After a slow start to the Championship Tour season at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast followed by less than perfect waves at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro kicked-off with a bang in solid surf and square barrels at The Box.
The Box has been thumping, and Adriano has charged his way to the semi finals.
What followed was four days of hard-charging by the world’s best, until the field was narrowed down to the final four men and eight women. And although there has still been contestable waves, organisers have been hanging on till the arrival of the next swell – predicted to be a biggie.
According to the official forecast, Wednesday is set to start off with triple overhead surf and favourable winds from the south east. And the swell will continue to build throughout the day, up to four times overhead by the afternoon, so there’s no letting up.
Which means we are in for a big finish at the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro with just ten heats left to be contested.
John John Florence has been enjoying the lay days.
From a Saffa perspective, Bianca Buitendag is still in the event with a shot at the title. She’ll be facing Hawaii’s Malia Manuel in the quarter finals. Currently lying 12th in the CT rankings, Bianca will be eyeing out a solid result to move her back among the front runners – where she spent much of last season after a good start.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Adriano de Souza has grabbed the yellow jersey as Men’s Championship Tour leader after making the finals at Bells and surfing his way to the semi-finals at Margaret River. He’ll be looking to extend his lead with a win at this event.
Bianca Buitendag will be facing Malia Manuel in a tough quarter final clash.
Go to worldsurfleague.com to watch the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro live when action gets underway again – likely tomorrow at around 2:00am SA time (8:00am in West Oz).
Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Upcoming Match-Ups:
Semi Final 1:
John John Florence (HAW) vs NatYoung (USA)
Semi Final 2:
Taj Burrow (AUS) vs Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Women’s Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Upcoming Match-Ups:
Quarter Final 1:
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs Lakey Peterson (USA)
Quarter Final 2:
Carissa Moore (HAW) vs Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW)
Quarter Final 3:
Malia Manuel (HAW) vs Bianca Buitendag (ZAF)
Quarter Final 4:
Tyler Wright (AUS) vs Courtney Conlogue (USA)
