I love me, a good quickie! A little bit of foreplay, six heats, 3+ hours, some post-act banter, and Portugal climaxed. Just like that.
It’s how sporting events should be played out, I reckon. Scrap all the baggage from the Early Rounds and jump straight into the good stuff. It gives it that Battle Royale feel, perfectly relatable for viewers battling boredom and attention deficiency.
However, before we jump into the good stuff, I have to circle back to something I said in the event’s early hours. I owe you an apology Portugal. My remarks regarding Supertubos being 75% closeouts and 25% Italo Ferreira were wrong! Both of them.
The last two days exposed my claims as premature as we’ve seen pretty all-time beach break conditions and skateboard-esque above the lip gallivanting.
Whenever you have Italo and Filipe together in a Heat, you’ll expect fireworks. They are probably the only two surfers on tour right now with an extra gear in waves that are head high or below, and Semifinal Number 1 did not disappoint.
Italo kicked off the Brazilian matchup with an 8.83 punt and a broken board before Toledo even got his hair wet. Filipe answered back with punt 3 and a 6.17 shortly after. From here on out, it was a heat of opposing strategies. Italo – Red Bull’s lovechild, attacked anything that moved. On the other hand, Toledo played a more mature game, essentially conserving energy to punt full-throttle on set waves, bagging him a place in the final.
Elsewhere Grif and John experienced a similar scenario. Florence kept racking up mileage and one or two faceplants on the Pyzel, trying to find a decent backup score (that never came). At the same time, Griffin’s Mayhem lived on to fight another day.
Griffin Colapinto has been my flying under-the-radar guy all season, which cost me dearly in Fantasy points. After two Round 3 exits in Hawaii, I didn’t really count on him to make a splash in Portugal, but I shoulda remembered that Grif is a season ticket holder at Salt Creek – A Californian beachy with a striking resemblance to the offshore ramps at Supertubos. The older Cola Bro was clutch in his Semifinal Heat, surfing smart and flaring on closeout rights.
The Semis of the ladies featured more rail than air but were no less fun to watch. Actually, Steph’s Heat with Lakey P featured some of the best Heat surfing we’ve seen all year. The two went blow for blow, catching a total of 16 waves between the two. Lakey got the Queen on the buzzer, though, but nevertheless, Steph’s trajectory is definitely pointing up at the right time, at the right moment, heading into the Australian leg.
In the other Semifinal, we witnessed a WSL Finals re-match between Tati and Carissa, which looked awfully like Grif and John John’s Heat. Unfortunately, Carissa’s two mid-range scores weren’t enough to spoil Tati’s revenge party – which, let’s be honest, woulda made for a more dramatic plot.
Finals time is storytime, and the broadcasting team never disappoints in unraveling facts no one has ever heard of. Apparently, Europeans take it easy in the morning. Debatable. Or Grif manifesting his event win run into the universe. Questionable.
Ah, you are such goofballs, you guys.
But. Griffin Colapinto did pop his WSL event win cherry – manifested into the universe or not. The kid from San Clemente surfed his first Final ever like a veteran, dodging the right ramps for a series of backside assaults. Filipe – no slouch either – pulled an Italo trying to attack anything that moves for some last-minute heroics, but Grif’s 10-point handstand to the beach sealed the deal.
On the women’s side, Brazil triumphed over the US. Tati Weston Webb surfed the Supertubos lefts as good as anyone. Her 7.33 was, yes, her backup score, but that guillotine closeout turn onto an incoming section is worthy of a shoutout. Lakey P could have snatched the yellow jersey off Brisa Hennessy with a win in Portugal but instead finds herself in 3rd position heading into Bells.
Kanoa will be wearing the Maillot Jaune with Kelly sitting in second when we return. Curious to see if Scotty pulls a Djokovic on Slater or if the GOAT takes it to IG, officially revealing his jab-or-not-to-jab status.
Either way, the drama continues…
