WATCH LIVE Surf City El Salvador Pro Presented By Corona 2024 – FINALS DAY

Shop official merchandise from the 2024 Surf City El Salvador Pro here: https://www.wslstore.com/collections/the-2024-surf-city-el-salvador-pro-collection

The Championship Tour heads for the high-performance gem of El Salvador’s Punta Roca. A long, powerful, cobblestone point break that is one of Central America’s top waves to push progression amongst the world’s best. A perfect venue that will add fire to the race for the WSL Finals as stop No. 7 gets underway June 6th-15th. Only three regular season events remain and the hunt for the WSL Final 5 is sure to heat up in the tropics of El Salvador.

#wsl

Subscribe to the WSL for more action: https://goo.gl/VllRuj

Watch all the latest surfing action of the world’s best surfers in the world’s best waves. Heats on demand, event highlights and exclusive interviews, right here on the WSL’s Youtube channel.

For More Visit: http://www.worldsurfleague.com/

Like the WSL on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wsl
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wsl
Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/wsl

e e e e e e for e e e e it’s time to get fired up surf fans welcome surf Surf City El Salvador top professional Surfers in the world have entered the chat that’s right gagod Dora Gabriel O’Brien everybody preparing here he is the monstro Gabriel Medina looking fit and ready to rip we could be in for a big show of Surfing today Hoka is pumping we’ve got some action in store for you [Music] [Applause] [Applause] w d and welcome to Surf City l salv Pro presented by Corona Chris cot here with Mitchell Salazar there’s a look at the lineup today hi how you doing Sur fans are you ready to see something special we’re hoping we’ve got that in store for you we’ve already seen some sets coming around that point welcome back to puntera Mitchell thank you Chris buas first of all potential finals day way look really fun consistent out there really looking forward to seeing if we’re going with men’s quarterfinals or not Chris well look I’m going to have both fingers crossed right here as I throw it down to AJ McCord good morning both fingers crossed and here’s the man who can tell us if it worked ronado give us the forecast and what the call is for today exciting Sunday morning here in punar Rocka we have 4 to six foot clean surf beautiful conditions this morning we saw some incredible performance of the world’s best on a warm-up session so we’re starting with the main quarterfinals followed by the women’s semifinals men semifinals and both finals 35 minute hits fingers cross the winds will behave today we know we’re going to have to deal with onshore winds later in the morning but we hopefully they’ll be on a lighter side and better angle than yesterday so a lot on the line for the top five uh WSL finals on both Division and great action stay tuned cannot wait to get it started we’ll send it back to you in the booth to call it gado had the little Sparkle in his eye that we like to see that gets us all excited down here so 35 minute Heats Mitchell I love that we’ve been consistent with that time frame for these Surfers and on those Rivals uh one thing of noted it was subtle but you saw Matthew mcgil his ribs kind of bruised up cut up that tells me he’s been surfing a ton and that’s uh that’s just a good sign that yeah it’s there there has been some wind conditions and fluctuations but El Salvador has a way of holding when even when the wind comes up and you know yesterday even in the afternoon there were some moments where there was straight up ramps out there so we’re going to see varied conditions here but don’t take it from me take it from our friends at Surfline and Mitchell Salazar is about to tell you exactly what the surf line forecast is for today go MIT yeah well primarily a souths Southwest swell in the water backing up with the Southwest as we’ve seen before the last two days offshore wind light early thing in the morning Chris it does Veer onto the onshore but as ronado said as long as it’s a okay Direction which is a straight onshore here it’s fine we don’t want that devil wind which is a side sh you can see right here 5 to 7 ft ronado called it for to six but we really do see an extra set every now and then break that 5 to seven range maybe even on the faces be you know closer to the 10 foot but the one thing I’m really interested to see if this offshore win will hold until noon where we’re looking to run our finals but even the next four days still look really fun in case that’s not what we’re looking at today but in all honesty Chris really fun out there if this were a Qs event everybody would be really stoked Tak it out there right now say d say wind in Espanol vento so Diablo vento is not what we want to see something like that yeah well this is what we do want to see here’s your quarterfinal bracket and we’ve been thinking about this all day and all night long some of us couldn’t even sleep we were so excited G chanka going up against Gabriel Medina that’s two Brazilian Superstars going head to-head Jack Robinson versus Yago Dora these two guys travel the world together quarter final three just a guy named John John Florence going up against Crosby kapino you know Crosby’s going to put JN to the test JN John so far has been on fire down here in El Salvador and quarterfinal number four more Friendly Fire to South Africans Matthew mcgil and Jordy Smith I love the look of this bracket this has Surf video written all over it yeah I keep thinking that quarter number two is the most important one of the round just because of the implications that it has on Jack Robinson’s ranking we have a banger to start right here Chris between two good friends yeah this is uh it’s pretty cool because yesterday we were right on that red line of to go or not to go right The Clash should we stay or should we go now these both these guys paddled out there the call was made it was off and they got the free surf alone in this lineup for 45 to an hour so they had a pretty good little scouting report as if they needed more practice you know what I’m saying you know what’s really cool about them you know halfway out already getting the call they were going to be on hold and eventually we were off the the rest of the afternoon they still went out on free surf with their jerseys on just to kind of get that practice going in as we said before and even ronado mentioned it with AJ there’s a possibility that those onour wins kick up and they go have to go out there and Surf and compete in those similar conditions too so I like that they’re prepared for anything and it seems like Gabe is always with full positioning here Chris he is really deep out there in the lineup yeah it it’s a good thing we’ve got the elite here in the quarterfinals starting with one of the best to ever do it Gabriel Medina three-time world champion slow start this year mhm in the year prior it wasn’t really the the monstro Medina we’re used to seeing but we’re seeing that guy now he is him and he’s starting his climb up the rankings he will be in the final five I mean it’s to me it’s just Destiny I wrot down already it’s going to happen you wrote it down in pen permanent marker and and this is uh this is this is where the role starts John John Florence has said it multiple times he wants to win another title he wants to be in that final five he wants to show the world that he can do it in any type of waves and his goal is just to make Del lowers after that you know he’s going to try to do his best regardless if he’s the one seed all the way to the five and I think what really matters to a lot of these people nowadays and they’ve had several opportunities to see a lot of these vessel Surfers in the world get prepared for it it all comes down to preparation outside of the event so you need to be ready during that waiting period that we have for for lowers but right here on potential finals day Chris we’re looking at J shanka who has had a major comeback in this event right here making it all the way to the quarters already defeated Baron mamia on his way here and also Griffin kapino already has one career victory over in the male ripc Pro Portugal I like the chances of him doing well against Gabe in this heat and we still got 32 minutes nobody’s caught away yeah so for jaia I mean coming back from that major injury he’s wearing he’s wearing a helmet right here just a just a precaution for him it’s got a you know literal peace of mind for him to go out there and not think about anything but taking it to Gabriel Medina you know xia’s been looking up to Gabriel for his the entirety of his career and here we go he’s going to be looking in and seeing Gabriel Medina flying down the line huge snap come on good morning buenos Diaz Gabriel Medina looks like he’s straight into what he does best Terminator mode give us another I love this opening wave from Gabriel Medina didn’t get the Finish but just gave the judges something to chew on early in the morning so that’ll set the scale the Day Mitch you’ve judged you’ve served Heats before uh obviously you’re an elite commentator when you get a wave like that to start off multiple big powerful manvers all the way down the line where did the judges go from here well to me it’s got to be at least in the good range right here big floater on the outside from G beautiful second turn right there as precise as he could possibly get right there on that second one and great CA right there especially when you talk about being on the backand out here Chris it’s really difficult to get those Maneuvers in sequence the way he did especially maintaining that speed great variation with the carve and then tried to force the reverse the section didn’t really stand up I still feel like this at least has to be above a six though great start for Medina really love the Drone angle just allowing him to use that bottom turn the pivot off of the bottom to his benefit it’s the pace the tempo and we’ve seen him make the semi-finals here before he’s looking for his first victory in 2024 Chris could be starting here especially when you consider how well he’s done both at Bells Margaret River and also with the victory over there in Jeff Bay too and I don’t have any any analytics to back this up but I feel like when Gabriel Medina strikes first he usually wins we’ll see how that shakes up in 30 minutes but it just seems like when he gets out there and gets busy early big things happen for Gabriel Medina and speaking of big things Hall of Fame numbers right here 17 event wins 33 times he’s made the final 18 10-point rides and a hefty Heat win percentage the best on tour all the way down the line Gabriel Medina truly a master of this Sport and you you saw it on that opening wave I mean just if you want to be a criteria nerd about it right combination of major Maneuvers speed power flow the whole deal second turn to me had a almost like a power drift feels like you know Ken Block in his unicorn drifting around a corner you can almost hear the screeching tires so the judges come through with a 633 that’s a solid start it is that was a keeper number yesterday so I do like that he didn’t you know he didn’t make the end of that wave he didn’t do that final maneuver so and it wasn’t necessarily a set yeah they tempered it down a little bit but I think that number is just right in the perfect zone right great start for Gabriel Medina as usual and a great starter too for the judges as well kit given you know the conditions how perfect it is right now that was basically a midsize set that only had one wave in it he capitalized he’s like I’m not waiting around for something to pop up and eventually get going and as you always said his strike rate when he gets started and he’s putting pressure on his opponent has to be close to the 100 percentile I mean talking about one of the most dominant Surfers on the planet in the history of professional surfing 17 victories and if you look at those 17 victories they’ve been throughout a diversity of waves too two World Championships and the normal traditional format and he was the guinea pig really in 2021 with the new finals format he went out there as a number one seed and left no doubt that he was world champion that Year Chris yeah and you know what I love about the waves machine this morning totally related I mean pretty much anybody out there watching uh fromb to Elite would have fun out here today different story a couple weeks ago a lot of us were watching what Gabriel Medina did in Tahiti and thinking this is a different thing this is a different sport this isn’t the surfing that most of us can or would ever want to do but for Gabriel Medina this is what he thrives in one of the best to ever do it at the end of the road showed us that I mean he was half a second more in the tube away from a perfect 20 two perfect T he got a 10 and a 98 something it was as near you as near as you can get to excellent a lot of people out there were saying just give him the two1 but you know it was just one of those days and for Jake Marshall I mean he came in hanging his head high you get a wave like that in heat your life’s pretty good win or win