Action-packed day sees first eliminations at Corona Cero Open J-Bay
Day two of the competition saw the event's first eliminations with the competition of the men's and women's opening and elimination rounds.
As the penultimate stop of the Championship Tour's regular season, the event is a huge opportunity for surfers to make moves into the WSL Final 5 to have a chance to compete for the World Titles at Cloudbreak, Fiji.
The next rounds of the event will heat up this race after seeing surfers now sitting in the Top 5 and surfers just below all through to the next round.
The crowds lined the beach as World No 1 Jordy Smith (SA) and local wild card Luke Thompson (SA) paddled out for their matchup in the men's elimination round.
It was fireworks from the start, with Thompson getting the better of Smith in the first exchange.
Smith accepted the challenge and went full throttle on a long Supertubes runner to score an excellent 9.43 (out of a possible 10) with a couple of huge turns.
Thompson found another gear to go excellent himself, but the 'Big Bru' did enough to get the win with a total of 16.43 (out of a possible 20).
'We both started out pretty good,' said Smith.
'I really just wanted to find a bomb and shut down the heat. Sure enough, I got that wave and rode it almost into my living room! It's incredible the support down here. That's what it's all about: to inspire SA and the next generation coming through. I told Luke that I'll see him here in 12 months, and I really hope his dream comes true.'
Reigning World Champion Caity Simmers (US) survived the dreaded elimination round, coming up against local wild card Sarah Baum (SA).
Coming off an early exit at the Vivo Rio Pro, Simmers has been tapping into the support from her family, who are travelling with her in SA.
'I kind of have a weird relationship with this wave,' said Simmers.
'I just tried to put that behind me and have fun surfing. My whole family is here, so it helps to switch off. I got to watch my brother win the US Surfing Championships back home, and now he's here with me. He's been surfing better than me out here, and he definitely pushes me to be better.'
2023 world champion Caroline Marks (US) continues her run of good results in J-Bay with another Quarterfinals appearance after she eliminated 2024 world junior champion Luana Silva (BRA) in Heat 2.
A clutch performance from two-time World Champion Tyler Wright (AUS) saw her advance over rookie Erin Brooks (CAN) to round out the quarterfinals. Wright was trailing Brooks, when she found a medium-sized wave and surfed it down the point to get a 7.07 and edge out Brooks.
World No 2 Yago Dora (BRA) put on a show at Supertubes in his opening round heat, showcasing his good read of the waves to connect big, flowing turns and finding a solid section to punt a huge frontside rotation, earning an excellent 9.33.
Dora is nipping at the heels of Jordy Smith (SA) for the No 1 spot and will be a force to be reckoned with in J-Bay.
'I was kind of scared to hit the ramp, because the wave was solid and I had so much speed,' said Dora.
'I had the best feeling in surfing, just floating in the air and landing into the flats. You can really get creative on this wave, it's the perfect wave, but the lines are always changing a little bit, so it's still unpredictable and you have to adapt quickly.'
Joining Dora in the Round of 16 are Brazil's Filipe Toledo, Italo Ferreira and Joao Chianca.
Toledo won his opening round heat to go straight through to the Round of 16, while Ferreira and Chianca had to face the elimination round, overcoming Matthew McGillivray (SA) and Joel Vaughan (AUS), respectively. Current World No. 6 Griffin Colapinto (US), No. 7 Jack Robinson (AUS), and No. 8 Barron Mamiya (HAW) are also through to the next round and will be ones to watch in the Final 5 battle after their respective heat wins on Sunday.
Colapinto and Mamiya fought through the Elimination Round to dispatch Alejo Muniz (BRA) and Seth Moniz (HAW), respectively, while Robinson got the early win in the Opening Round with a strong 14.83 two-wave total (out of a possible 20).
SA's madman Matthew McGillivray (SA) dropped into Jeffreys Bay in style, skydiving from 7,500 feet in his wetsuit and rash vest, ready to paddle out for his opening round heat.
McGillivray, a former CTer, is known for his extreme sports hobbies outside surfing, such as skydiving and base jumping. Unfortunately, Italo Ferreira (BRA) eliminated McGillivray from the competition in Heat 3 of the elimination round. — World Surf League
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