These days it is such a challenge trying to predict who is going to win a Championship Tour event. It ends up being a pretty random exercise, but fun anyway.
The criteria for this pointless exercise, was hunger. Who has, who hasn’t; who knows how to use it and who doesn’t even recognise it.
Quarter 1. Michael Rodrigues v Wade Carmichael. This is going to go the way of the Brazilian. From humble beginnings in the northeast of Brazil, M-Rod has punched way above his weight by making the Championship Tour, and also by punching Tanner Hendrickson in Hawaii last year, and has a board with no stickers on right now. “Looks kinda cool,” said Pottz of the sticker-less board, but it also means that the man with one of the best forehand rotes in the game is not drawing much of a salary, and desperately wants to correct that situation.
Quarter 2. Jeremy Flores V Kolohe Andino. Tough call. Both are hungry as right now, and both are kind of smarting over the fact that they both have not had a good run for ages, and they are also both getting a little bit sidelined by the judges of late. Both are great personalities, and Kolohe has finally grown up enough to realise that he is one of the luckiest people in the world to be paid a fortune to surf waves. However, JFlo’s closing wave 8.17 against Jack Freestone in the round of 16 makes it a no-brainer. Jeremy takes it.
Quarter 3. Filipe Toledo V Kelly Slater. This is going to be the heat that breaks the Internet. Common sense says that Filipe Toledo is going to do a number of crazy air combos and take the win, but gut feel says that Kelly is going to surf a super-smart heat, pull out all the stops, give the friendly Brazilian the dankest Ninja face-off that’ll shake him to the core, and take the win on guile.
Quarter 4. Adrian Buchan V Kanoa Igarashi. The popular and talented little natural footer is going to squash the wily goofy-footer. A battle of the ‘suddenly most improved’ V twilight years is not going to end well for the elder. In a nutshell, there’ll be an early morning nip in the air, and no ace in the hole for Buchan.
Semi 1. M-Rod V J-Flo.
The Brazilian has got this one due to his air-game. He has more moves in the bag, more flair, and probably more hunger than Jeremy. It’ll be a close one, but M-Rod will drop one huge air that’ll turn the game his way, and head him off to the final. J-Flo will be bummed, but will be happy with his result and will not storm the tower.
Semi 2. Slater V Igarashi. Kanoa has suddenly turned into such a great, likeable and friendly surfer’s surfer, and the world has realized that he could be one of the new cool characters on tour. The problem is, when Slater gets into his hungry mode, he can be charming, callous, brutal and cold-hearted all in one heat, and the kid with the smile will have no chance against surfing’s Norman Bates.
Final. M-Rod V Slater. When Kelly gets to the final of any contest, it means he has found the magic, and if anything he is the best in the game at closing the deal. M-Rod is going to be totally hyped to beat the GOAT and he would have been revved and psyched beyond belief by the Brazilian Storm, but he is going to go out there and try to do the biggest and highest airs and alley-oops, and is going to fall on most of them. Slater is going to surf fast, radical and controlled, and get pocket eights for the win. The world is going to go mad, there will be the biggest WSL marketing campaign ever around the champ and his final year and final world title, and Tiger Woods comparisons are going to be brought into the conversation. Either way, it was great to see Tiger back in form recently after all that drama his wife put him through.