or lose you got to get props with Jake he’s been having an amazing year still a top 10 Surfer but Medina with that perfect 10 he got himself a Yeti Tundra 110 Chris and I don’t think it’s the last one we’re going to see out of this year from Medina either capability that he has to create speed velocity and transition like we’ve seen it here at this wave but also the master class that he puts on on those types of waves especially when it comes to comfort levels not many people like him go like this under priority where he thrives Medina now patiently waiting for this wave to set up good opening turn there’s that bash I mean how does it feel for Jiao chiano when you just turn around and look in and you saw three four Christmas trees flying out the back of that wave at a fifth I mean he’s in attack mode saw him stretching warming up before this heat this is Medina I think at his best that is an incredible seven turns I don’t have a calculator on me what that was undeniable for the judges I mean he they were a little bit repetitive but when you’re doing repetitive turns that are that good you’re going to get a big score and the most critical sections too that wave looks so fun well he made it look that way gosh that looks fun then you try to go out out on surf that way yourself and you’re like okay maybe I need to tone it down a little bit but this is Home Run Derby surfing right here that was good and then things start getting great no and I it just comes to how good he is physically fit oh that’s third turn right there in the pocket drifts the fins upside down it it’s not just that it’s the Precision that he comes off of the bottom wi and then these Maneuvers are just in such a beautiful sequence well placed and then gets the variation right here you were saying a bit repetitive and then he does the carve and positions himself in a different angle coming into the last turn right there impeccable stuff and to me that was this has to be better than the 633 we saw a better diversity of attacks critical sections right here in the combination of major Maneuvers radical stuff Chris I love what we’re seeing from Gabe and we mentioned it before critical event right here hasn’t won in Brazil at the CT level we know what he can do in Fiji but it has to start right here if you at least makes it in the semis his chances of making the final five are huge he’s so powerful and just precise technically perfect where he does his turns you don’t really notice his style right it’s just it’s pure raw power surfing and I think he’s underrated for a little bit for you know his style of Surfing right he does have like a little bit wider of a stance it’s not you know he’s not Dave rosovich out there while syrupy smooth but to me what he does is surf to his strengths and he’s probably one of the strongest Surfers on the championship tour no doubt he must work out I mean look at the guy he’s Superman out there well you saw how seriously he was taking it when he was warming up too no he was not smiling he’s not tiger he’s not drinking coffee in the car park just having a chat with the homies he is getting into the zone and that zone is working 7.5 for Gabriel Medina earned every bit of that one International Panel of Judges above us male and female the best in the business throw out the low through out the high we average those middle scores well especially when you consider how many close Heats he’s had this year too the guy’s got to be as motivated as anybody else if not the most motivated person on the CT to win an event here’s Jo now with the answer all right here’s your opener for xia chanka coming back from injury looking extra Sparky couple turns on the outside section this is one of the fastest Surfers on tour and if you don’t see a MC vanning influence in Xiao chanka surfing clean your screen rare mistake for Jiao as we see now you make a mistake I mean you’re like a wounded animal on the side of the road and Gabriel’s a vulture if you make a mistake he’s coming after you it’s a line going going uh towards a gazelle right there yeah so x on a 5112 his version of a CI Pro which is basically a remix really low entry rocker and a lot of speed right there with that lower entry rocker great to see Brit Merck here not only handling business with X shanka but with the rest of his athletes here in the quarterfinals also has Matt mcgil in the quarters on the men’s side and I think that personal relationship between shaal and Brit has not only elevated the quality of the boards I would say the performances too into the quarterfinals after defeating two big guys in the opening rounds of the event especially Griffin in the previous one yeah I was a bit naive when I was watching Brit Merck checking out the Surfers in his heat why is that because I said oh are you like taking notes and you know doing R&D and he kind of looked at me like why do you think I’m here you think I’m just a surf fan hanging out watching of course I’m working so with both these Surfers uh slipping a little bit down the line you see the water the water tint is a little bit more I think it rained last night so a little silt going out into the lineup and again you have those rocks when you walk out under those rocks you know you you you’ll feel the slickness and that slickness stays around so wax is something we don’t talk about that often but we should because that is literally the glue that keeps these Surfers stuck to their boards you got to have the skill of course but you add the skill to the the the tackiness and the stickiness of the wax these Surfers use and that’s how we see uh some of the Miracles that we’ve seen in the past with just one toe hanging on the deck well here’s your live rankings this has been fluctuating and changing throughout the entirety of the week here in Els Salvador johnon Florence firmly in the lead about a 6,000 Point jump on Jack Robinson who jumped up one spot Griffin lost on day two he dropped one spot Ethan Ying is out Jordy Smith the biggest mover of the event so far just in terms of importance he jumps into that top five picture but look at Medina Medina is just climbing the ladder Five Points I think he moved up seven points after Tahiti he was number 19 in the world going into Tahiti number 12 coming into this event he is now number seven I’m feeling smart well in saying that he will be in the final five at the end of this he makes us heat there’s a big Point difference between a quarter result and a semifinal final result same thing if you make a final even if you get second and look at that just using priority he’s a tactical Master drifting his fins right there I like that he can just kind of go from power to finesse all in the span of about a second big turn there look at the bow on this wave oh God yeah warranted grunt for Mitchell Salazar another big one for Medina he’s Unstoppable right now I mean with 20 minutes left woo if I’m J I’m definitely not looking in when he catches waves because with every turn he’s doing look he’s staring straight there’s nothing going on there’s nothing to see here don’t turn around don’t watch what Medina is doing cuz from the back of that wave it’s got to look brutal and J even said it against Griffin too he was at at least needing 14 15 points to beat him has to go in with the same exact mentality right here the wave selection on point right here by Medina great use of priority too a little stuck on that one still was able to drift the fins a little bit but here as you said uses the variation of Maneuvers on rail couple times in a row that’s some beautiful stuff that turn right there though stop stop it into the lip with a lot of aggression and how about this little floater into the fin drift right here at the end to that’s some creativity right there ladies and gentlemen great stuff by the three time world champ I can’t get over the wave selection here though look at how boldly and steep that section is right there it’s perfect and it’s like he’s always glued to his board but the most important thing about it he knows that he’s so confident in his abilities he can be looking down the line while he’s doing the maneuver that he’s on right there and I just think it’s really incredible to see him compete at this level for more than a decade right now Chris we’re looking at another title contender in the blue jersey right here I mean I’m know Gabriel Medina but I’d really like to try and cop on surfboard that thing looks perfect Kinto Brothers agree Golf Club yeah that was one of those like oh that was awesome oh no I might have to Surf against this guy could happen for CA later today dude what a what a talent what a phenomenon though just absurd stuff right there by the three Tong world champion gets his best yeah neighbor of the Beast 777 so Gabriel Medina now with a 75 and a 777 already into the team with a 1527 total so look I’m not a professional strategist or Surfer but if I’m J junk I’m thinking whatever my plan was to go out there and catch a couple and put a couple Baseline scores in that plans out the window you need nines he knows it too you need about 100 points right now if you want to even stand a chance against what Gabriel Medina is doing this is uh this is Medina at it at its best mhm you can just tell I mean he’s already thrown away a 633 and that was on the first wave and I’m thinking he’s in like third gear right you you got to simplified if you’re draal though don’t try to do it on just one wave make sure that you’re at least matching the 75 right here seems like he’s got a great wave yeah here we go prove us wrong Jiao cranks it off the bottom nice that’s how you want to do a layback up and in the critical section throwing tons of spray ah beautiful carve there for okay a on here we go I mean that’s the wave he wanted it did kind of soften up through this mid portion but he could have a little double up takes the low road gosh his carves in the pocket are so sharp little bit messy on the Finish but that was a really well surfed wave he does have that subtle little kind of quick double pump bottom turn y it’s like a little slingshot he uses to set himself up those big snapping turns Sebastian Zs used to do kind of the same thing little double pump I see some Cass in Xiao chanka I see a lot of Fanning you know CU there’s only a handful of surface in the world that can do that TI of an arc and kind of the upper third of the wave and whip it around as quick as yaia well majority of the points are going to come from the outside just throws a tail and lays back right there on the opener and then as you said these carves in the pocket are just beautiful really pristine surfing and then halfway through the wave right here just starts to get a little slopey still on rail no doubt way better than the 3.67 if it at least gets him into the six you know seven point range he’s back into the seat and I thought it was just smart to be able to get to towards the end of this wave and just get something to put the little little cherry on top but really it’s going to come from the outside the layback right there really strong a maneuver that we haven’t seen so far in this SE feel like it should score very well especially when you combine it with this carve right afterwards too great stuff by the younger of the chanka brothers Chris yeah that was that that was amazing surfing but you look at the wave comparisons Gabriel Medina might have been on a little bit smaller of a wave but way more critical sections down the line but Strider wasi he is right there in the zone Strider give me your your your take on the differences of those two waves that xia just got in the previous from Medina well my think Medina’s wave was a little smaller but also had a nice Bowl on it and it had a consistent Bowl all the way through whereas Joel had to actually find those sections but he linked them really really well I mean that first turn was explosive huge gou drop the Top comes back down resets double pumps into the next section so all of that work that joal is doing is is now going to come to fruition because we’re going to see that score drop in I think they’re going to love it you know big snaps off the top lot of spray a lot of water a lot of power well spray power that’s what we think of when we see Medina almost going for a wild sushi roll or rodo something either or Flyway one of those Flyway air there was a pull out but I like the I like the thought process there for Medina he’s now has the luxury to get weird and when Medina gets weird we get psyched because good things happen Janka hanging in there 657 but unfortunately even though that was a great wave and surfed really well he is not matching Medina’s secondary score yet so unless he gets something above the 870 Mark that 657 isn’t going to matter I mean I like to see that this early cuz that just shows us there’s big numbers out there well now with the amount of time left he might have to be looking at the nine given that it’s been a bit slow but you know gab’s already caught five waves himself there’s been a couple of small scores right there but I do feel like even a Beat him right now there’s a good chance that he’s going to improve on the 75 you should be looking for at least an 85 yourself Chris yeah and if