James B’s Totally Biased Rio Report (Day Two)

Hey boys, your most loved underground surf commenter is here to bring you some local insight on the Oi Rio Pro.

Just when you thought Damien Fahrenfort’s picks were biased…Here come the James B notes!

Stab Crew: you guys must be nuts to give this shot.

But let´s get to work. Here’s today’s round two talking points in JB´s opinion:
First, with a couple semi-retired older guys out of the event, drinking beers in Bali or surfing in pools, the change of guard is in full swing right now on the CT.

Today, was typical Postinho, small and tricky. Some heats bored, others not so much but that´s Postinho. Any surfer who wants to be a world title contender, better learn to deal with those conditions. My opinion is the event should be moved to a better location in terms of waves and water quality, like Saquarema or Maresias in São Paulo. 

Now, the heats:
Matt Wilko, man… Against the young Brazilian, Deivid Silva, with less than one minute and priority pulled a John John and let his Deivid snag the last wave of the heat. Mr Silva went on to combo an alley-oop with a frontside carve and take the win. Let’s just hope Wilko´s and Micro’s mojo’s not lost after all those post Bells vodkas.

Dusty Payne dropped Julian Wilson in round two! After winning the best edit from El Niño award, Dusty seemed confident and took Julian out of the competition and maybe even the title race. At 27 years old, Jules doesn’t seem ready to conquer the world, yet. 

But, let’s talk about Gabriel Medina! Last year, he had a shit first half of season then went on to finish just shy of Mick Fanning as world number three. Truth is, if Gabs can piece together a good Australian leg he´s gonna win the title that year, regardless of what his opponents do. Gabriel was on fire in round two. If he continues putting up 9’s and 10’s throughout Rio, Wilko’s 2016 title aspirations may be in trouble. Medina’s a freak and that flip and full rotation just reminded everyone of it. 

Kolohe Andino and Matt Banting are two very similar surfers and Matt took the win. Kolohe´s second 25th finish blows any bigger plans for the year.

Sebastian Zietz had a calm win over Hawaiian mate Keanu Asing. I met Seabass at a QS in Brazil a few years ago and admire the guy, both his surfing and personality. Aloha rules! 

Caio Ibelli is running fast towards the Rookie Of The Year honours while Jadson Andre will struggle to re-qualify for 2017.

The goofy battle: Ace Buchan and Miguel Pupo’s heat excited. They went wave for wave, Miguel has more style and innovation, he took the win.

I hate to see a Brazilian lose, but Stuart “choke” Kennedy showed he’s not a one trick pony (I mean, a righthand pointbreak pony) and beat Wiggolly Dantas in the tricky beachbreak conditions. Wigs is a powerhouse and should be having Italo Ferreira like results, he just hasn’t found the right competitive groove yet.

The forecast for the next few days isn’t looking too hot. But, we might have a new yellow jersey next week!

Round Two Results: 
Heat 1: A. de Souza 13.00, B. Lopes 4.96
Heat 2: D. Silva 14.73, M. Wilkinson 14.50
Heat 3: D. Payne 13.93, J. Wilson
Heat 4: G. Medina 19.40, A. Ribeiro 7.90
Heat 5: J. Freestone 14.57, J. Flores 11.77
Heat 6: M. Banting 14.76, K. Andino 14.66
Heat 7: S. Zietz 14.33, K. Asing 11.86
Heat 8: C. Ibelli 10.73, J. Andre 10.67
Heat 9: M. Pupo 13.30, A. Buchan 11.73
Heat 10: S. Kennedy 14.17, W. Dantas 11.44
Heat 11: K. Igarashi 15.33, J. Kerr 13.27
Heat 12: M. Bourez 13.50, C. Coffin 11.74

Round Three Match-ups: 
Heat 1: Filipe Toledo vs. Leonardo Fioravanti
Heat 2: John John Florence vs. Alejo Muniz
Heat 3: Nat Young vs. Dusty Payne 
Heat 4: Caio Ibelli vs. Ryan Callinan
Heat 5: Stuart Kennedy vs. Davey Cathels 
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza vs. Lucas Silveira
Heat 7: Italo Ferreira vs. Marco Fernandez
Heat 8: Kanoa Igarashi vs. Miguel Pupo
Heat 9: Sebastian Zietz vs. Adam Melling
Heat 10: Jordy Smith vs. Jack Freestone
Heat 11: Michel Bourez vs. Matt Banting
Heat 12: Gabriel Medina vs. Deivid Silva