It’s unfortunate to say it, but the Hawaii portion of the annual surf season has essentially come to a close. Hawaiian waters dominate the professional landscape for about three straight months, but it’s now time to share the wealth and give some other nations a chance to see the best of the best up close.
First up is Brazil, which is set to host the Hang Loose Pro coming up on Tuesday. It’s the first QS 6,000 contest of the season, so it’s the first chance for Championship Tour hopefuls to take a major step towards their qualification goals. But whoever does come away with the coveted 6,000 points for first place will need to out-surf a stacked field that will include many of the best Brazilians in the world.
It doesn’t get much tougher than two-time world champion Gabriel Medina, who is scheduled to compete and will be a very worthy top seed. Medina was last in action during the Billabong Pipe Masters, where he took first place and clinched the 2018 world title over runner-up Julian Wilson.
I often have a problem with some of the elite Championship Tour surfers entering QS events that mean so much to surfers trying to make their way to the dream tour. But the way the rules are set up, Medina and others need to surf in a local QS event at some point during the season. So anyone looking to start the year with a statement win will likely have to make a name for themselves by outpointing the current best in the world.
Of the top 15 seeds, 12 are Brazilian, including Italo Ferreira, Triple Crown winner Jesse Mendes and Yago Dora. It’s not going to be much of a surprise to see a Brazilian wave and endless flags on the beach as we get into the late stages of the contest.
But they won’t get to coast on local knowledge alone. Some of the other heavyweights in the field include Frederico Morais, Joan Duru, Jack Robinson and Nat Young. Morais is looking to begin his re-qualification climb. It was a shock to see him fall off the CT in 2018, so he needs to start strong with a big performance at a big event in order to regain some of the momentum that evaded him last season. When he’s on his game, he’s as good as anyone in the world, so the rest of the field better hope he’s not on his game.
Hawaii’s highest seeded competitor will be Josh Moniz. Like the other top stars, he will have a bye into the Round of 96. Moniz saw his brother, Seth, make the leap in 2018 to become a rookie on this season’s upcoming CT. Whether Josh is destined to have a similar campaign remains to be seen, but as a former Volcom Pipe Pro winner, the talent is clearly there.
Two other Hawaii surfers who will have the opening bye are Kiron Jabour and Imaikalani Devault. Jabour is off to a solid start to the season with a fourth-place finish at the Sunset Open and a 17th at Volcom Pipe Pro. That’s good enough for 26th on the QS at the moment, but it’s obviously very early.
Other Hawaii surfers scheduled to compete include Benji Brand, Mason Ho, Ian Gentil, Sheldon Paishon and Cole Alves.
This is the first chance for QS surfers to really solidify their presence towards the top of the rankings. The Brazilians have the numbers, but anything can happen in four-man heats.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
