Filipe Toledo Just Concluded His Murderous Rampage

It’s all over but the cryin’! Let’s feast on the hottest morsels from final’s day. 

John has gone vegan:
I’ve become increasingly aware of food and its effects on the human body. All signs point to the idea that a plant-based diet is far superior to that of high animal-product intake. The problem, of course, is that meat, dairy, and eggs are so goddamn delicious, to the point that people, like me just two years ago, will deny the facts and fight vehemently to justify their eating habits.

According to his post heat interview, John has won this internal struggle. Over the last few weeks, the champ has existed off a vegan, meaning solely plant-based, diet. The idea was to get him lighter and fitter before Lowers, which is, as many commenters have noted, the weakest wave on tour. Whether or not John will continue this practice is unknown, but it seems to have worked well for him here. Though it could be argued that a few extra pounds might help his chances in Europe and Hawaii.

EPS is hot:
Three of the four male semifinalists (Filipe being the outlier) have been riding epoxies throughout this entire event. This might be a first in CT history as, generally, EPS boards are considered to “have weird flex” or “ride on top of the water”. This momentous shift begs the question: is EPS construction getting better, or have CTers had a widespread change of heart?

John’s heat average is excellent:
And that’s ‘excellent’ in the WSL’s diction, meaning that John, on average, acquires two waves over eight points every time he touches the water. For context, a 16.46 heat average is roughly two points higher than any world champ’s average in recent history. So while Jordy retains the Jeep Leader jersey, John has indisputably been the best surfer in 2017, and maybe ever in CT history.

Today he surfed not excellent but ‘good’ and thus lost to Filipe in the semis.

Silvana the Bulldog (breeder)!:
Silvana is one of the only females who can do airs like the boys. That’s not a sexist slight, it’s a fact. There’s a distinct difference between the airs of Lakey and Carissa, who have no front foot movement and grab early and often, and Silvana, who pops herself off the lip, slides her foot to the nose, and rotates toward the flats. In today’s final, she never left the water but did manage to nail a pair of eights, leading to her first victory and years. 

Filipe Toledo wins!
Heading into his final against Filipe Toledo, Jordy had only a 40% chance of victory. Reason being, when it’s two-foot, Jordy needs the absolute best waves to produce major scores, whereas Filipe… doesn’t. On quality set waves, Filipe and Jordy’s scoring potential is practically equal, while on lower quality waves, Filipe’s scoring potential becomes exponentially higher than Jordy’s, thus putting Filipe at a statistical advantage.

Jordy knew this and waited for the best wave of the heat, which he got, and surfed über-conservatively to a nine. I said a nine. This is where I start to agree with your, the commenters’, complaints about the judging on “power surfing” vs. progression, as small Filipe was clearly surfing better than big Jordy.

Luckily for us, and Filipe, the waves went flat so Jordy couldn’t back up his score. Filipe wins, Jordy keeps the golden lycra, and the title race is wide open.

Hurley Pro Final Results:

1 – Filipe Toledo 15.67
2 – Jordy Smith 9.80
 
Hurley Pro Semifinal Results:

SF 1: Jordy Smith 14.33 def. Adrian Buchan 10.17
SF 2: Filipe Toledo 14.90 def. John John Florence 12.66 
 
Hurley Pro Remaining Quarterfinal Results:

QF 3: John John Florence 14.84 def. Jeremy Flores 13.80 
QF 4: Filipe Toledo 15.26 def. Kanoa Igarashi 11.10
 
Swatch Pro Final Results: 

1 – Silvana Lima 17.60 
2 – Keely Andrew 10.93
 
Swatch Pro Semifinal Results:

SF 1: Silvana Lima 16.90 def. Lakey Peterson 15.60
SF 2: Keely Andrew 13.43 def. Courtney Conlogue 13.17
 
2017 WSL Men’s Jeep Leaderboard (After Hurley Pro at Trestles):

1 – Jordy Smith 45,850 pts
2 – John John Florence 43,400 pts
3 – Julian Wilson 37,200 pts
4 – Matt Wilkinson 36,450 pts
5 – Owen Wright 35,850 pts 
 
2017 WSL Women’s Jeep Leaderboard (After Swatch Pro at Trestles):
1 – Sally Fitzgibbons 45,100 pts
2 – Courtney Conlogue 44,800 pts
3 – Tyler Wright 44,700 pts
4 – Stephanie Gilmore 39,950 pts
5 – Sage Erickson 37,150 pts