World #1 Falls While Medina Storms The Castle

G-Land came roaring out of the Javanese jungle for day one of the Quik Pro G-Land. Waves were slightly overhead and exceptionally fun when they came. Below is a breakdown of everything you need to know.

TLDR

– Day started with Women’s comp, Carissa Moore and Tatiana Weston-Webb dominate.
– John John Florence shows up in a serious knee brace, rips anyway.
– Kelly pulls up on a private yacht, surfs great, still loses to an undergunned Jack Robinson.
– Pride of Indonesia Rio Waida defeats Filipe Toledo (again), this time in lefts
– Griffin Colapinto gets the highest score of the day with a masterful 9.33, a portent of things to come. 
– Medina cruises to victory as a rattled Callum Robson and outclassed Samuel Pupo fall to the wayside…literally.

Cheap seats

Women’s heat to watch: Heat 2. A barn-burner between Johanne Defay, Brisa Hennessy, and Bronte Macaulay.
Men’s heat to watch: Heat 8. Watch Gabriel Medina freak out Callum Robson and Samuel Pupo.
Women Best Maneuver: Carissa Moore’s surprise tube (8.33)
Men’s best Maneuver: Griffin Colapinto’s first massive backside snap (9.33)
Overall Commentary Rating: 8.0 (Especially from Luke Egan who was refreshingly informed and honest about the performances and forced everybody else to stop making excuses for the surfer’s mistakes).
The Vibe: It was very clear from the start that this contest resembled an annual Boy Scout Jamboree Glamping trip for most of the competitors, the majority of whom have never been to G-Land. The audience-free location has created a Never Never Land feeling on the point, with everybody sharing dinner tables and pool tables and ping pong tables along with the perfect waves. The vibe seems to be a family jungle groove. We will see what happens as the vice grip of this extremely important post-cut competition tightens. But for now, it’s all love and games at Plengkung.    

Heat breakdowns

Women’s Heat 1:
Morning sickness waves before the good wind comes up. Crumbly beachbreak looking surfing. Stephanie Gilmore, looking strangely lazy, smooths her way to a win, despite a scrappy Courtney Conlogue nipping at her heels. Isabella Nichols, sporting a new wine glass tattoo in honor of her Margaret River performance, matches Steph’s best wave, but still falls short with a lousy backup.

Women’s heat 2:
With surf improving slightly, World number one Brisa Hennessy leads the best women’s heat of the day. Bronte Macaulay and Johanne Defay trade punches with her for the whole 35 minutes. At one point it looked like Bronte’s heat, especially after a savage combo on the inside.

Luke Egan was honest on the commentary, adding to the drama and the thrills of the heat by actually making real calls. Alongside praise, he also took the time to be brutally honest. “She shouldn’t have floated that, she could have got a third maneuver.” “She could have gone harder on that wave.” Etc. 

All three women were ending their waves with rather dramatic bailouts onto the reef — something Joe Turpel calls a “Pin Drop”. Luke was hoping they would “Starfish” more for their own safety. In the end, a hard-fought, gutsy heat from all three women saw Brisa on top.

Women’s heat 3: 
The love affair with Sally Fitzgibbons continues. To hear the commentary, her wildcard entry seemed more like a gift to the world than a lucky break. But there was no way she could win this heat on charm alone. Carissa was merciless in the dismantling of Sally’s dreams, despite Sally being one of the most successful female surfers of the past two decades. Sally would be handed a tearful third.

Gabriela Bryan, possessing the best backside bottom turn in the game, put up a good fight to rocket into second, despite Carissa’s masterful barrel and 8.83 for six sizzling turns. Carissa looks comfortable and joyful in her dominance. She will win the contest and everybody knows it. (Though a long-odds bet on Tatiana Weston-Webb could spoil that punt).

Women’s heat 4:
Tyler Wright is a force to be reckoned with. She’s good enough to do well in the men’s competition. Her power and will can be felt on each ride, and it looked like after her two opening rides that she was gonna glide through to the Quarters.