you’re uh in the in the remaining men’s quarterfinal bracket the Beast is I don’t know if you want to watch this heat to be honest you might want to go and do your own thing yeah put on some headphones and you don’t want to see what Medina is doing right now just kind of cover your eyes when you’re seeing the cover your eyes do not look toward the water oh waves are firing though when they come through seriously this is as good as it gets right here we have a high tide going down right now Chris and it is really fun whoa look at that right next door second priority and he’s like okay I’m here we’re we’re basically tandem surfing at this point he’s sitting on the nose of Gabriel’s board Gabriel goes man chill out I got priority I’mma be all right over here yeah hey I I like it though you got to put some pressure on the big dog well I said these guys were homies on the beach and maybe I don’t know them well because they don’t look like friends right now 1220 to go with the Roa woken up love to see it I don’t even I don’t really want to talk about conditions that much I don’t want to jinx anything I’m just let’s how are you how are you doing today I’m doing great okay good 12 minutes to go Medina in the lead is got a 777 and a 7.5 a huge start for our three time world champion Gabriel Medina out there in the blue jersey set rolling through J Janka needs to keep up pace has been set by Medina who’s just been hammering these waves on his backand here comes a nice looking set one of the biggest of the morning and it’s a paddle battle Jiao did have a kind of a sus tactic iCal move moment the other day and I say sus just as in you know it was it was well within the rule book and he said it don’t hate the player hate the game so you know you when you’re serving against a guy like Gabriel Medina or Griffin colapinto you got to use everything in your you know in Your Arsenal there’s Griff wonder who he’s cheering for at this okay you know a little bit of spite a little bit of spite is is a good thing sometimes 1050 to go bonsoy Brew break is coming up unless J chanka stands up put that bonsoy Brew break on hold cuz Jiao chanka has just taken off on a terrible wave uh now let’s get to that bonsoy Brew break we’ll be right back after these brief messages stay tuned we’re live from p bro us e for spee spee for [Music] [Music] [Music] cool little piece right there with who I like to think of as the official ambassador of stoke from here in El Salvador Brian Perez and I’m sure he’s down here you know even though he uh bowed out in the previous day of competition he’s just excited fired up up the world best in literally in his backyard he threw up you could throw a rock at his house from here I wouldn’t recommend it because he is a beloved member of the community uh but Brian pre put on a show for us his highlight package speaks for itself we’ve we we’ve got the receipts we know how good Brian Perez is and there will be more to come from that young man in the not so distant future he is an Olympic qualifier so congrats Perez can’t wait for it so we’re inside of 7 minutes now we’ve got Xiao Janka out there sitting in his own private Idaho just up against the ropes Medina is going off he’s got a 75 and a 777 let’s get a conditions report from the one and only Strider wasi thank you Chris yeah I just want to touch on on what we’ve got today which is you know Pro I think the best day of the waiting period so far the size of the waves with this kind of like local storm stuff is perfect it’s tugging the the point it’s got a a great you know coping to it the the faces are super smooth and we’ve got a light offshore wind which is actually supposed to continue through the afternoon with a West Wind kind of coming across this point I mean I feel like we’re set up for a really great day of Surfing um and the medium ones are really good and the sets are looking really good they were a little overloaded uh the last couple of days where you saw them kind of going out into the sea and and there was only a few really good sections on each wave right now those sets are roping all the way through they’ve got just Bango in them all the way to the beach and I feel like that is a blessing for the day pretty excited Strider one those the first of all um not only are the waves amazing the surfing’s been amazing too but throughout the first few days of the event not only have we seen the top of the point work closer to where you are there’s a second Peak right there is that Peak still available on certain sets today honestly like I think we’ve seen that second Peak a lot because of the broken up um swells we’ve had a lot of multiple swells running we still have that in the water right now but there is a dominant swell so that one is actually showing the line all the way through to the the end of this point which is really what I’m talking about I mean we’re seeing consistent long rippable wav so Pace on the wave is going to be huge today you know kind of managing your expectation not putting too much into um you know 10 turns but let’s just see three huge massive turns or four massive you know Maneuvers on critical sections yeah thanks strer apparently here in El Salvador when it when it rains that that that’s a good thing for the uh local conditions and according to Strider I mean he was making it rain at oon last night when he was surfing so thank you strider for keeping these conditions in check local rainstorms last night from from what I hear that’s the Talk of the Town Strider the Raz wusi was the name of the storm that one exactly well 4 minutes 38 seconds to go Gabriel Medina the surfing he been doing I mean you could describe it as meat and potatoes but of course the meat is fet M it’s top shelf the potatoes are Artisan potatoes flown in from Belgium I mean he’s that good his fundamentals are that solid that even when he’s doing quote simple surfing for his style of Surfing it’s brilliant yeah and did that make sense it it did any of that we got yagola right there with his basically his brother Jack Robinson shouldn’t they be like arm wrestling or something right now no those guys have had many mock Heats many actual Heats and they’re actually coming off of a matchup over there in Tahiti in the mination round where Yago finally got his first quarterfinal birth of the year at least one more guaranteed here we got two Brazilians in the water and one coming up in the next seed and you know Luis pinga compos who is uh X’s coach and really been one of the most important talent scouts out of Brazil you know what the last 20 30 years he he went and and spoke publicly about the big gap that there is between the Brazilian storm of the past which is you know Gabe Yago all these kids and the generation right now like everybody thought that Mato s including myself was the next big thing to come out of there still hasn’t qualified for the championship tour and I think he’s absolutely right there’s been a shift and momentum outside of Brazil and I think it was a wakeup call for a lot of other nations and regions of the world and so far after this generation I don’t know what’s going to happen you know what it was called the S Clement Cyclone that was a Brazilian storm breaker all those Surfers from San Clen coming up I think they kind of shook up the world for sure uh but I feel like right now we’re in the zone where things are kind of balancing out right we are seeing uh a a real hard charge from our Brazilian Surfers who made the cut incredible almost ridiculous to think that ELO and Gabriel and Yago nearly were cut those are three names that don’t get cut from the championship tour they almost felt the sting so we see Xiao chanka now way up the point Medina has been masterful in this heat started with a 633 hammered his way to a 75 and then just went fullbore for 777 jaia is still in it he needs an 870 he’s one of the best Surfers in the world that’s why he’s here he missed out the first little over half of the championship tour got injured right before pipe started in a warm-up session so regardless of the outcome of this quarterfinal heat oh fantastic result awesome to have Jiao Jan back in the mix yeah he adds a lot to the championship tour electricity excitement youthful energy put it up against the very best in the world we got to remember this guy was number four in the world at the end of 2023 this could be an 870 it might not be but it could it could be I don’t actually it couldn’t have been look I mean look at the inside of that wave there is luck involved I mean there’s no exact science to which wave is going to give you that perfect cup down the line like Gabriel’s second wave was he’s tried though you know with the waves that he’s had on offer he’s tried uh the bad thing for him is that he was chasing the whole time and Gabe had the lead from the gecko and he always knew that he was going to need at least a pair of eights to be able to make it out of this seat there’s still 50 seconds though G and look where Gabriel put himself too he he is in block mode right here as as as uh you know he he knows the rule book more than anyone it’s a good wave right here Chris and so now gab needs to look and assess and he takes off there is one behind it so we’ll keep our eyes on Medina now snap float comes around a big section oo and goes body surfing for some reason here we go here we go is this an 870 starts off with the speed section too deep yeah you saw Medina right there he had to do everything he could to stay out of the way so Xiao chanka Valiant effort did get a 657 so great surfing for Xiao to start but just could not match the axe throwing of Gabriel Medina there’s the Sportsman ship we like to see all right so we’re friends in the end right that’s that’s that’s a nice moment both those Surfers put in full effort and I mean the smile on jia’s face look he stoked to be back and he realized what just happened he just happened to be you know like tied to the train tracks and the Medina locomotive was coming and just like that Gabriel Medina has now jumped e TOA he is now in sixth place man he’s going to be in top three by the end of this contest Watch Out World Gabriel Medina is coming for you quarterfinal Heat number two coming up next don’t go anywhere for spe [Music] [Music] Gabriel Medina just went off the rails on the crazy train what a heat the monstro Gabriel Medina not only getting a huge statement victory over Jiao chanka but also jumping up on the overall five rankings to number six in the world Chris cot here with Mitchell Salazar do you think he’s going to be content in number six Mitch no he will not he’s looking for that number one position right now well here we go back out to the lineup yodora has been the most entertaining Surfer of this event right now he’s going to uh just pause the air game and lean on his power remember this guy is one of the most well-rounded Surfers in the world absolutely charged in Tahiti and he’s got a backhand whip on him that Indiana Jones would be jealous of well not just that he’s also been starting off the he with a great score every single one and he’s going to get the lead once here again against his good friend Jack but here goes Robinson Western Australia finest Jack Robinson big carve to start going to be a this is going to be another fun fun match up goofy vers regular these guys are legit BFFs traveling around the world together the tail out there stuck in the lip a little bit and so far the goofy versus regular conversation feels like on your backhand you can almost stay in that pocket just a little bit deeper giving yourself more access to the critical section of this wave and we saw Yago right there just able to kind of tag the most critical part of the wave over and over and over again down the line so Jack Robinson firmly entrenched in that fight for the final five yodora kind of sneakily climbing up from the bottom it’s like a game of Shoots and Ladders we knew it you land in the right spot you’re shooting straight up to the top well he was just a couple of spots away from making the the the final five last year you don’t want to surf against Yago at lowers you don’t want to surf against any of these two anywhere really but Yago to me over there one of the most complete Surfers there is well speaking of one of the most complete Surfers there is one of the greatest of all time is now on the glass but he’s got to watch because the Yago show is on yeah yes yeah that’s that’s that’s what Yo’s been doing all event long and it’s beening and then he just goes beyond vert woo straight up back five into a beautiful blaster on the inside section Yago number nine flying inside of 30 minutes and we’re about to see what we think is going to be a near excellent score and look at this wave was just nice nice on the takeoff started to grow down the line here’s where it happened how’s this rotation it’s huge Chris huge a full rotor Perfect Landing into the next nap right there and then the combo to finish this wave off too I don’t even know what to say anymore I’m giving him credit for the back five put whatever you want that is in the comments that right there is a backside 540 perfectly landed Rio tarz stand up yeah Medina knows Medina knows when Medina reacts