After 4 days of waiting, the swell was back yesterday at Cloudbreak and the waves were rolling in heavy as ever. The competition moved ahead and finished rounds 3-5. Kelly Slater put on another show at one of his favorite waves and scored a 19.30 in round 4 - with a perfect 10 wave and another 9.30 to advance into the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinal Matchups:
- John John Florence v. Jordy Smith
- Kelly Slater v. Sebastian Zietz
- CJ Hobgood v. Josh Kerr
- Mick Fanning v. Joel Parkinson
You couldn't have asked for more intriguing matchups in the quarterfinals. Start with the John John v. Jordy matchup, which features two "up and comers" although really they're already "there". But John John is just back from injury yet has been super impressive in the early heats. Jordy is coming off a win at the Rio Pro and is in 2nd place overall. Should be a fun heat to watch.
Kelly has been on fire lately after missing the first round and it may be tough for SeaBass to match him wave for wave, although we know SeaBass has plenty of barrel riding ability as demonstrated by his dominance at pipe this past winter. Still anyone's heat.
CJ Hobgood v. Josh Kerr is the heat we'll call the most surprising matchup, which is a bit unfair to these two great surfers. CJ Hobgood always shows up at the Fiji Pro, so it's really no surprise he's made the quarterfinals. Josh Kerr scored an 18.93 in round 5 so it's not like he snuck his way into the quarters. Another battle.
And then there's the two old mates, Parko v. Mick. This matchup has been played out many times, with world championships on the line. The Aussies know how to turn their friendship off when they put on the contest jerseys. But that just means to expect some awesome surfing - the only heat with two former world champions won't disappoint.
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