But wait. Tatiana Weston-Webb, unofficially voted the winner of last week’s freesurf sessions, both men and women’s, dropped a scorching 8.67 and the heat was hers. Tyler, never satisfied with taking second to anybody, looked ready for vengeance when back on the beach. And poor Lakey Peterson was never even in the heat. 

Men’s Heat 1:
Ethan Ewing, on the first Men’s G-Land pro wave in 25 years, opened up with an 8.5. And he made it look easy as hell. If he can avoid the Kolohe Andino/Taj Burrow curse, this guy has a world title in his future. Jordy Smith, surfing like a grown man, masculine and smart, damn near caught up with Ethan’s run with some closeout pyrotechnics, but he would have to be satisfied with second in the end.

Luke Egan on commentary: “It’s still within Jordy’s reach to win a world title”.

Hmmmmmm…you could feel the “maybe’s” wanting to be voiced, but let’s face it, Jordy and Luke share a lot in common. Size and power and meaningful surfing. As for Jadson, the scrapper, on a too-small board, he looked energetic verging on frantic. And he has got to develop his bottom turns past the triple pump technique if he ever wants to soar into the higher rankings. Still, guy is a hell of a tuberider.

Men’s Heat 2:
Kelly Slater, meandering in from his unsanctioned private yacht in the channel, surfed with moments of absolute mastery and beauty. 50 years old. Jesus. Better wave selection and he would have won it. But Jack Robinson, surfing smart and more mature than ever, still took first in this low-scoring heat (despite riding a board that looked about 3 inches too short). Jackson Baker, who is a far, far better surfer than everybody thinks he is, put in a brave effort on his pink dagger. At least Jackson always seems to be on the right board. But the highlight of this heat was watching some Kelly moments of lovemaking to G-Land. If this place turns on — really turns on — Kelly Slater will win the G-Land Pro.

Men’s Heat 3:
John John Florence paddles out with a space-shuttle-size brace on his knee, eliciting gasps from all and sundry. No matter. He won easily with perfect positioning and power transfers into the lip. So great to see him out at G-Land. Especially as the conditions cleaned up to damn near ideal for medium-sized Moneytrees.

And man, was he ever mums-the-word about his injury, rumoring the brace “preventative”. Heavily taped, he was noticeably favoring the leg once on shore. Yet something has to be said about a new John John Florence genius technique. Not only has his frontside double arm drag stall taken the world by storm, now he is adjusting his backside tube stalls by dragging his right hand in the water off the outside rail? Here we go again everybody.

Now…Yago Dora, a last-minute replacement for an injured Seth Moniz, poured it on. He looked surprisingly at home for a first-timer at G-land. Despite riding nine waves…nine(!)…he still had to eat second and get whisked off to the elimination round. Which is more dangerous than you think, considering the sketchy swell predictions.

And what the hell is with Kolohe Andino?  A 2.50 and a 4.50? This guy is one of the best, most experienced, fearless surfers on earth. And a smart competitor to boot. Airs, barrels, carves, North Shore stand out…he’s got it all. But what the hell? Let’s hope he gets out of first gear in the death round.

Men’s Heat 4: 
Rio Waida. Filipe Toledo’s Kryponite. 

Men’s Heat 5: 
Italo Ferreira warrior smackdown. Cutie pies Jake Marshall and Caio Ibelli were forced to get out of the way.

Men’s Heat 6: 
Best conditions of the day. Best surfing of the day. Griffin Colapinto. 9.33. As good as it gets. This guy…this goofy guy…is going to Trestles. And when he does…well…anyway. He surfed with command in this heat and won it accordingly. And against a very in-form Kanoa Igarashi. Igarashi is interesting. In that he is so highly trained, so highly fit, so highly surgeon-like, cutting around like a scalpel, that sometimes you forget anyone else is in his heats…sometimes. Griff was just too hot to handle in this one. Matt McGillivray, springbok charger, just got lost in the afternoon glare. 

