This year the WQS only has five 10,000 events. There are two down and three to go, with the EDP Billabong Pro Cascais, the third 10,000, about to happen at Praia de Carcavelos, Cascais in Portugal.
There have been enough 6,000 events and a good couple of 3,000 events, so the rankings list on the WQS right now is a pretty good indication of how things might pan out towards the end of the season, but the 10,000’s can easily change things around a little.
While the Brazilian Storm fights it out on the Championship Tour, with Adriano de Sousa banking a win in Rio, Filipe Toledo with two wins in JBay and Trestles, and with Medina scoring a non-tour victory at the Future Classic in Lemoore, there is another storm brewing on the WQS.
Five of the top ten surfers on the QS rankings going into Cascais are Brazilian, and there are a number bubbling under who could come to the fore in these 10,000 events.
Cascais defending champion Jesse Mendes is currently in the lead on the WQS rankings, and his qualification onto the Championship Tour in 2018 is a sure thing. He is confident and has great big match temperament, and will be a great addition to the big leagues. Just behind him is Yago Dora in second place on the WQS. Dora is a popular kind of guy, as is Mendes, but Dora goes for huge airs whenever he gets the chance, and pulls off a remarkable number of them, no matter how hard or high he goes. The judges love this – high-risk surfing at every turn – and Dora has a big future ahead of him.
The lesser-known Michael Rodrigues is sitting at number four on the ratings, and this powerful natural-footer has been impressing all season with his strong approach. He has climbed above Mikey February – the South African wunderkid who is sitting, at number five, one above another Brazilian in Tomas Hermes.
Hermes is another powerful natural-footer who has been around for a while and would sit comfortably on the Championship Tour. He has had a few wild cards into CT events and seems right at home when competing in the big leagues. The final Brazilian sitting in the top ten on the QS is Willian Cardoso. The man is a brute. He surfs powerfully and with aggression, and is a fierce competitor in any situation. Sitting at number nine on the QS rankings, he does need another big hit to be in with a chance to qualify. Cardoso thrives when it gets a bit chunky, so if he doesn't kill it in Cascais, there are still two big events in Hawaii where he could nail a big result and march onto the CT.
The three Australians in the top twenty, and all with a mathematical chance of qualifying for the 2018 season, are Wade Carmichael, Cooper Chapman and Mikey Wright.
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The brawny Carmichael has had a 2nd a 3rd and two 5th place finishes so far, and is showing commitment to the big game. Currently ranked 12th on the QS, he too needs one more big result. He loves a bit of juice, and could cement a big result in Hawaii. Carmichael is popular amongst his peers, does a great post-heat interview and sports a luxuriant beard and head of hair. Cooper Chapman is in 18th and Mikey Wright sits at 20th, and they both need a bunch of big results to qualify for the Championship Tour.
Currently the forecast shows small conditions for most of the event, with the chance of bigger waves towards the end of the contest period.
Click here for the EDP Cascais Pro webcast
