Jacob Willcox has had a rollercoaster ride over the last few months, with it reaching a crescendo in the last 24 hours. After winning the first Challenger Series event of last season, he was well placed to requalify for the Championship Tour. However, an injury at the US Open kept him out of the water for a few events. When he returned, he failed to rediscover his competitive form and despite only needing one heat win to qualify in Newcastle, he couldn’t get it done. Since then he’s been rediscovering his why, chasing swells and getting consistently tubed.
This week he was given a wildcard into the CT event at Margs and after beating fellow Aussie Oscar Berry in Round One, he was drawn against the World Champ Yago Dora. During the heat Yago went to take off on a wave but pulled back as Jacob was underneath him. Yago claimed an interference but the judges didn’t give it. Yago overtly let out his frustration which led to some tense words in the water between him and Jacob. That altercation allegedly carried on back on land and according to other media sources, almost led to a brawl in the car park.
Anyways, drama aside, Jacob looked spicy on his backhand at Main Break and gave us a reminder of why he belongs on the Championship Tour. His latest edit ‘Fail to Fiji’ gives us a behind the scenes look at the last six months of his life. Chipo talks about the mental impact of his injury and losing in Newy which led to some serious headnoise and an eventual plane ticket to Fiji to wash off the loss.
Check it out by clicking the link above and here’s to hoping we see the WA local back on the big time in the near future.
