If Wilko Keeps Winning He’ll Take The Yellow Jersey

There are certain things that are guaranteed to be miserable. Buying a used car is definitely one. Why? It’s all lies, deceit, false promises and inevitable disappointment. Salesmen in fused suits with outstretched hands who drop Ferrari terms while showing off a 2008 Volkswagen Jetta with busted central locking and a stereo that exclusively transmits AM radio. It’s the sort of process that makes you regret not pitching yourself in front of the bus that got you to that seedy lot in the first place.

And it’s how it felt watching today’s events at the Outerknown Fiji Pro. From the commentary, you’d think you were experiencing the 2012 Fiji Pro all over again. But then you’d glance at the screen to see Ian Gouveia Huntington-hop the shish kebabs section into round five and snap back into a sobering reality.

Yes, things are slow. But if there’s anything keeping Cloudbreak palatable, it’s the fact that if Matt Wilkinson keeps on winning he’ll jump John John for the top spot in the rankings. He’d have to take it all in Fiji, but he’s on his forehand and already into the quarters. So, if you’re one for furnishing dramatic narratives, you can keep that in the back of your head. With that, here’s the breakdown of today’s quick run of action at Cloudbreak.

The first two heats of round four kicked off the day, here’s who won’t surf again until the quarters and why. 

Matt Wilkinson, because he’s comfortable doing four turns on a clean set wave that’s only a bit overhead. And while Julian Wilson could’ve knocked Wilko down to round five, he kept catching waves that were either too soft or closed out.

Michel Bourez, as he was the day’s standout performer and scored nine points on a wave he did six angry backside turns on. Leonardo Fioravanti maybe would’ve had Michel’s number had he not decided to score a 4.27 when he needed at least a 9.23.

The final two heats of round two followed, here’s who lost and will have to surf again in round five.

Joan Duru and Joel Parkinson lost to Connor O’Leary because Connor’s been on the most subtle of tears this whole contest and both Joel and Joan couldn’t follow up their highest scoring rides with anything better than a 5.50 (Connor had a 7.33 and a 6.33). Stu Kennedy and Sebastian Zietz will join them in round five as well because they both decided they didn’t like catching waves when they surfed against Bede Durbidge in the final heat of the day.

“Before last year, I’d never really had a big result here,” said Matt Wilkinson when asked about his upcoming appearance in the quarters. “But to get to that final last year was a pretty good confidence boost for me.”

Here are the official numbers from today, with a look ahead to round five and the quarterfinals.

Round four.
Heat one: Matt Wilkinson 14.27, Julian Wilson 13.93, Ian Gouveia 10.40.
Heat two: Michel Bourez 15.73, Leonardo Fioravanti 10.77, Italo Ferreira 8.50.

Heat three: Connor O’Leary 13.66, Joan Duru 13.50, Joel Parkinson 10.83.
Heat four: Bede Durbidge 11.10, Stu Kennedy 5.54, Sebastian Ziet 4.67.

Round five.
Heat one: Julian Wilson, Italo Ferreira.
Heat two: Leonardo Fioravanti, Ian Gouveia.

Heat three: Joan Duru, Sebastian Zietz.
Heat four: Stu Kennedy, Joel Parkinson. 

Quarterfinals.
Heat one: Matt Wilkinson, TBD.
Heat two: Michel Bourez, TBD.

Heat three: Connor O’Leary, TBD.
Heat four: Bede Durbidge, TBD.