Couple of easter eggs maybe? Photo by WSL

Barron, Bronte, Mick, Matt & Mikey Get Bells Wildcards

Gabriel breaks our hearts again, the mongrel and white lightning return.

news // Mar 30, 2022

Words by Ethan Davis

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Barron Mamiya will qualify for the 2023 CT thanks to his wildcard dream run.

Currently tied with Kelly in second after three events, Barron’s 14650 points with (at least) one event still in hand will easily see him over the mid-season cut (approx 15,000 points). He will be the only rookie on the 2023 CT who didn’t need to surf a single CS event in 22′. Barron takes Gabriel Medina’s place at Bells after he formally withdrew on Monday.

While Yago Dora (BRA) continues his recovery on his foot injury, Matt McGillivray will take the WSL Injury Replacement wildcard spot per his next-in-line finish on the CS last season. Extensive rehab for Carlos Munoz’s shoulder dislocation and Liam O’Brien’s broken fibula injuries sustained at the Banzai means they will be replaced by current world #6 Caio Ibelli and Mikey Wright (AUS), respectively. This will be Mikey Wright’s first time in a WSL jersey since last year’s Corona Open Mexico. Mick will take Rip Curl’s event wildcard as a former 4x Bell ringer.

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On the women’s side of the draw Bronte Macaulay will take the WC spot for Caroline Marks while she is on leave. Before Moana fans raise their hands in protest “Bronte is our designated replacement surfer, so she has the first right to any spot before the cut,” explained the WSL’s Senior Vice President of Tours and Competition (WSLSVPOTAC), Jessi Miley-Dyer. “We didn’t give Moana a wildcard, because we don’t have one to give.” That is, unless someone else gets injured.

The two remaining wildcard spots for men and women will be decided by the local trials event. The trials are scheduled for Thursday, April 7 at Bells beach, and a total of 20 men and 20 women will fight for one spot in each division.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Opening Round 1:
Heat 1: Lakey Peterson (USA), Gabriela Bryan (HAW), Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Heat 2: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW), Isabella Nichols (AUS), TBD
Heat 4: Brisa Hennessy (CRI), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Molly Picklum (AUS)
Heat 5: Johanne Defay (FRA), India Robinson (AUS), Luana Silva (HAW)
Heat 6: Malia Manuel (HAW), Tyler Wright (AUS), Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW)

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Opening Round 1:
Heat 1: Seth Moniz (HAW), Callum Robson (AUS), Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Heat 2: Italo Ferreira (BRA), Zeke Lau (HAW), Imaikalani deVault (HAW)
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA), Nat Young (USA), Owen Wright (AUS)
Heat 4: Griffin Colapinto (USA), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), Mikey Wright (AUS)
Heat 5: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Samuel Pupo (BRA), Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 6: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Lucca Mesinas (PER), TBD
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Frederico Morais (PRT), Matthew McGillivray (ZAF)
Heat 8: John John Florence (HAW), Connor O’Leary (AUS), Jackson Baker (AUS)
Heat 9: Conner Coffin (USA), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Joao Chianca (BRA)
Heat 10: Kolohe Andino (USA), Jack Robinson (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 11: Miguel Pupo (BRA), Jake Marshall (USA), Deivid Silva (BRA)
Heat 12: Barron Mamiya (HAW), Ethan Ewing (AUS), Morgan Cibilic (AUS)

For those of you with betting proclvities, have a look at Betonline.ag’s event winner odds below. If you peel out your magnifying glass, there are a few diamonds in the rough. More on that soon.

See below for odds, and if you want a reminder of how betting works in the US, click here.