The trials for the 12th annual Cascais Capítulo Perfeito, powered by Billabong, ran in pumping Carcavelos last week, and it was local surfer Tomás Valente who rose to the top and punched his ticket into the main event.

The field was stacked with some of Carcavelos’ most reliable and hungry surfers — Martim Nunes, Salvador Vala, Miguel Kilford, Francisco Mittermayer, João Moreira, António “Lacrau” Carvalho, Bruno Mendonça, and Valente himself. It came down to experience and wave sense in the end, with Tomás edging it out with a winning total of 10.25.

For someone who now spends most of his time teaching surf lessons, the win clearly meant a lot.

“I still can’t believe it,” he said after the final. “Winning here, among so many young talents, also took a bit of luck, because Carcavelos isn’t easy. Qualifying for Capítulo Perfeito brings me back to the essence of surfing: if the waves are good, that’s all you need. This event represents exactly that — the pursuit of barrels and the counterculture of surfing. I entered the 2014 edition and a few others, and my goal was always to be here among my friends, who inspire me the most. Now I want to enjoy it and not worry too much.”

With that, Tomás joins an already loaded main-event roster that includes Balaram Stack, Bruno Santos, Joel Parkinson, Noah Beschen, Rob Machado, Soli Bailey, Torrey Meister, Tosh Tudor, João Maria Mendonça, Miguel Blanco, Nic von Rupp, Anne dos Santos (the first female invitee), Pedro Boonman (fan-vote wildcard), and reigning champion Cam Richards. The final Performance Wildcard will be announced once the official contest call is made.

Capítulo Perfeito remains what it has always been: a one-day, tube-only event, with surfers getting just 72 hours’ notice so it only runs when it’s genuinely firing. This year, the format expands to two additional locations, Mozambique and Indonesia, each carrying a €10,000 prize.