like that you know something massive just happened and with that let’s go down to the glass where a shocked Gabriel Medina is standing by with AJ mcord game recognize game and Gabe coming out of the water you saw Yo’s wave immediately recognized oh he did something good and the look in your eyes was hey I’m ready for that how fired up are you for this day yeah the Ws are really good out there uh I’m happy to make the first hit and uh yeah you did SI care he’s so good and uh yeah hopefully he can make it so we have a good goofy heat and for you we’re in the back half of the year which seems to be a time that you thrive the last two title runs you’ve really hit your stride finishing outside the semi-finals in only one of the final eight events in those years two events into this one you’ve locked your spot here in the semis here what is it about you that you’re able to meet the moment and elevate your surfing when the pressure is on yeah I mean I yeah I I it’s hard to say but I kind of like to surfing pressure uh and yeah I was I’m just focused on myself you know I’m not thinking about anything else uh I just want to enjoy my time in the water and yeah it’s time to do work you know uh I really want to be in the finals I want to have a shot uh feel like 2021 was long time ago so I can’t wait another step closer we let let you get reset for the next one yeah thank you I I’ll rest it a little bit thanks he ain’t wrong yeah I love that uh you know he went from surf fan to Super focused right there in about a second you know AJ’s line of questioning was exactly what we wanted to hear so for Gabriel Medina you don’t want to poke that bear in a backside air like that will do it fired him up got him motivated got him excited he does surf better on the pressure though and then he just you know you see his heartbeat level just go right back down into Terminator mode that would be an incredible match up wouldn’t it be Chris oh yeah here we go 767 for yodora so just getting closer to that excellent range nearly an eight on the strength of a huge backfire Yago Dora is on a good one right now and Strider wasi was looking up underneath him as Yago rotated in the sky that was that was one of the moments of of my entire career in the water watching these guys do what they do as he came off the bottom I could see his eyes lock onto the lip and it was just the perfect uh section that presented itself and as he rose up above it the rotation was so perfect and fluid there wasn’t even a sound it was almost like snowboarding through powder where you just can’t even hear it it’s so perfect and feels so good and as he did the rotation above my head I it was like chicken skin it just like he was elevated lifted and everything was perfect with the flow so I mean I I was like kind of scratching on my head when he first started ping for the wave and then I realized what he was doing and I couldn’t wait for the show and I had the best seat in the house for it so thank you yodora and I mean full credit to our uh water cinematographer Jace for knowing that he’d rather open up and pull back a little bit you don’t want to miss Yago Dora that could have easily had Yago flying right out of the lenss out of the screen but uh our crew is on it love to see it every angle covered this is so much fun these last two years have been crazy Chris several people winning different events unexpected results Yaga winning his first career C event at home in Brazil and you know we have to reconsider him being a threat also knowing that he won there in sadma last year just look at the height on that thing right there especially when it gets tail high like that bro that shot’s got to win ammy for you to be able to control your speed that way especially coming out of it but once again his his positioning is just so perfect it’s the landing for me that just does it right there he transitions so well into the next maneuver it’s Flawless even the Drone team had to go extra they knew they know not only do all of our judges shred at surfing but all of our camera Ops are amazing Surfers too I mean I I feel like you kind of have to be to know what’s about to happen you got to be able to look into the future a little bit I I don’t know what happened though after the cut in Tahiti something changed foro something changed and especially right here he’s been the most creat out of everybody I still think Jack Robinson if he wins this event you better watch out for his hopes of winning his first world championship but he needs to go through his best friend right here this guy’s on another level right now to me personally just the the creativity the performances his wave selection and the fact that he’s been able to drop all these big scores on smaller waves too well here’s the head tohe head match up thus far on the championship tour for these two Surfers Jack’s got the edge two to one pretty close on the a Heat score Max Heat score goes to Yago Max wave score goes to Jack but I mean all these numbers are just right in line with each other their last quarterfinal was the 2023 chaso Tahiti Pro they went barrel for Barrel in perfect waves at the end of the road Yago pumping on his forehand this is uh just a few weeks ago in the elimination round where Yago Dora took out event favorite Jack Robinson this was a kind of a shocking turn of events and you’re absolutely right whatever happened post cut for yoora is working because when you beat Jack Robinson at chopo you you’ve done something that not a lot of Surfers in the world could ever say they did well let’s remember Jack Robinson was the defending champion at that evento the event favorite for sure with that event win he qualified for lowers last year knocking out Gabe of that final five spot right there so there was a lot in line in terms of pressure and expectations for Jack and Yaga just said heck no I’m taking you out right here even though you’re my best friend in the elimination round and outside of the two victories it’s been an up and down year for Jack Robinson and the same thing could exactly be said for yodora to last person to make the cut Chris and right now he’s making that count at least two quarterfinals results in these last two events yeah I was just going to say keep yelling at me cuz I like it you’re fired up we all are this is awesome especially as a goofy footer including yourself too to be able to see this master class of backhand surfing and one of the world’s best right-and point breaks I think it just goes to show you that there’s really no favorite in terms of the forehand or the backhand like everybody’s just so good nowadays we’re just seeing the very best of the very best do their thing right now yodora is in the lead aerial Artistry all week long 767 on the strength of a massive back five but out the back Jack Robinson does have priority with 2146 to go he’s got a decent starter kit 5.0 coming up next we’ve got John John Florence and Crosby colapinto and what I’m liking here is we might see a completely different look at the final five as we have in previous years look there’s nothing wrong with watching Felipe too show his Brilliance at lowers I mean I love it surf fans love it he’s one of the best to ever do it out there but it is kind of cool that we’re going to see some new faces on the men’s side of the final five I’m here for it I would love to seeo in that conversation obviously John John Florence at lower trestles we haven’t seen that yet that would be amazing to watch uh we didn’t see EO last year either he’s still in the conversation right there and obviously having Jake Marshall who’s basically a local B right there at lowers being on the cusp of doing that too would be something amazing for him I still think that Jordi Smith though is a legit Contender over there he’s won twice I would like his chances if you’re the South African over there at that wave especially when we consider South Wells late September it’s a good time of the year well don’t forget about Crosby Kinto he is still in the top 10 picture and Rising quickly put either one of the colapinto brothers at lowers and you’ve got a you got to have a tussle on your hand my friend 20 minutes 25 to go live rankings are literally being tabulated with each and every heat here’s what it looks like at least for now this could change after this heat John John Florence and jack up in the top two spots Griff drops one to third Ethan Ying you would have thought Ethan ying a beautiful rightand Point Break is a match made in heaven but it didn’t go that way for Ethan he’s in fourth Jordy Smith in fifth Medina is the name that I think the top five fear the most at the moment not only just the way he’s surfing but the way he’s surfing surf in the back half of the season is always incredible big moves from Crosby Kinto as well the name you don’t see on that list is just under that graphic line at 11th yodora if he can if he can uh ramp out this Victory he’s going to be on that page would be huge for him one in real last year literally jumping onto the top 10 graphic well and then Fiji 2 it’s a good wave if you consider his style his great Barrel riding abilities and how complete of a surfer he is when you say Fiji and Yago and look at me like that it makes me feel good in here inside I got a a really interesting stat for you though um speaking of Jack Robinson opened up with the five has had two big victories and let’s consider who he’s beaten in the final too John over at Margaret river twice now and then Keno gashi who had more than 15 points in the final over there at Sunset Beach since 2021 since John won his last event which was at pipe he has won all of his CT events within that time frame how crazy is that like you got to realize he made his debut that year and won during the last event of the regular season over there in mechs that is a good stat I never doubt your stats you’re really good at that 1820 to go that was just a little uh little tester little test ride for yodora Jack’s out the back with priority I feel like Jack knows that he needs a pretty special wave MH if he wants to uh match the pace currently being set by Yago with that 767 Jack’s gnarly in the a too I hope we get to see him exercise his aerial demons and show us something radical and not only that too he is calm under pressure and all that breath work everything else out of the water he lives in the Flow State it’s really work too like the guys made the final several years in a row number five in the world last year and coming from a fear surfing background then to qualify for the C 2019 winning that last event over at Sunset Beach where he’s now one you know at the CT level too it’s really big deal for him but you can see right there a bit of ups and downs didn’t didn’t surf fat in Portugal got a ninth over there but it’s that first place finish in margs twice now that he’s been able to win at home and against John John like the way John was surfing over there Jack just told him no I’m shutting you down this is my home yeah and he’s the only Surfer currently on the CT men’s men’s side that has two event wins but but that that 17th in Tahiti man that’s like stepping on a stingray everything’s going great look at the total you’re about to go surf and then all of a sudden Wham 17th Place in the heiti that does not make sense it hurts he can’t be disappointed about that though you had he can’t an excellent but he had an excellent heat you know it’s like it doesn’t matter it’s a 17th Place that’s disappointing it is he’s not one of those guys that’s like well you know I got a couple barrels I’m really stoked he’s been barreled before he’s done it okay you still friends I don’t want if F we’re not arguing we’re we’re agreeing here 1626 to go priority so far only really has come into play I think one time but not in a major way in that first quarterfinal heat of the day not in this heat in this heat it’s been nice and gentlemanly yeah between these two friends Yo’s trying to force him to go on a smaller wave though and I think Jack needs to hold this ground right here you got to let Yaga do his own thing all right here we go we know what Yago is capable of even on a medium-sized wave some speed to burn there comes around this big section he’s going to go to turns little off balance on those first two Flo impeded but Flo regained backside reverse doing a backside reverse like that halfway down the line on a long wave is pretty risky and I think the judges will will give him some credit for that but I think that’ll fall right into that kind of fiveish Zone that he got in his first wave might improve on the 55 maybe just under he was always out of sorts though from from the Geto like he was chasing the wave a little too much at the beginning you see there’s there’s three big words that are kind of flashing in your mind when you stand when you see these serers stand up speed power flow to me the flow word was kind of uh echoing in the background a little bit because he he was kind of little little offo through this whole ride still good it was fine but it wasn’t the Yago magic that we saw in that 767 yeah right here comes out of it and just catches a rail little bit and then even in the floater too that turn was gnarly though great