Surfing in Abu Dhabi: A triumph of technology, a quiet elegy for the sea. Lungi by John Respondek.

First Class Lounge Lizard Ryan Miller Picks The Abu Dhabi Pro Winners

“Conditions: exactly six foot at one minute intervals”

news // Feb 13, 2025

Words by Ethan Davis

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Place your bets over at Betonline.AG

The Hot Tub CT is about to bubble.

Unlike an ocean event, there will be no waiting on or “carning Huey.” The trains run on time here—as does the swell, barring any catastrophic mechanical blowouts.

There have been some important changes to the event format from previous years in the pool, so make sure to read the details below before barbequing wedge.

Speaking of wedge, Ryan Miller—aka @BadboyRyRy—is our BOAG betting specialist this year. A man with a penchant for life’s more exotic and indulgent pastimes, including lying flat, eating raw fish, sipping pinot noir, generating passive income, and roaming tropical islands clad only in budgy smugglers.

You can read how Ryan made his wedge here and why airlines hate him here. Otherwise, you can eyeball the best surfing he’s ever seen (ft Jordy Smith + Jules Wilson) here.

“There are two ways to turn left as you walk down the jet bridge of an airplane — be very wealthy or fly a few hundred thousand miles a year. That is 99% of it right there. If you already do those things, then you can stop reading right now, you have all the information you need. But if you are interested in being that 1% that sneaks up front for cheap or free then read on. I’ll hold your hand all the way to seat 1A.”

Format

Importantly, there’s been two noteworthy changes to the format.

The WSL has scrapped the leaderboard and put surfers head-to-head heats for all rounds except the ER. Way better having stakes baked into every heat. Much easier on the judges too, who won’t need to compare 20+ rides every time they lock in a score.

The Elimination Round is the only exception to this — all 24 men and 12 women in the ER will be vying for a handful of spots. Four for the men, two for the women. Two waves only. The single highest wave they pos determines their position on the ladder.

ALSO, There will also be no reseeding in this event. Meaning, if you did shit at Pipe, you’re going to draw the top dogs over and over. With that said, we’re only one event in and many of the usual suspects in the top 10 are missing. For instance, Bad Boy has picked two gents to win this thing who are currently ranked #24 (Griffin) and #31 (Yago).

Oh, and don’t sleep on the wildcards: Olympic gold, a Brazilian wonderkid and an Indonesia World Junior Champ will be playing sharks in the koi pond.

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Schedule

The men’s event will kick things off on Friday, with 12x three-man heats. The winner advances straight to the round/16, second and third will battle it out in the elimination round, under lights.

Of the 24 men in the elimination round, only four will advance to the round of 16. Yes, you read that right, 20 people will be clipped in one round. Ergo, it pays to have a strong first innings.

From the round/16 onwards it’ll be man on man – winner through, loser out

For the women’s event which begins on Saturday, the same rules apply, just halve all the aforementioned numbers.

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Miller’s picks

Mens: Yago Dora, Filipe Toledo, Griffin Colapinto + Mateus Herdy

Womens: Caroline Marks, Caity Simmers, Gabby Bryan + Erin Brooks

Photo by Tommy Pierucki/World Surf League

Heat Draw

Surf Abu Dhabi Pro Women’s Qualifying Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Brisa Hennessy (CRC) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA) vs. Bella Kenworthy (USA)
HEAT 2: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Isabella Nichols (AUS) vs. Luana Silva (BRA)
HEAT 3: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) vs. Macy Callaghan (AUS)
HEAT 4: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA) vs. Vahine Fierro (FRA)
HEAT 5: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
HEAT 6: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) vs. Erin Brooks (CAN)

Surf Abu Dhabi Pro Men’s Qualifying Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Jake Marshall (USA) vs. Connor O’Leary (JPN) vs. Edgard Groggia (BRA)
HEAT 2: Barron Mamiya (HAW) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Jackson Bunch (HAW)
HEAT 3: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. George Pittar (AUS) vs. Ian Gentil (HAW)
HEAT 4: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Matthew McGillivray (RSA) vs. Mateus Herdy (BRA)
HEAT 5: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Imaikalani deVault (HAW) vs. Kauli Vaast (BRA)
HEAT 6: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Joel Vaughan (AUS) vs. Bronson Meydi (INA)
HEAT 7: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Cole Houshmand (USA) vs. Samuel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 8: Jordy Smith (RSA) vs. Seth Moniz (HAW) vs. Deivid Silva (BRA)
HEAT 9: Rio Waida (INA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
HEAT 10: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Ian Gouveia (BRA) vs. Marco Mignot (FRA)
HEAT 11: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Alan Cleland (MEX)
HEAT 12: Joao Chianca (BRA) vs. Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) vs. Liam O’Brien (AUS)

Place your bets over at Betonline.AG