Finals Day At Saquarema: Jackson Bunch, Edgard Groggia And Vahine Fierro Have Qualified For The CT

Out of 128 competitors, 16 were still standing for finals day at Saquarema, a wave that needs no introduction — nor excessive observation.

Two spots were up for grabs on the men’s side and just one on the women’s. Let’s see where they went, and how.

Women’s Quarterfinals

In an all-Portuguese opener, Yolanda Hopkins took down her countrywoman Teresa Bonvalot to stay in the race for the last women’s CT spot.

Vahine Fierro had no choice but to beat Sophia Medina on her home turf to keep chasing that coveted seat at the big-girls’ table.

Across the draw, Isabella Nichols ended Janire Gonzalez Etxabarri’s campaign, and Macy Callaghan put an end to Luana Silva’s run.

Men’s Quarterfinals

The first heat of the day saw the people’s favorite Jackson Baker eliminating Kade Matson to secure a spot in the semifinals.

Next up, a freshly requalified Deivid Silva faced Brazilian air extraordinaire Mateus Herdy. In an anticipated display, Mateus went to the sky while Deivid stuck his quads firmly into the rights. Despite a few quality connections for Mateus, Deivid was on the better waves and took the lead with a few well-oiled windshield wipers. Adding injury to ignominy, Deivid closed Mateus out with a rotation of his own, earning the best score of the heat for a single maneuver.

You could see from Mateus’ body language that this loss was especially painful for the two-time Stab Highway star — this is the second year in a row he’s missed out on the CT by a single heat win. Not to mention, the last two heats Mateus lost (the Portugal QF and today’s Saquarema QF) were against good friends who had already qualified for the CT. No freebies on the CS, I guess.

Herdy’s elimination, however, opened the door for Edgard Groggia, another Brazilian, who despite being knocked out earlier in the event, had now officially qualified for the 2025 CT — on his 28th birthday, no less.

Having earned his CT slot the day before, Joel Vaughan harmonized the flaccid Itaúna faces with the aid of a DH Juliette, looking sharp as a scalpel under his feet to defeat Cauã Costa, the young Brazilian from Fernando de Noronha.

In the last quarterfinal, Levi Slawson, who still had a shot at qualification if he made the final, squared off against 2025 CT rookie Marco Mignot. Levi tore into his first wave, making his intentions clear to everyone within range. But Mignot wasn’t having it, and quickly surpassed Levi’s opener with a pair of high sevens to claim his spot in the semis.

Mignot’s victory sealed the final CT slot for Maui’s Jackson Bunch, who celebrated his qualification in the shorebreak.

Both Deivid Silva and Marco Mignot had the power to make life easier for their direct opponents to qualify but decided to show just how serious they were about competing — and, of course, earning those much-needed extra dollars. The CS is dog-eat-dog until the final bell rings.

Women’s Semifinals

What a heat to kick off the round! Portugal’s Yolanda Hopkins met Tahitian tube queen Vahine Fierro in a face-on dispute for the coveted 5th spot in the rankings. Winner takes all.

Yolanda looked powerful and energetic, forcing her fully-deck-gripped board through the scarce pockets of power on the rights, while Vahine showed elegance and economy of movement on her sans-pumps backhand riposte. The Tahitian led until the dying moments, when Yolanda needed a 6.24 to snatch the win. But a horizontal, mid-sized right didn’t offer the score she needed.

Although Vahine will be flying the French flag, the Huahine native will become the first-ever female Tahitian on the CT.

By the time Macy Callaghan and Isabella Nichols paddled out for the second semi, most of the excitement around the event had fizzled. The qualifiers celebrated, let out sighs of relief, and some quietly wondered whether they should even try this again next year. Macy won the heat, moving into her first CS final since her stellar campaign in 2022.


Men’s Semifinals

Jackson Baker started off by blowing kisses to the Brazilian beachgoers, celebrating his opener against Deivid Silva, who quickly told the Novocastrian to hold his caipirinha for a lightning lead change that he held until the final horn, further arguing for Deivid’s place on the CT — 2024 marks his fourth distinct qualification from the QS/CS to the big leagues.

Meanwhile, Marco Mignot stomped air reverses #38-43 of the event over Joel Vaughan’s head to advance to his second CS final of the year.

Women’s Final

Macy Callaghan dominated the final against Vahine Fierro from the get-go, marking her return to victory. Though she wasn’t able to qualify, Macy won’t need to compete in the regional qualifiers in Australia and will enter the 2025 Challenger Series as a higher seed, providing plenty of motivation to push for CT qualification next year.

Men’s Final

Under the watchful and slightly stressed eye of his impromptu coach (Miguel Pupo), Deivid Silva was pushed against the ropes by Marco Mignot. Mignot’s turn-and-air-reverse game had Deivid — often described as “reliable” by the commentary team — nearly comboed and out of contention. With faux-gangster hand sign claims (MM) and the vocal presence of his father on the beach, the Mignot camp made their dominance of surfing’s secondary stage clear.


Men’s 2024 CS Qualifiers

Samuel Pupo (BRA)
Ian Gouveia (BRA)
Marco Mignot (FRA)
Alejo Muniz (BRA
Deivid Silva (BRA)
Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Joel Vaughan (AUS)
George Pittar (AUS)
Edgard Groggia (BRA)
Jackson Bunch (HAW)


Women’s 2024 CS Qualifiers

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
Bella Kenworthy (USA)
Isabella Nichols (AUS)
Erin Brooks (CAN)
Vahine Fierro (FRA)