reverse right there especially with the momentum that he still had down the line straight into that carve really love that turn right there but then maybe try to make up for the bad start on this wave with a big finish incomplete right there at the end so could improve on the 55 might just be under but still doing his job trying to add more pressure to Jack and a backside reverse like that um you you’re more used to seeing those at the end of the wave as a finishing maneuver M that in the mid of w with that will get youit for it’s risky and being able to do that reverse gauge your fins and then whip straight into a bottom turn it’s subtle but it’s really hard to do especially cuz you have to readjust your feet for the most part like he didn’t have to do it right there that’s why he’s so complete and especially when it comes to a lot of those Maneuvers that are progressive he’s definitely in the upper echelon of that Chris 135 13 50 to go yeah score comes through there in that range we were talking about a 470 for yod dor he’ll get back out there and back at it we’re going to take a quick break we’ll be back can Jack Robinson get back into this heat stay tuned to find out [Music] spe C it’s just such a strange sensation to stand on top of water and be able to Glide across it I think that that’s the first thing that hooks you [Music] there’s late 12 13th is when I fell in love with surfing and the freedom to to express yourself and to be surrounded by Nature it’s it’s cool it’s never going to be the same thing over and over so it’s open to your expression yeah so it’s a thrill and it’s art at the same time [Laughter] [Music] well if you’re going to pick three Surfers on the championship to were to go on a surf trip with those are the three guys three absolute sweethearts that rip Liam O’Brien yodora and Matthew mcgil free surfing Salvador it’s called el pariso Paro and if you know what that little square is that’s called a QR code so for our younger fan base watching you know what to do for the Boomers out there like myself point your phone at that thing and take a picture and you’ll be watching a rat Surf video why are you laughing Mitch I know how to work a QR code and I know how to enjoy a surf film and I’m going to watch that after I watch today it’s homework 10 and a half to go here yodora in the lead Jack Robinson just hanging on to a mid-ranger a five-point ride that’s about to change here we go from way deep deep too deep Jack Robinson was he out of position did that wave just run away too quick what happened Mitch yeah there were a couple waves that he actually let go that was looking at over my shoulder and they had some potential they were a bit smaller but I feel like he’s just kind of trying to serf for that 817 that he needs right now and not trying to improve on the five so during the break Chris Yaga with another wave right here great opening snap right there beautiful carve on the second one this wave eventually just kind of shoulders off though and was looking to capitalize on something to improve on the mid five right here but through this ladder section of the wave was just able to find the reverse a bit forced still pretty cool though I mean if you ask the average person if that’s one of the best waves they’ve ever had all of their lives they’d probably say yes that was curb skating compared to Park Skating but a 487 standard of this heat with the two guys we have in the water still a pretty adequate score I would say some people love when I start talking about skateboarding I love some people hate it well I want to maybe not a skate influence Surfer but a goofy fighter that had kind of momentum like Yago did when he qualified for the CT I’d say one of my alltime favorit Sean canale yeah you know great style everybody thought he was going to be the next big thing out of Australia and wasn’t able to really live up to the hype the expectations that a lot of people had of him he was the next big thing for a while yeah he campaign I’m sure he still rips he does what’s up Sean he has probably the best stle I’ve ever seen out of goof footer I mean if you ask me there you go yeah but like you you mentioned the other day when we did one of Yo’s Heats he brings free surfing into competitiveness and you don’t really see a difference anymore like for most you know in the in in the Taylor steel days and in the Lost film days and then you know kai Neville days it took a year to make a video part Yaga Dora does it in 32 minutes he’ll make a whole video part in one heat well just in the first four or five minutes he already had his heat total right now and I think for people including myself that’s already you know a Year’s worth of Surfing right there yeah that’s impressive time’s starting to go uh pretty quick right now 8 minutes to go and Jack Robinson needs an 817 that’s in his wheelhouse I mean he he’s a home run style Surfer he just needs that uh that opportunity and I and I and I I already feel like I’m almost slightly going to give an advantage to the goofy Footers today cuz you can just you can coil up and snap off the lip in such a tighter area on your backand well one thing for sure the pocket is is pretty tight today it’s not yeah as down the line as it has been and it it’s more focused towards the top of the point too as Strider was saying there’s a dominant South Southwest in the water right now and it’s not as broken up as we had seen on the previous days there’s not that middle Peak anymore here’s Jack’s opportunity though Chris seven minutes he I don’t I don’t live here I haven’t surfed out here that much but to me it feels like they’ve been a little too deep in the last couple of minutes so with seven minutes to go looks like Jack Robinson could be in position to do something major here we go Jack Robinson trying to fight his way back into this heat 647 645 on the clock he needs an 817 comes around this section nice carve right there for robo there we go a little bit more critical on the inside another layback snap strong surfing for Jack Robinson but was it electrifying Mitchell did it knock you out of your seat I didn’t hear you growl you didn’t scream did Jack Robinson’s wave warrant an 817 I don’t think it’s the best uh wave we’ve seen all day long I feel like gabes had a bit more intensity they’re a bit stronger too all in all though it should be better than the five but feel like he was still trying to break it up into two waves right here in the last s minutes Great Wave selection though I can tell you that love the carf here to open things up but not really trying to push too hard layb back a bit better helps with the variation aspect of Surfing too that car to me was probably one of the best we saw all wave long though and then this little combo at the end wasn’t bad I felt like he could have pushed a little bit harder though it it’s not necessarily safe surfing but by the standards that we hold these Surfers to they need to be pushing as hard as I can Chris and the comb on the outside was really good look at that great technique always in the pocket especially as a regular footo as you mentioned goofies have been able to come from around the White Water fade a little bit more for the regular Footers it’s really hard you’re usually way out on the open face and you don’t want to do that it just doesn’t look as critical anymore I’m going to let the viewers in on some Insider information when yodora got the 767 I literally broke my chair and during Jack’s wave my chair was put back together and that wave didn’t break my chair so the chair breaking aspect of Yo’s wave compared to Jack’s wave tells me something in my heart that that’s not going to be a huge score I think it’s going to get him back in the heat it will will it be an 817 who better to ask than Strider wasi I don’t think so but I do think that he had the opportunity to get the score on that wave I don’t think he surfed to the score I felt like it was he’d been sitting a long time and I feel like his rhythm was there but his attack wasn’t there and I feel like you got to see the intensity coming off those rails you got to see those fins flying out the back and you got to really uh push a lot harder I feel like I don’t think the back Siders or the front Siders have an A uh you know an advantage today I do think watch out for this guy K pinel’s coming up this this heat is going to be bananas him and John are going to go crazy but back to what’s happening in the water right now in this heat with Yago and with Jack Robinson I need to see Jack step up the game on the on the face and the intensity and the velocity that we know he can bring because he hasn’t brought it yet and we know that he’s got it and Firepower but as we saw Yago and and the flow and the intensity and the velocity I mean that backside 3 or 540 as you said as he completely went all the way around was so quick and so fast and traveled so far down the line you know you you just felt it when you watched it and it was a it was a break your chair moment like you said and I think that we want to see that out of Jack his chair actually broke shrider just by the way like it did a break I am honest with the audience 330 to go Jack Robinson score comes through kind of where we thought it would be a 6.5 so it was good and it actually helped him out a lot cuz now he only needs a 668 so he’s got that feeling so I feel like that was a a a smart way to Surf that way for Jack I agree uh he’s well within reach right now yod Dora his low score is a 5.5 we’ll see if that is the little Poltergeist in his score line and come back to haunt him later on all we know so far is the best air of the day done by yodora so far but remember who we’ve got coming up next John John Florence Crosby kapino that’s going to be a big one and Matt mcgil has also thrown a couple big airs throughout this event Jordy Smith also one of the greatest air lists of all time repositioning right there smart trying to break away 240 Chris but don’t see many waves on the horizon right here for Jackie boy Yo’s out the back with priority and a lethal backand o forces him to go here pulls out his sword slash to start quick snap there here we go coiling his Springs finds the ramp flipping into Oblivion but I like the idea there I really like that idea that was like an that was an appetizer don’t think it was necessary though I don’t think it was necessary you yeah but we we liked it yeah I love it somebody lands a r but but is that a priority mistake I think is what you’re alluding to I I’d have to consider it that way yes cuz a 6.6 say Jack basically means to do the same exact thing thing he did on his last wave and that was a set wave you know like if he’s forced to go on a smaller one especially with the amount of speed that strer mentioned that he needs to carry on this next one to be able to get that mid six feel like he he left the door open for Jack to respond right here and 90 seconds is good amount of time well this is where Jack Taps into that flow state that he’s been able to access via some Cosmic portal he is a clutch performer he’s got a minute 26 to go doesn’t need a huge score and there are lumps out the back here we go Hoka will it provide a minute 15 Jack sees it this is the wave look the he the other Heat’s already in the lineup and does he go no he had a look at it not quite a paddle Yago is going to take the scraps sometimes scraps can become a complete meal here we go yep that’s that’s that’s uh what you didn’t want to see if you were Jack Robinson out the back yo flying again rock and roll floater on the inside for yodora he likes it but Jack Robinson is up and in and out and disappeared into the ocean might be one more wave available Chris but I don’t know if it has a size for him no wow so look at how much better yo surfs under priority yeah like he likes being freed up and not have to deal with priority and think about it the whole time well Yago is usually such a friendly fellow but he’s being a menace this morning Yago Dora will take out Jack Robinson that means Yago door has just jumped up into the top 10 luckily for Jack Robinson he’s still firmly locked into the second place position on the live rankings and those rankings are absolutely alive it’s a living organism that switching throughout the day we’re going to see some big things happening in that final five picture but for now let’s cele at Yago Dora what a show this young Brazilian has put on his backand has been stellar and more to come don’t go anywhere guest who’s back John John Florence will be going up against Crosby colapinto we’ll be right [Music] back for for let’s go oh [Applause] quarterfinal number three in the water at the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona the playing field punta Roa and we have a special guest for you here on the set Kyper girl along with Felicity paler and a Pioneer in California professional surfing big wave afinado former tour commissioner and surf coach Mike Parsons thank you for joining us mik Mike I want to list all of your accolades I think I missed some but um thanks for having you thanks KY both stoked to be here what a Magic uh finals day here we got pumping Surf and what a heat in the water right now these two probably the