different Robbo from last year’s Finals showing. Don’t @ me when it happens..
So, that’s the lineup for a couple weeks from now, but what actually happened at the End of the Road?
Well, as discussed, Jack Robinson won, beating Gabriel Medina in the Final in remarkable style. Medina is known as one of the most clutch, coldest competitive machines we’ve ever seen in surfing. And Robbo just went out there and swiped it from him, not unlike his G-Land victory last year. The event win AND the last spot in the Final 5. Really impressive stuff from the young Australian. Gabby had 15 points on the board before Robbo took off on one wave. Nerves of steel, a flair for the dramatics, zen, whatever you want to call it, Jack’s got it. 90% of other surfers would have been suffocated by Medina’s lead and antics in the Final. Robinson had none of it. I can’t commend this kid enough, that was a masterclass effort of a heat. Congrats Robbo.
Other notable moments from the event:
Gabby taking JJF out of Title contention in the Quarters. The way Medina plays with this wave is outrageous. He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen at The End Of The Road. Gabriel had JJF in a combo before 10 minutes had ticked off the clock. Two of his throwaway waves would have taken John out. Dominate performance in the QF’s, and highest heat total of Finals Day.
Jack taking out Yago in the Quarters. Yago was so, so close to another buzzer beater like the one he had earlier against Kelly. Had he stuck that massive boost on his last wave, undoubtedly we are looking at a different Final 5 scenario. Yago got pinched on the exit of two waves I think could have changed the heat. Jack seemed to know which waves would stay open. Yago threw down two of the sickest hacks en route to his season’s exit. Au revoir, Mr. Dora.
Leo Fioravanti’s surprising run. I can’t imagine I was the only one a bit shocked to find Leonardo in the semi’s. I would like to think that I might be one of the only few who had him in a fantasy lineup. I knew the waves weren’t going to be ideal Chopes, and look at what he did to start the year in messy, tough to surf Pipe. It only made sense. He had the highest heat total of the Opening Round, as well as an impressive heat win in the Quarter’s over last year’s local Hero Kauli Vaast. Solid end to a solid year. Good on you Leo.
Barron Mamiya’s barrel riding prowess. This wasn’t much of a surprise to see as the North Shore native has logged plenty of tube time that we know of, it’s just something we might have forgotten about. This kid should be considered a favorite in any wave of consequence. This 9.17 was one of the top rides of the event, only bettered by a 9.40 by Jack, and a 9.57 from John. The deteriorating conditions left Barron out of luck in the Semi’s against Gabby, but it was a strong showing nonetheless. His best result since he won Sunset over a year ago.
And with that, we can now gear up for Lowers. We’ve got the Final 5(4) set, as well as the list of athletes that have provisionally qualified for 2024’s Olympics. We’ll get into that at a later date. For now I’ve got a detailed Finals Day piece coming, as well as a Challenger Series update. Until then.
Cheers,
hwilsin