The J-Bay Quarterfinals Draw Is As Good As It Gets

The final eight surfers left in the 2016 J-Bay Open have been decided and it’s as exciting a group of match-ups as you could hope for: John John Florence vs Jordy Smith, Kelly Slater vs Josh Kerr, Julian Wilson vs Gabriel Medina, and Mick Fanning vs Filipe Toledo. Not a dull heat in the house! These have been the form surfers of the event so far and depending on what the conditions do, we’re primed to be consuming some incredible heats when competition resumes.

Today, the swell had dropped a few inches but event organisers tore through 16 heats, finishing round three before mowing down rounds four and five. John John Florence dropped two eights in round four against Jordy Smith and Josh Kerr to skip straight to the quarters. Kelly Slater then dropped two nines in the following heat to put himself in the same position. Julian Wilson beat Gabs and Filipe, before Mick Fanning dropped an eight and a nine against Wiggolly Dantas and Ads de Souza to skip round five. Jordy crushed in the fifth round, clocking a 9.87 to put himself in the final eight, before Kerr beat Michel Bourez with a pair of sevens, Gabriel knocked current world champ Adriano, and Filipe showed Wiggs the door.

Here’s everything you should see from today: