Big Ramps And A Little Shuvit Highlight Finals Day In Saquarema

After a little bit of a chuggy start, it was Entertainment Central for the last two heats of the event. 

TLDR

• Filipe Toledo gets a 10, wins the event and makes the final 5.
• Carissa Moore gets a 9.5, wins the event and makes the final 5.
• Sammy Pupo was one of the best surfers of the event and showed himself a warrior as he faced off with a ferocious Italo in the semi.  
• Yago Dora is back, in good form, and although he got third, he was imposing and focused. 
• Crowd was next level, with a bit of booing to keep everyone honest. It definitely added a dynamic element to the event.

Come-Ups

Peak performance: Toledo in the final. He saved the best for last and flew to infinity and beyond. ‘A lofty, inverted backhand rotation’ is what Turpel called it, but he was actually flying.   

Hit replay: The start of Semi 1. Both Italo and Sammy wanted the first wave, both tried to get the same wave, and in the process, they got in each other’s way. There was contact, and it was intense. No interference was called, despite Italo scrupulously examining his board for damage. Good entertainment.

Monster Maneuver: Carissa’s second backhand maneuver on her buzzer-beater in the final. It was fully committed, and she was hanging in by her tiptoes but stuck it for the clutch win. Needing a 6.5, she nailed it for a 9.5 and left no doubt that she deserves that Yellow Jersey. 

One Liner: “I never claim, but it just felt so good.” Carissa on her 9.5 buzzer-beater backhand torque. Her claim was pretty good.  

In the women’s final, Riss was in a corner right until the very last minute against Johanne when she grabbed a good-looking left-hander with a bowl on it. Straight off the bottom into a savage backhand crack, followed by another one even tighter, more committed and more critical. Finally, her score of 9.5 saw her grab the win. Crazy score, a deserved win, and Riss’s first win of the season at event eight. “Ca-Ris-Sa!” The crowd chanted. “Ca-Ris-Sa! Ca-Ris-Sa!” 

Though eight women’s CT events, there have been eight different winners. An emotional Ris was all in tears after her final, and she did her lovable best to thank as many people as possible. 

However, the first semi-final for the men was plenty exciting, with Italo attempting to ferociously mount Sammy Pupo in the opening minutes. Feeling obstructed, Italo also reached out and tried to grab Pupo. It looked like a sure interference, it smelled like interference, but it wasn’t called. Still, the tone was set: tense. 

Sammy took the tension, converted it into passion, and smashed two waves back to stream into the lead. His surfing was on point, and the crowd loved his moves. He remained in the lead, despite Italo trying hard at the end but fumbling slightly on his final effort and, as a result, didn’t get the required score. Nevertheless, Sammy was a very popular winner. All respect for Italo, but I was kinda stoked when he was eliminated so that we wouldn’t have to listen to the commentators butchering his surname anymore.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by World Surf League (@wsl)

Yago Dora showed no hesitation against Filipe. Even though it was Brazilian vs Brazilian vs Brazilian vs Brazilian, it was incredibly refreshing to see Yago and Sammy taking full ownership against Italo and Filipe. Albeit for a short while. Filipe came surging back with an 8.93 for two massive backhand hooks, and Dora was emphatically in the dust. 

Let Downs

Caught behind: Italo needed to find a good backhand air in his semi, but couldn’t find the wave. Still, he knew he came up short and while disappointed, he didn’t abuse his board (or we didn’t see it).

Blind mice: Once again nothing to report here. Which is awesome. The Jack Robbo discrepancy yesterday was enough for one event. 

Say What?: “Let’s hear it again for Ital…..er… Toledo!” Strider trying unsuccessfully to rev the crowd during the final by channeling Kaipo at Margaret’s, getting the winner’s names all mixed up. 

Miscellanea

Eight guards were in attendance to get Filipe to safety after his semi-final win. The crowds were excitable, and they wanted to take a piece of Toledo home as souvenirs. 

If the crowds carried on like they do in Rio at other stops, the Championship Tour would be different. That excitement is infectious and has so much more value to the sport and to a brand than the WSL announcing unsubstantiated online percentile figure increases. That crowd activity in Australia and in USA/Hawaii would give the CT a different, positive vibe. The cheering was endless. They loved it so much and didn’t want to leave the beach. 

The other venue that enjoys a fair amount of crowd interaction in the same realm of conversation is South Africa. The fans and spectators scream when Jordy, Matt McGillivray or any of their wildcards take to the water. 

Sammy Pupo and Yago Dora’s performances were inspired. It was healthy and encouraging to see other faces apart from the Italo-Toledo-Medina triumvirate making their presence felt. It was also very promising to see their warrior spirit as they faced more accomplished surfers without a qualm. 

Filipe’s claims on the final siren were something else. He did the Dead Lift, followed by the Muscle Man, followed by the classic Wolverine claim that Jordy brought to Rio all those years ago. He also pulled some quite severe faces. He was pumped.

Carissa now has 20 Championship Tour wins. “This has to be one of my favorite wins of the whole year,” she said. “I felt a lot of love and support here.” Carissa will now be competing for her sixth world title at Trestles this year. 

Filipe now has four wins in Rio, and the last three were in a row. He beat Wade Carmichael in 2018 and took the win from Jordy in 2019. 

Gamble Ramble:

Ouch. A rough one for Mikey today. Though he went $40 in the red yesterday, he didn’t need a grand slam today, he just needed to get on base. But one after another, each heat blew by home plate. An admirable swing on Yago, but no luck. After losing all of his event winners and picks on finals day, Mikey pockets goes $155 in the hole after a wild ride in Saquarema.

Event winner picks
– $30 on Italo Ferreira at +700 to win $210 LOST
– $10 on Yago Dora at +4000 to win $400 LOST
– $15 on Johanne Defay at +1400 to win $210 LOST

Day 4 picks
– $40 on Tatiana Weston-Webb at +125 to win $50 LOST
– $20 on Gabriel Bryan at +160 to win $32 LOST

Finals day earnings: -$115
Event earnings: -$110

Mikey C’s season earnings thus far: $1,081

• Pipeline: $465
• Bells: $337
• Margaret River: $136
• G-Land: $101
• El Salvador: $170
• Brazil: -$110

Results: 

Oi Rio Pro Presented by Corona Men’s Final Results:

1 – Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18.67

2 – Samuel Pupo (BRA) 10.73

Oi Rio Pro Presented by Corona Women’s Final Results:

1 – Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.43

2 – Johanne Defay (FRA) 12.33

Oi Rio Pro Presented by Corona Men’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Samuel Pupo (BRA) 11.44 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 10.83
HEAT 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 17.36 DEF. Yago Dora (BRA) 15.34

Oi Rio Pro Presented by Corona Women’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Johanne Defay (FRA) 12.16 DEF. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 9.67
HEAT 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.60 DEF. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 11.77