Australians were just beginning to rub the sleep from their eyes this morning when the news came from Hawaii that Courtney Conlogue had been knocked out by Coco Ho in round 4 of the Maui Target Pro, handing Carissa Moore her fourth world title. Coco Ho kicked off the heat with a 9.17, unleashing two beautiful turns on a picture perfect Honolua Bay runner, which she followed up with a tube-ride and a few vertical wacks on the inside bowl. Conlogue managed to sniff out a couple of barrels for herself, standing tall and proud behind the curtain of aqua blue water. She laid down perhaps some of the better single moves of the heat, but on less perfect waves. Probably one of the best moments of this heat was Conlogue’s playful yet firey King Kong claim after her second answer back, an 8.43.

Conlogue’s intense determination to claim her first title was no secret during the lead up to the final event of the women’s tour, but this time she came up short. Her first year in the limelight, she certainly made a mark on the 2015 tour, shaking up the ranks and letting the top seeds know there was new blood on the rise. Despite her immense disappointment and heartache today, she will no doubt continue to wow spectators on the world stage in years to come.

Carissa’s dominance has been a key feature of this year’s tour. Whether it’s got anything to do with Steph Gilmore being sidelined due to injury or not, Moore has displayed unrivalled talent both in her surfing and in her competitive mindset. Steph’s still got three titles on her Hawaiian counterpart, but Moore is looking as focused as ever and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

2015 was certainly the year of the underdog, as we can see from the results of this event alone. Lower seeds like Banca Buitendag, Malia Manuel and Joanne Defay have made their mark, and in today’s event already Coco Ho and Alessa Quizon advanced into the semi finals. Perhaps we find ourselves in a new era, with the days of the fierce four – Steph, Tyler, Carissa and Sally – now in the past?

There’s no doubt that we all had our fingers crossed for a surf-off today. Then again, with the intricate WSL points system, even if Conlogue and Moore had ended up surfing against one another in the final – and Conlogue had won – Moore still would have claimed the title. In order for Conlogue to have won, Moore would have had to place at least as low as third. Not that any of that matters now. It must be said that with the title race decided in round 4, the rest of the comp loses a little zing, even with the excitement of great waves to finish off the year in pro surfing. Regardless, we are sure to see some excellent surfing in the last few heats, as the women’s championship tour draws to a close.

Big ups to Carissa Moore, the 2015 world champ.

Watch Coco Ho’s 9.17 here: 

Listen to Carissa’s emotional interview, here:

Watch Carissa’s opening ride of the final, a 9.50!

And now for her perfect 10-point-ride!