You could argue the two most most informed Surfers up to this point in the contest um good contrast um in approaches here I think John probably he’s on a shorter board a 60 Crosby’s on a 62 pintail John’s on a squash um John’s uh he the other day was just unbelievable the way he was able to sit there for 20 minutes and open up with an 8.8 so he’s in blistering form um Crosby on the other hand looks like he’s been kind of the freester for the event as we see John’s first wave yeah talk about a great opener check this out the replay John John Florence flick yeah big first air there from John straight up into the lip snaps it around to Great opening Big Air there little another Jam in the pocket another little jab so this is already looking like a great wave and a great start for John brings it through to the inside here just some nice rail work and is he going to finish he’s not but beautiful air well the judges thought it was excellent as he shakes hand with Jack Robin said John John Florence opens up this was an eight-point ride that we’re seeing well just the level of commitment on that first turn I think that was really a lot of pop out of that air and I like the way John’s able to stay really tight to the pocket here these are really Snappy terms really vertical approach and we’ve seen that throughout the event judges really loving that a lot of variety in this ride and the commitment on the first turn I think was the was why it went excellent yeah so great start for John John Florence we can take a look and break it down again fck in slow motion this time yeah I feel like I’ve just got to re reiterate what you said Mike I I feel like the judges are obviously so much commitment on that first maneuver I mean it doesn’t get any more critical but then I it has to be the critical the tightness in the pocket right that they’re loving that I mean you you’ve seen some big waves I mean crowds loving it athletes loving it Betty Lou but yeah it has to be that right because there was some tight pocket work done little bit of variety there but you know I go back to even that last teat with Jack he had some open face carves bigger wave you know but just not getting rewarded the same yeah there was the EO ride uh what we look at in history yesterday was uh the day that Michel Angelo installed the statue of David in Florence Italy and we’re talking about John John Florence here and he’s the Goliath in this David and Goliath matchup Crosby colapinto certainly David in this matchup as a rookie let’s see if he has some stones to throw back at the giant John John Florence because the giant John John started out on the right foot but yeah it’s a good contrast in Styles as I was mentioning I think Crosby’s that type of surfer who really likes to wait for good waves um he’s really matured in his approach his equipment looks incredible throughout this event so far so that’s a pretty big number that John just dropped on him so he’d be feeling that little bit of pressure but he’s ready for this moment for sure I think I think Crosby’s going to fight back really strong in this heat yeah I like to talk about the San Clemy lineage a little bit with you Snips you know I feel that you coached CL Andino you influenced Koh Andino cloh in turn handed down the line and influenced someone like Crosby colapinto that you’ve seen what have you seen developmentally from Crosby K pinth because I think I’m sure that you’ve seen him surfing since he pretty much started surfing yeah it’s crazy Crosby was what we sort of called a late bloomer um in his teenage run through the NSSA ranks and that stuff he was a little bit behind some of the other kids’s age and then in the last few years he kind of identified that heirs were maybe one area he do an improve on and I know he worked really hard with his brother Griffin obviously now he’s one of the best air above thee Li servers in the world um he’s unbelievably good in Big Surf like pipeline those types of waves so he’s the full package and um he’s one of those Surfers that analyzes everything you’re right the influence of kooy Griffin and now you’ve got Cole Crosby Kade jet Shilling San CL just this town of super Talent they’re all thriving and off each other and they’re all just pushing each other these new levels yeah it’s it’s baffling to me Mike that that a small Southern California surf town has produced so many pro Surfers um we’re going to get back to more talk about with Mike Parsons but first we got to hear from yod Dora into the semi-finals he’s with AJ yeah Kaio Yago turning heads from the very first wave in that last Heat even Gabe turning around giving you a little bit of a nod okay that’s what you’re going to start with how did you make the decision to come out firing here in this heat yeah it’s always good to get a good start yeah thank you brother it’s always good to get a good start uh especially against a guy like Jack he he has all the weapons too he can go to the air he can get Barrel he does big turns and to put some pressure on him on the start was really important then he he knew he needed to wait for a good wave and that that got him like sitting for a long time and that’s that’s work that worked out kind of good for me and I it took me a while to back back up that 767 I was really hot out there I was falling on every wave and then on the last way I was like yeah get it together do something like make it difficult for him and and I was able to do that on my last wave so yeah another heat and you’ve made it difficult for him now it’s another difficult task for you in your first semi-final since Rio last year going up against Gabe Medina how do you prepare for it yeah yeah I think Gabriel is my favorite surf on tour so it’s always good to have a matchup against him I I love surfing against him I think he’s the guy that that pushes the the most out of everyone and he’s he’s he’s one of my favorite Surfers so we’ll be good good congratulations before we let you go see you in the next round let’s take a look at our live rankings after that quarterfinal number two yodora he’s up eight spots with a semi-final placement tied actually pointwise with Crosby Kinto both in the top 10 and look at Gabe Medina the back half of the race Gabe Medina the race for that final five and he is gaining on the rest of the pack number six up six spots right below that final five line and note that Jack Robinson Griffin cindo Ethan Ying all out of competition big big potential for Gabe Medina flick to get into that final five conversation as we head to Rio after this event uh there’s so much room for movement and and so much potential right I mean Gabe is right there he’s number six um I mean even fiago and Crosby I mean I’m well I mean we’re watching cros right now we’ll see what happens in this heat but a win here for one of those guys I mean they’re jumping up into that final five conversation speaking of wins if John John Florence who is ahead in this heat I don’t want to get too ahead of it but I want to give scenarios if John John Florence wins this event he clinches a spot in the final five so one spot could be taken Snips if JN John goes all the way to the W well you got to figure either way Jon’s he’s going to make that top five he’s just in that form this year there’s there’s no way he’s not going to be collecting a jersey down at lowers this year it’s going to be really exciting and and uh I’m confident he’ll get there but yeah that’d be really special for him to clinch at this event he’s in that form right now where he’s the guy to beat in this event right now I think um you could argue Yago is has been putting up the best airs but JN For Me overall the whole package when you put the rail turns with the airs I think he’s the guy to beat yeah let’s take a look at our bracket here and the road to a win for John John Florence well first he’s got to get by Crosby Cola Pinto then in the semi-finals he’ll be matched up against the South African which one we don’t know yet Matthew mcil or Jordy Smith and then the final he’s going to have to win and he’s going to surf a final up against a goofy foot no matter what happens so there will be a contrast in that approach in the final if John John’s able to get to that final position flick uh you know also trying not to forecast here but there’s the potential that we could have another rematch from Tahiti John V Gabe John’s going now let’s see what he’s got back up up for the eight-point ride right here John John smooth rail turn Pac approach nice snap there just swinging the pisel through its Paces he’s going to keep it on the rail for this one maybe looking down the line to pop a nice tidy air reverse to put a bow on it he will back up the eight-point ride and really Snips now apply a lot of pressure to the rookie Crosby kapino yeah and that was an interesting decision for Crosby he’s got priority John John already has an aid on the board so Crosby realizing like hey I need a big set wave here John capitalizing on opportunity under priority going hey I can put a good backup on the score here super smart surfing from John John to take that wave surfed it beautifully I think it’s a solid backup and I also don’t fault Crosby for not going because he’s up against that eight-point ride at the start so he’s really looking for a big wave but John here just Ultra smooth taking his time here nice cuppy wave really nice Jam right there in the pocket gets that nose back really critical turn another nice snap in the pocket and then down here he eyes up the air section just nice little air reverse to finish no hesitation in that maneuver perfect execution yeah great Surfing by John John and smart Heat play uh as a surf coach Mike how much of a pregame do you have be right before a heat with a surfer well quite a bit I mean you really just study the lineup and the main thing is identifying the best waves I think going into this heat I expected Crosby to have the approach of I’ve got to be on better waves than JN and I expected Jon to be on the attack because his heat the other day was really sleepy slow his backup score was at four so I’m sure Ross Williams was telling him like hey let’s get going a little quicker in this heat today um this wave is notoriously uh inconsistent right now you got a dropping tide so you got to be Leary that there might only be one good set so if you get a quality score you need to back it up quick so I think John is playing a perfect heat and I don’t fault Crosby’s uh strategy at all either trying to really identify big set waves and and that’s been what’s been working for him so far in this event do you talk about multiple scenarios like hey if you’re comboed or hey you know for example right now crb’s comboed right so do you talk multiple scenarios to the Surfer before the heat uh yeah definitely I mean and you also talk a little bit about their opponent what they might do so a lot of that is like are they going to be stingy with the inside of the start of the event is there enough waves in a set that you can just give them the inside or is there only one wave where you have to really battle for that and then lots of scenarios on how that might play out but ultimately what you want to do when you enter a heat is start by winning the first exchange as it competitor that’s the real real important focus at the start of the heat well John John with that second wave we saw was a backup for that eight-point ride a 7o 17 so nearly already an excellent heat total for John John Florence and and we talked about the David and Goliath match here flick and uh again looks like John John is just the Giant in the room w i mean got to say I Snips you already said it but he’s in great form right and for me I mean you can kind of see see him coming from a mile away from the beginning of the draw he’s just clicked back into that gear that is absolutely deadly I mean he’s looking shooted on his Bo the turns that we saw yesterday from here was it yesterday no the sorry the day previous day was I mean unbelievable the power that he was going into it was unmatched in my in my opinion it was just excellent surfing and yeah I mean for me right now I mean what a great way to start the heat yeah well we got Mitchell Salazar in the Red Bull athlete Zone and I think he has a question for you Mike yeah just talking about you know this generation guys obviously we have Crosby Co up into in the water even John going to be consider out of this newer generation of surfers from that region over there but Mike good morning great to see you in person I know your kids here in the Red Bull athlete zone is packed here guys a lot of really positive energy but the difference between your generation Mike and the one we’re seeing out there out of the San Clemente boys right now including Crosby what’s the major point of difference from yourself well probably one of the biggest changes for sure as we coached each other we would travel together there was no coaches so now you’ve got all the top servers with personal coaches and they and like with the S Clin crew they all push each other they hang out together a lot of them share the same coaches so really the professionalism in the sport is really lifted I mean coaching’s one aspect of it the