Last years winner King Kelly is sure to be a no-show, unless they have him on commentary duties or something. Very unlikely, even though he is extremely popular there, but you would think that he would be too busy in rehab and fixing his body to worry about going all the way out to Tahiti. He’s not going to be paddling for a few months still, and JBay could very well be the last time we see the guy on tour as a regular fixture, which is a big bummer for surfing.
In 2015 Jeremy Flores won the event by absolutely flooring it from round 1. He was hungry, he is totally not scared of a big left, and he put the two factors together to ensure a finals berth and ultimately the win. Currently ranked 19th, and struggling to curry favour from the judges, this might be the event where the actual waves propel him to a big win and some reality back to his status and rankings on the Championship Tour.
Medina is strong going in, and always will be. He won the whole thing in 2014, and he did it by excellent wave selection and careful surfing. He knew where to sit and he knew that he needed to get two good barrels every time he paddled out. Which is precisely what he did, all the way to the final and to the winner’s berth. Gabby is currently within the top 10, siting at 9th, but it’s still a long way away from a world title chase.
Sitting at 18, Adrian Buchan would like nothing more than a chance to get another win. He has been flirting with a few good results, but a repeat of his 2013 win here would do him a world of good. Adrian always has an Ace up his sleeve (did you see what we did there?) like the second place finish at Rio this year, and with a few calculated heats and some good tubes there is no reason why he can’t go all the way to the finals.
In 2012 it was a face-off between Lemmy and Greasy …
Greasy And Lemmy – Doped Youth from Waves Magazine on Vimeo.
and it was Lemmy who came out on top in smaller, clean surf, with both surfers getting decent, clean barrels and having fun out there. Not the death-defying pits we have come to know and love at The Killing Floor, but still a great win, and as Lemmy put it, it’s the one contest everyone wants to win.
With Mick and Joel heading towards that place where they are going to have to fend off the youngsters and bring their best game faces to the event, it is going to be a challenge to keep the momentum going, especially with Wilko and Owen so hot to trot, and with John John hunting down a great back half season.
There will be a lot of attention on Filipe and Jordy though, and a lot of people who want to see how the two have upped their games in left tubes. Jordy’s looking good, after chasing every possible swell to Donkey Bay, but we will have to reserve judgment with Filipe until we see him scratch down one of those mutant slabbing fuck-off pieces of water that Chopes is known for, grab his outside rail, and give us a peace sign with his free hand.
