Qual Week’s First Casualties Have Been Named
Why did Kade Matson just put his fists through his board?
Think you know what’ll happen this week? Prove it.
Kade Matson’s campaign for the CT just died a brutal death in the Round of 64 at the Newcastle Surf Fest 2.0, the final Challenger Series event of the season.
On his last attempt, needing a mid-7 to survive, Kade threw himself at a section that wasn’t really there. When he resurfaced, his wrath was unleashed on the next wave, one that, if sentient, would’ve been quickly knocked out.
Kade came into the event sitting in 18th — an outsider’s chance at qualification. If you dared to dream, there was grandeur in it.
Alas, the dream ended early. A sting, yes. But at such a long shot, was the meltdown justified?
Well, turns out, the heat had already been surfed the evening before. With 10 minutes left, light fading, Kade was clearly in the lead, sitting pretty on top, only for a shark sighting to send everyone to the sand. A decision was made to restart the heat the next day. All scores wiped clean. But, in the cold light of day, the same Kade couldn’t match Levi Slawson and Mahana Franzmann in the air.
Unfair? Perhaps. Unfortunate? Certainly. Either way, Kade won’t be qualifying for the CT this year.
In other Q-week updates, Liam O’Brien and Jacob Willcox also found themselves eliminated in the Round of 64, and are now clinging to 9th and 10th positions, respectively. Directly below them, Callum Robson, Jorgann Couzinet, and Levi Slawson remain alive in the event. Callum, only 200 points behind Jacob, just needs to advance one more round to leapfrog him.
As it stands, only Eli Hanneman, Kauli Vaast, and George Pittar have statistically secured their CT spots. The magic number seems to be 20,000 points, meaning we’ll likely see Sammy Pupo, Luke Thompson, Morgan Cibilic, and Oscar Berry on tour this year. And Mateus, once again, is hanging in limbo at 8th.
It’s a cruel game, this. More updates to come as the week unfolds.
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