Filipe Toledo is out of world title contention

Filipe Toledo is officially out of world title contention for 2015. By making round three, Filipe put himself at an advantage against Mick, but Mick won his round three heat over Jamie O’Brien, and then Filipe fell to Mason Ho, needing an excruciatingly achievable 2.27. Filipe was wildly gracious in defeat, telling Rosie Hodge afterwards: “It’s been an amazing year, for sure. I had the best year of my career. I had a lot of fun the whole year fighting for the world title, and I had my chance, but I’ll be back next year, stronger. It’s my first world title race, and I’m happy to come to Hawaii with that chance. I want to get better at surfing better waves like Pipe, Tahiti, Fiji, I want to improve my surfing on those waves. Thanks to all the boys who have been competing against me, and pushing me to be my best. Good luck to all the boys, and have fun!”