Which QS Surfers Will Make The 2019 Championship Tour?

Come April 2019, the WSL’s Championship Tour will head to Australia to begin its yearly trek across the globe.

Thirty-six surfers will comprise the Men’s CT event, including the top-22 from this year’s CT, two injury wildcards from this year’s CT, two local/sponsor/WSL wildcards, and the top 10 surfers from this year’s Qualifying Series.

So far, roughly 20 surfers are guaranteed* to be in the draw at Snapper Rocks. They include:

(From the CT) Gabriel Medina, Julian Wilson, Filipe Toledo, Italo Ferreira, Owen Wright, Jordy Smith, Wade Carmichael, Kanoa Igarashi, Michel Bourez, Conner Coffin, Kolohe Andino, Mikey Wright, Willian Cardoso, Michael Rodrigues, Adrian Buchan, Jeremy Flores, (From the QS) Seth Moniz, Ryan Callinan, Deivid Silva, Peterson Crisanto, Griffin Colapinto.

That’s just 21 names. So, who are the 13 other surfers (excluding the two local/sponsor/WSL wildcards) we can expect to see in Quiksilver-less singlet this April in Cooly?

Because the Vans World Cup comes before Pipe, we’ll look at the QS rankings and make some predictions from that first. (Keep an eye out for our CT round-up prior to Pipe!)

As you can see, Kanoa Igarashi leads the QS, which is effectively irrelevant due to his CT standing (8th). Kanoa’s double-qualifying status means that QS spots 1-11 (post-Sunset) are guaranteed to make next year’s CT.

Also in the mix is Griffin Colapinto, who sits precariously at 20th on the CT (the cut-off is at 22). Depending on what happens at Pipe, Griff’s spot on the QS will either become necessary for him to requalify, or if he stays in the CT’s top-22, it will open up a spot for another QS surfer (now numbers 1-12) to qualify for next year’s CT. (And for those of you who are worried/curious about Griffin’s condition following a reported fracture under his big toe**, allow this Instagram clip + caption to dispel any concerns.) 

Assuming Griffin will double-qualify, the current list of QS qualifiers includes: Ricardo Christie, Leo Fioravanti, Jadson ‘Never Gonna Quit!’ Andre, Ethan Ewing, Jorgann Couzinet, and Mateus Herdy.

With 17,700 and 16,600 points respectively, Ricardo and Leo would be considered Pretty-Sure-Things heading into Sunset (a wave that suits both bigger gents).

Jadson, Ethan, Jorgann, and Mateus are much more on the fence and should assume they’ll need a result at Sunset to maintain their qualifying status.

Meanwhile Jesse Mendes and Pat Gudauskas – who occupy 13th and 14th on the QS respectively (effectively 11th and 12th) – have scores of 600 in their current top-five scoreline, which will be automatically replaced by at least 1,000 points due to their third round seeding at Sunset. Interestingly, this means both of them will surpass Mateus Herdy (assuming Mateus doesn’t improve his scoreline) without even catching a wave in the Vans World Cup. This puts Mendes (effectively) in qualifying position before the comp even starts.

After his performance at Haleiwa, we’d love nothing more than to see the 17-year-old on next year’s CT. But Mateus still has some work left to do. Photo: WSL/Seguibo

Taking a look down the QS leaderboard, a couple other names that stand out include:

• Evan Geiselman (18th)  and Jack Freestone (22nd) , who need (at least) a fourth round finish to qualify

• Barron Mamiya (28th) and the Q-lord himself Joel Parkinson (27th), who need (at least) a quarterfinal finish to qualify

• Matt Banting (41st), Jack Robinson (42nd), and Hiroto Ohara (45th) who need (at least) a final finish to qualify

• Ian Crane (82), Skip McCullough (81), and Imaikalani deVault (73), who need a win to qualify

Another thing worth noting is that every single QS surfer in this event – barring those admitted through a sponsor exemption – has a chance at qualifying with a win at Sunset. Ten-thousand points goes a long way on the current Qualifying Series, which clipped a number of its major events throughout the year.

The Vans World Cup starts on November 25th and that massive swell we mentioned is still right on track. You’re gonna want to set your sun dial for this one.   

*Beyond an extraordinarily reasonable doubt.

**Our original report stated that Griffin has fractured his ankle. A recent doctor’s examination revealed the fracture is actually under his big toe.