trainers all those things are very different than than our era you can see uh Jake Patterson on the screen that I used to Surf against him Tommy witz is coaching here those those are the guys um that we do kind of just help each other and I think that’s the biggest difference is the the elevation and and the behind the scenes stuff that’s going on to prepare these athletes has really changed and obviously the equipment to Mike has really changed a lot too riding from Mayhem Crosby col Pinto Kate Matson who got knocked off tour but Cole hman the big Victor over there what’s the biggest change in the equipment that you’ve seen too well our generation we were going a couple inches bigger for sure we were riding flatter boards with less uh flatter nose rocker they the boards have really changed we went through that year where they got too narrow now they’ve come back but the equipment is so much better than what we were riding but in general the boards are a little bit shorter I think Kelly really changed how we how we do that and then you see like John John in this heat writing a 60 we were we would be competing on a 63 in these conditions if uh back in the day let’s see if Crosby’s interested nor John John one more wave in the set Crosby colapinto with 18 minutes on the clock and priority decision time for the young Surfer from San Clemente we’ll see if he goes he’s going to have a dig activating here Crosby Cola Pinto winds up off the bottom slashes off the top looking quick on the Mayhem check turn there projecting down the line telegraphing something big gets a snap inside section stands up lip Glide float and goes down and tumbles on his board you can see the gallery there and their reaction to the incomplete wave and also the wipe out wow so not the start that the rookie wanted um like how do you get back into the mind frame I mean is he feeling the pressure I think he’s so far been pretty solid in his approach he he has been averaging over John’s total his last Heat he had he had two eight so I think this was a good wave choice for Crosby unfortunately I think he slipped on the uh last maneuver just finding his feet here board looks really good he looks relaxed um nothing quality yet he sets up this turn beautifully waits for it to steepen up and gets right in the pocket here beautiful snap and then jumps up on the lip there and I think his front foot just slipped you know the wax here is such an issue you’ve got to wax your boards in the air conditioned room and then come out for your heat because that that wax just as you’re out there it’s so hot out there that it melts and pushes away yeah we we spoke about that earlier in in the show um in some previous days is that it’s the tip for everyone waxing you want your board to be cooler than the wax cuz if the board’s hotter than the wax there’s just no application uh Mike a little I also I introduce you from San CL I know you live in San Clen now but I always think of of you as the lagona kid you know what I mean yeah I grew up in South lagona in Three Arch Bay yeah um was sparring partners with Jeff Booth from Laguna who had a long career on the tour a couple really good Surfers from lagona but I quickly moved to s glin because of te Street and because of trestles um in that day it was Matt archall and Martin Potter was surfing with Tom Carol at T Street all the time and I wanted to be around that action and um s Clin obviously the hot bed now where all the best Surfers in a lot of the best Surfers in California live yeah and and the board have definitely evolved since those early stewards that you were riding although they had beautiful airbrushes on them at the time flying by here at Puna and you can see the tide flick has been P pulling out all morning long um low tide yesterday was at 957 so I’m think it’s about 5:30 Mark or something I don’t know the exact but it’s going to be a later low tide so we’re still going to see a receding high tide through these quarterfinals yeah we will and you know the last few every day we’ve run and it’s been on that draining out TI It makes things a bit more difficult we heard some whistling before and that is because there is sets on the way so let’s see who’s going to pull the trigger so Crosby I feel wisely noticed that he’s under priority and takes this one Kinto up and out doesn’t like the look of it bigger wave in the second wave of the set John John Florence taking a look at this one and here goes John John High Line to build some speed around this section loads up big hack catches the rail and hands it over and an opportunity now for Crosby colapinto will kipin to hold priority or take this wave and he takes a frothy one needs something impactful pops it up in the air full rotation slips off again and I almost heard on the microphone from the Red Bull athlete Zone I think I heard snake saying no no no no do you think that was a wise decision to take that wave Snips um probably not he probably would should have waited for the next round of sets I think he realizes he’s against the clock though he’s well past the halfway mark without a score so if he lands that big full row right there he’s right back in it so good effort from Crosby came really close to making that but that was the first mistake we’ve really seen from John John the whole event that was a really goodl looking wave uh he was going for The Knockout Punch right there on that on that first turn and something went wrong may just grab his rail a little bit let’s take a look here he’s got a bunch of speed and really pressing hard right here and just gets that nose caught a little bit there and then Crosby here flick uh with this big air attempt yeah I mean I I personally likeed that I mean if he sticks this he’s keeping well and truly at PACE with John right he’s kind of you know because he falls obviously you could say it’s a mistake but if he makes it it’s not so one of those sort of sliding do moments maybe in the heat because and like you mentioned Snips I mean time is ticking down right I feel like this could be a critical moment and if he didn’t go that W if he would have been out the back with priority so yeah and and when these Surfers have so much Firepower someone like Crosby can like we’ve seen with Yago turn in nearly excellent numbers for full rotations here goes Crosby again nice looking little inside wave he’s got to get a meaningful score on the board here yeah Crosby colapinto needs a 5.17 to break the combination he’s currently in the two-wave combination that he’s in so that would be his first you know first task but goes down again JN John right behind him and John John tosses away so the situation will not change out in the water I feel we’re waiting for score for John John and for Crosby see if if Crosby could mil out like I said that 5.17 he’d be out of the combo you think he did it I do not I think he’s in a tough spot here he needed to make that last air for sure he’s you can really tell he’s pushing he hasn’t really been on the waves he wanted visioned in his head paddling out for the heat so he’s had to try to manufacture scores and I think the pressure is getting to him a little bit right now um obviously the slip wasn’t his fault earlier in the heat but right now I think he’s feeling the the pressure and the presence of John yeah flick here’s John John on the replay yeah started off with a beautiful roundhouse there and lines up this inside section and got a bit of a ball he goes to the air and just falling again I kind of get it right like he’s already locked in an eight a 717 he kind of needs to push it if he wants to better that 717 this is Crosby so a couple of little wraps here this wave had a nice bow to it too so oh I mean you got to be I got to agree with you s I feel like that pressure is just getting to him and he’s just overcooking it a bit like thinking okay what I’ve got to do something crazy to keep at PACE here which is it’s almost true uh but yeah he he needs to put something substantial on the board and and that’s not it well as Crosby paddles back out I guess guess it’s a great time for a bond soy Brew break we’re going to take that Brew break we’ll be back with the conclusion of quarterfinal heat three we’ll see if Crosby can come back [Music] spe the we got a couple of world champions still in the draw John John Florence a two-time World Champ gave Medina a three-time World Champ event wins that goes Medina’s way they’re both 12 years on tour came on at a very young age and we look at look at the 10-point rides 17 for John John Florence 18 for Gabe Medina by the way Gabe Medina with that 18 10-point rides is second only to Kelly Slater in the history of men’s professional surfing going to live action here with Crosby kapino who’s up against John John Florence trying to get out a of a 15.17 2-wave combination Kyer girl along with phist paler and Mike Parsons on the call here and we’re under 9 minutes and Crosby really needs to make some quick work of it now Snips he needs to get going that was pretty nice um don’t know if it’ll break combo though the 717 is a pretty you compare it to John 717 I think it’s just under beautiful surfing the first turn was really critical and nice in the pocket here as we take another look at it this wave is really cuppy and good Crosby lays into that turn drifts a little bit there lost a little control really good second snap and then just a clean float definitely his best score but I don’t if it’s going to go into the sevens yeah so we’re anticipating a score for Crosby colapinto to start his momentum uh in this 8 Minute heat that he has now flip yeah I I don’t know if it’s going to break it maybe but I I feel he’s got obviously a lot more work to do right and I think I’ve just got to go back to what we were talking about earlier I mean the scores come through well step one he broke the combo so a 5.67 coming through for Crosby kapino he got out of that two-wave combination so he can now take the lead with a single wave score of a 9.5 take a look at Crosby kapino and that 9.5 that he needs stepping in the right direction Snips he is and Crosby’s capable of a 95 he’s that talented for sure he’ll be looking for a real solid wave right now and he’ll go all out if it gets huge air sections he’s the type of server that can do it um so he’d be stoked to hear that he’s out of combo and that’s I mean when you’re against JN John that might be the situation you don’t you prep for like hey he practices for this you know we saw his brother do it yesterday he got the 9.4 close to a 95 when he got the interference he surfed out of his skin Crosby definitely capable of that but he needs the right type of wave yeah and when we talk about s Clemen and that whole crew there and and prep for this and practice how many kind of practice Heats do this this this whole generation do on a you know pretty much on a weekly basis in San CL they do a lot these guys love to compete they do stuff with Brett Simpson up in Huntington they do stuff with the LTR crew in Oceanside they always are doing Heats they’re Colo is having a million contests they’re like competing they love competing they’re all into sports and uh yeah they love competing they’ll I mean they’ll they’ll go hey if I see them on the beach though can we do a couple Heats can you judge them the sand I mean they’re into competing and that’s why they’re so good yeah and I feel the camaraderie helps all of them as we look at uh Crosby’s year in a snapshot there yeah I you know what he’s had a pretty good year as a rookie even just to survive the cut first year on tour you know trying to find your feet within five events I mean it’s it’s a hard thing to do and you’ve got to commend him right I mean I go straight obviously the third glaring at me right there in Portugal you know that’s his third CT event and he’s already cracking a thir uh third place finish I mean that that’s not an easy thing to do and I feel like you know obviously a lot of that success is is his own but it must feel really good being on tour with your brother and so many other friends obviously from s CL manyi just I feel like that would add to sort of the confidence level coming in because you’re not coming in Solo you know like oh okay there’s a big big bad world out there it’s daunting like who are my friends you know it feels very at home for him I’d say yeah Snips um how you know having a a crew is really important we see that s mean your generation had that crew you know with the movement of The Californians basically taking on the world yourself Tom Curran um Chris frohoff Ted Robinson I don’t want to miss anyone Scott Farnsworth how important is that whole crew to gel together it’s super important I mean it’s it’s kind of everything right because Crosby’s able to travel with his brother who’s given him tips on where to stay uh all those types of things that you’re instantly wouldn’t have in any other situation um so yeah tra traveling with good friends being comfortable around the events is a huge Advantage as we see John John using his priority here Here Comes John winding up hatchets the lip there completely chops it throwing a ton of spray has to lip glide through that section recognizes there’s no more opportunity he dives