Men’s Heat 7: 
Show of hands…who does not absolutely love the way Barron Mamiya surfs? Anyone? Anyone? Didn’t think so. And even though Connor O’Leary was touted to win this heat after his smoking hot freesurfs, Barron’s flashes of brilliance were superior in every way. Barron Mamiya, if he can handle being away from the North Shore for months at a time, is going to be the pride of the islands for years and years to come. Cannot wait to see this guy at J-Bay. The fact that Miguel Pupo won the heat on smart, experienced, smooth surfing and wave selection matters little. And congrats to him on that, but the hero of this heat was Barron. A true star on the rise.

Men’s Heat 8:
Gabriel Medina did his thing. Callum Robson and Samuel Pupo looked awful by comparison. (Except for  nifty two-turn combo by Callum, too little too late). Back on shore, Medina said simply “It’s good to be back”. And you could almost feel the rest of the field tremble. 

Cash out

Mikey C. had a big day on Betonline.ag. He lost the majority of his picks but came out well on top due to some strategic wagers.

• $10 on Kolohe Andino at +350 to win $35 LOST
• $10 on Kelly Slater at +175 to win $18 LOST
• $10 on Jordy Smith at +165 to win $17 LOST
• $15 on Rio Waida at +425 to win $64 WON
• $5 on Caio Ibelli at +385 to win $19 LOST
• $10 on Miguel Pupo at +175 to win $18 WON
• $10 on Isabella Nichols at +275 to win $28 LOST
• $40 on Tatiana Weston-Webb at +250 to win $100 WON
• $10 on Sally Fitzgibbons at +250 to win $25 LOST

Day one earnings: $127
Event earnings: $127

R2 Picks (men aren’t up yet):

• $10 on Bronte Macaulay at +200 to win $20
• $10 on Gabriela Bryan at +200 to win $20
• $10 on Johanne Defay at +100 to win $10

Results

ROXY Pro G-Land Opening Round Results:
HEAT 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 10.40 DEF. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 9.90, Isabella Nichols (AUS) 8.30
HEAT 2: Brisa Hennessy (CRI) 13.83 DEF. Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 13.27, Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.20
HEAT 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) 17.16 DEF. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 15.04, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 9.30
HEAT 4: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 15.17 DEF. Tyler Wright (AUS) 12.67, Lakey Peterson (USA) 9.16

ROXY Pro G-Land Elimination Round 2 Matchups:
HEAT 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
HEAT 2: Courtney Conlogue (USA) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA)
HEAT 3: Isabella Nichols (AUS) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
HEAT 4: Lakey Peterson (USA) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW)

Quiksilver Pro G-Land Opening Round Results:
HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 13.37 DEF. Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.67, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.33
HEAT 2: Jack Robinson (AUS) 11.54 DEF. Kelly Slater (USA) 8.34, Jackson Baker (AUS) 7.17
HEAT 3: John John Florence (HAW) 13.94 DEF. Yago Dora (BRA) 11.67, Kolohe Andino (USA) 7.00
HEAT 4: Rio Waida (IDN) 11.83 DEF. Nat Young (USA) 11.66, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 10.80
HEAT 5: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.16 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 9.67, Caio Ibelli (BRA) 6.53
HEAT 6: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 14.00 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 9.64, Matthew McGillivray (ZAF) 8.46
HEAT 7: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.77 DEF. Barron Mamiya (HAW) 11.37, Connor O’Leary (AUS) 10.07
HEAT 8: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.70 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 8.20, Callum Robson (AUS) 6.14

Quiksilver Pro G-Land Elimination Round 2 Matchups:
HEAT 1: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Yago Dora (BRA)
HEAT 2: Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs. Matthew McGillivray (ZAF)
HEAT 3: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Jackson Baker (AUS)
HEAT 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Connor O’Leary (AUS)
HEAT 5: Barron Mamiya (HAW) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
HEAT 6: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Samuel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 7: Callum Robson (AUS) vs. Jake Marshall (USA)
HEAT 8: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Nat Young (USA)