Do you know what the best thing is about the mid-season cull? More (relevant) surfing in way less time. Non-Elimination Rounds are no more, and every Heat has some sort of big-picture implications somewhere, for someone. The new format also means less but more work for everyone involved as we rifled through the J-Bay Cup in 4 days – lay day included.
It’s like watching ‘American Psycho’ but skip the intro pleasantries right to the part where Christian Bale butchers Jared Leto with an Axe. Beautiful – well, not the serial killings but the condensed action at the Western Cape.
It helps when the waves are absolutely firing, though. South Africa’s fabled right has been delivering all event right on cue. J-Bay responded to Elo’s prayers to put the Dream back into Tour. Hallelujah! Â
The Quarters
2x overhead sheer glass and just the right amount of wind showed up for the first QF Heat of Final’s Day. At this stage, the cat is out of the bag. Jack Rob’ is the second male surfer to qualify for the Trestles Olympics in September. “Straight up Yoda” as Pete Mel likes to call the gent from WA, breezed through in-form Sammy Pupo in a lowish scoring heat with an assault of cutbacks and micro cover-ups. Asked about how he feels about qualifying for the WSL Final Five in his post-heat interview, Robbo blamed the sunrise. Straight-up legend!
If you have watched ‘Make or Break’, you might share my opinion. Kanoa is a straight-up dawg. Born to Japanese parents in California who basically ditched everything to make sure their young, prodigious son would turn pro, essentially being the financial organ to support mom, dad and lil ‘bro, Igarashi knows a thing or two about dealing with pressure and expectations.
In a dramatic heat that sent Italo to the doctors, Kanoa found himself with his back to the wall and scrambling for air, somewhere between the impact zone and cobblestones without a leash, board, or much time on the clock. Dancing through the keyhole like a salty ninja while instructing a beach marshal turned temporary caddy to chase after the grom who dropped, then picked it back up, then ran off with Igarashi’s blade to return it to him – leash included. Igarashi wasn’t phased. He paddled back out, swung, and dropped an 8.33 to wrestle the V away from Ferreira, who seemed hurt – both physically and emotionally. Oh my, this Heat had more theatre than G-Land, El Salvador and Brazil combined. I need a drink!
Yago Dora’s one-maneuver spinner was enough to slip past Connor O’Leary into the Semis, while Ethan Ewing’s slaying of the last remaining local, Jordy Smith, kept his Super Bowl campaign alive.
The Semis
After watching the intense men’s action, the ladies were back in the office for their Semi-Final matchups. In pumping, classic J-Bay Tyler Wright dominated the all-Aussie matchup with Steph Gilmore. Unfortunately, the 2018 J-Bay winner never found a good enough response to Tyler Wright’s early 7.33, trying to force scores throughout the Heat. It wasn’t meant to be for the Queen or the ‘she-goat’ as Ronnie quipped in the booth, but with a 3rd place finish still keeps her WSL Final 5 campaign well and truly alive.Â
The second Heat of the women was a strange one. Maillot Jaune ambassador Carissa Moore decided she was done with J-Bay before it even (really) started. Minutes into SF number 2, Tati Weston – Webb cashed in on a silly Riss interference for a place in the main event against Tyler Wright. Did Tatiana work the moment for all it was worth? Perhaps, but as she says ‘it’s all part of the game’.Â
On the men’s side, Jack Robinson has publicly put his sadomasochistic fetishes on fine display. No regard for kneecaps on a suicide floater followed by a full-speed rock sprint to chase up a backup board further reinforces this statement.
It paid off for Teflon Robinson (btw, I’m still chasing a response from Paul Evans to explain Jack’s latest nickname). He’ll be up against the greatest hair currently on Tour—Ethan Ewing got the nod over Yago Dora in one of the sickest Heats all year. Ewing’s long-drawn, perfectly timed turns were the yin to Yago’s above-the-lip yang. The battle was all-time, and Yago did his best to keep the judges scrambling for unbiased scores with back-to-back waves. He came close – twice!! to turn the Heat, but ultimately Ewing’s 17.04 was enough for an all-Aussie Final.
The Finals
After playing Riss into an interference, Tati Weston – Webb showed her teeth again in the Final. She is so fierce and one of the best competitors on Tour – that includes the guys as well! She put on a clinic, dropping excellent scores as easy as the commentary crew is dropping new nicknames for Jack Robinson. A 9.00 and an 8.50 was plenty, and just as we thought, the Brazilian Storm seemed to have all but fizzled out at the Western Cape, Tati had other plans pushing her well into Final 5 conversation with her second win of the season.
The men’s Final was special. The first all-Aussie Final at J-Bay since Mick Fanning punched a local in the throat in 2015, the battle of the blondes could have gone either way. Jack opened the score with an 8.83 and a signature mid-wave finger flick, only for Ewing to answer back with a 7.67.Â
On the surface, Jack and Ethan have many things in common, but they couldn’t be more different in their approach.
Jack is quirky and bold, going 120% all the time, whether it’s chasing waves, sprinting across rocks, or claiming the shit out of 7s. Ethan, on the other hand, is cool, calm, and flawless. He sets up his turns more conservatively and uses transitions to make turns and manoeuvres look effortless. It’s fucking poetry in motion vs. full charge attack. Both styles are equally beautiful. Both strategies are equally lethal.
In the end, poetry prevailed. Cool, calm, and flawless defeated rockstar power. Good on ya, lad! The new generation is looking mighty fine.
Men’s Final
Ethan Ewing – 16.80
Jack Robinson – 16.30
Women’s Final
Tati Weston – Webb -17.50
Tyler Wright – 15.67
Men’s Semifinals
Heat 1
Jack Robinson 15.80
Kanoa Igarashi 13.17
Heat 2
Ethan Ewing 17.04
Yago Dora 16.87
Women’s Semifinals
Heat 1
Tyler Wright 14.26
Steph Gilmore 11.00
Heat 2
Tatiana Weston – Webb 9.60
Carissa Moore – 5.50
Men’s Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Jack Robinson – 12.83
Samuel Pupo – 7.83
Heat 2
Kanoa Igarashi – 15.43
Italo Ferreira 15.00
Heat 3Â
Yago Dora 15.00
Connor O’Leary 10.83
Heat 4
Ethan Ewing – 11.50
Jordy Smith – 7.03