off he will not improve upon his score line so Crosby kapino will still need a 9.5 now Crosby with priority yeah so a little bit of the door opening there for Crosby John I thought maybe was going to go to an air on that second turn but uh he thought maybe he could jump up floated and get around that section the wave looked beautiful when he took off on it as we take a look here John this wave is just CED out beautifully nice steep wall in front of him this first snap was vicious really nice turn and then right here he thought about the air I think but went no I can’t get there in time and unfortunately that wave just running off on him yeah 2.33 so it doesn’t not affect the situation flick four minutes remaining and opportunity for Cosby Corino but it feels oh let’s go to the let’s go to the water with stri wuki I think he has some information for us Strider thanks Kyo yeah just a note on what you guys are talking about in the camaraderie of s manyi and that whole vibe um there is some really healthy competition in there I ran into Cole hman uh last night or the night before and he he said that you know Crosby had just taken the lead in the Rookie of the Year race and he was just so dirty on it and but you know happily friendly but still does not want to give up that and and so fun to see that inside competition happen with those guys and I really feel like that competition will Elevate that whole party and that whole group of surfers from s Clen I’m sure that you know Snips could comment on on on that group and how much they they kind of rise to the occasion over each other to try to bring that heat they competitive and I think that kind of started with with Koo for sure and yeah they don’t want to lose to each other I think you know it was interesting when Crosby said right when he made the tour I can’t wait to have a heat with my brother we got to see that BS but it’s like he he wants to beat his brother he and and Crosby’s got that kind of skill set and then of course Cole wants to be ahead of Crosby and that Rookie of the Year battle that’s a huge award to win so ultra competitive scene going on with with that crew and crazy amount of talent yeah Crosby has jumped from number 14 to number nine on the live rankings Cole hman has actually dropped four spots down to number 14 on the live rankings so a back and forth between these two San Clemente rookies um no matter what the Rookie of the Year flick is going to um take that trophy home to San Clem yeah it’s guaranteed uh I just think you know Cole would not like that especially sitting there with a win at Bells I mean you got to be thinking once he got that he’s like oh wow okay like I’m I’m miles ahead right now but I mean you got to commend Crosby because he’s just been super consistent and uh yeah I feel like a very you both at Cole and Crosby but very uh mature approach there’s a leader there’s the leader of the pack of the San CL hounds right there Griffin colapinto and I just witnessed Griffin last year going on stops on the Challenger Series really to help guys like his younger brother Crosby as well as Cole hman as well as Kade Matson Griffin committed and really I mean I love that Snips he’s given back to his surf community and going above and beyond by by going to stops and coaching these guys onto the championship tour oh it’s amazing he’s such a in incredible individual and uh so awesome to all these other kids he’s just been such a great role model and I will say Griffin to me looks like it was a bummer what happened yesterday of course but looks like he’s in for sure the best form of his life if he can just get to lowers this year again I think he will have learned a lot from last year there and boy is he a threat to win that world title he just got to get to get get in that final five he’s looking good still even with the slip up yesterday but wow he his serving so exciting right now yeah the battle back was incredible 9.43 just like it got him angry and we saw what he can do when he get fire in his eyes Griffin colapinto so I completely agree with you we’re down to 45 seconds and we’re going to see John John Florence uh however defeat Griffin’s younger brother Crosby Crosby will take an equal fifth out of El Salvador and John John will move on into the semi-finals we’re down to 30 seconds yeah just a really good heat from start to finish for John that start really set him up nicely the eight-point wave that’s as a competitor that’s always what you want is get that early lead and it really just frees you up to move around the lineup and select W as a second priority and John John just s to Picture Perfect heat there yeah thanks sniffs for joining us so much I enjoy catching up with the old friend and all of your Insight uh love to have you again thanks guys thanks for having it super fun flick you’re going to stay in here cuz we got another we got we got another heat to call who’s going to come up against John John in semi-final number two we’re going to find out when we return couple of South Africans in the water Matthew mcgil re up against Jordy Smith [Music] the spee spee spee the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona is brought to you by El Salvador land of hosts by Yeti built for the Wild and by bons soy the official milk of the WSL quartery number four in the water two Surfers representing South Africa this is Maddie mcgil in the red jersey he’s going to get the first wave of this quarterfinal the J Bay Surfer likes long walls great projection down this long wall big snap there for Maddie and he will put up the first number in his challenge up against Jordy Smith the veteran of the championship tour Jordy Smith who is above that cutline when we talk about the final five there’s Matty mcgil 27 years old jbay South Africa up against Jordy Smith 36 years old and currently number five on the live rankings that he wants to hang on to that final five spot Jordy Smith would definitely gain some ground if he’s able to move into the semi-finals KY grow along with flick paler on the call here and the start for Manny mcil 6.33 yeah it’s a great start you know that this you got to be thinking okay we’re potentially finals day right and you want to be peaking now you want to be in good form and I feel like this is a good backup right he’s going to obviously need another number but it’s just so good to get a nice score like this so early in the heat because it’s inconsistent today right so if I’m mdy right now if there’s another opportunity coming through and I’m sitting under priority I’d be trying to back that up pretty quickly just to apply that more pressure on Jordy but yeah great way to start yeah nice start and uh applying pressure to a to a veteran like Jordi Smith that’s going to be hard 17 years on the championship tour for Jordy he knows how he handles his situations but um with the inconsistency advantage to Matthew mcgil ADV speaking of Advantage I think this guy’s got advantage in this entire contest just from the surfing that we’ve seen him put down so far John John Florence into the semi-finals AJ yeah Kaio John John into the semis and looking as smooth as you have this entire competition such a Redemption for you here in El Salvador and to start off today with an eight how did that feel yeah that felt really good to get the heat started like that um I just kind of noticed it was getting slower the last couple Heats than it was earlier this morning and so I was like I’m just going to get started and start cting some medium ones and I think Crosby was kind of waiting for one of those bigger sets um and funny enough like the medium ones actually had a better line on them the sets were kind of racing and hard to handle um yeah it was like hard to time it right so yeah I don’t know I was really stoked to get those first two as you should be made it to your third straight semis here in 2024 what are you going to carry from the quarters into the semis in terms of lessons uh prob it’s pretty similar keep an eye on the waves see what it does if it starts pulsing more maybe try to be on more of the sets but um I don’t know for me those those medium ones were definitely like uh good way of so it’s good to know that good to know see you then yeah see you guys yeah Jord Smith uh comes out with his first wave during that interview so we’ll be waiting for the score for Michael Jordan Smith number 23 on the Jersey and we’ll see if he was able to match that 6.33 that Matthew mcgil started with Matty looks for here for his second ride lines up projecting down the line just a clears the lip there with a float and disinterested he kicks out kind of almost looked like to me he was almost about to go for an air on that section and then he was like H and then you know a little bit late maybe he decided to float okay I’m out of there just didn’t pan out the way he wanted it to uh but I like that intention it’s kind of like what we’re speaking about it’s inconsistent let’s try and back up this 633 pretty quickly yeah see him paddling back out and the inconsistency with the drawing tide as it will be receding throughout the morning it’s 827 local time here in El Salvador at 10:44 this morning we will have our low tide it’s a half a foot low tide so um we got two more hours actually of the tide drawing out let’s take a look here of Jordi Smith’s first wave yeah so Jordi just super paced approach there at the start beautiful wrapping cve and like John said I mean this wave has a beautiful cup to it sort of that medium sized wave today definitely The Pick of the bunch and brings it through to the inside here gets the finish so I feel like he’s on Pace with MD uh for sure this is Matt’s second one let’s have a look Jam in the pocket little float cracks it up in the lip there and finishes so I think that that was his 633 big opener so we can compare the that wave and what we saw from Jordy Smith which we haven’t yet uh seen a score for yeah I mean it’s interesting right I I feel like they’re very similar in my eyes I feel that this and jordy’s done a good job at keeping Pace what I noticed was I think mattz was maybe a little bit more in the pocket whereas Jordi had a little bit more variety with being able to go on that open face and here scores come through Jordy comes up on top with a 6 point 83 so slight advantage to Jordy Smith mcil kicking out of his backup score that 1.57 early to establish priority and we’ll wait for the next set as we’re waiting for the next set we’ll go out through the water with Strider walosi thank you yeah I just wanted to jump into the conversation about the V the visla shaper ranking so obviously into the quarterfinals this is where you know everybody’s making their points and and they’re and they’re you know trying to get to this next level and we’re going to see you know some interesting scenario possibly in the seat I have talked to Duma who’s out here with uh Jordy Smith’s boards and Jordy right now riding a Smith shape 61 and A2 but it’s got a little crease above the fins so he said there’s a good chance that he’s going to have to paddle over and give him the board that he has under his um and he’s sitting on cading for him which is a Toro so interesting I don’t know who if you if you how much of the heat do you do you surf on one board and then you get on to another will there be a separation of points with each board and I don’t know how to answer that question exactly but I think maybe it’s whatever you finish the heat on so if Jord breaks his board out here and finishes on the Toro Toro is going to get the points but right now Matthew McGill is looking at a beautiful wall oh wow that was unfortunate for him he’s on a CI Pro to 60 let’s see what happens yeah yep Surfer start earning points in the quarterfinals towards that Visa CT shaper rankings and and as Strider mentioned the 60 CI Pro under the feet of Matthew mcgil uh his shaper Brit Merck says this CI Pro that he’s riding Matty’s riding has a little bit of a lower entry rocker the lower entry rocker I would really would suppose that that would increase the drive and that’s what you’re looking for is drive and straight line speed uh in aboard down a Point Break like this let’s take a look at the matchups now between the two South Africans they’ve only met up three times in competition two times for Jordy Smith who got the best of Matthew mcgil in 2022 at Pipeline and then last year at the Rio Vivo Pro Maddie got the best of Jordy Smith in 2023 at Sunset Beach Matthew mcgil looking to even things up but look at the maximum Heat score definitely goes Jordy Smith’s way yeah everything’s going Jordy Smith’s way except for that Max wave score right Maddy getting the jump with 827 but it’s just it’s sad when you see these two guys getting matched up because the only two South Africans on tour and they end up in this heat together you think it it’d be awesome if it was a final let’s get back to that Matt up and Runing inside wave here mcil tosses it up and as he often does tail high air reverse and puts it down so just sneakily getting a backup to that 6.33 he’s going to ditch the 1.57 he has in his score line and take a stronger lead over Jordy Smith we’re waiting for that score yeah he’s going to he’s definitely dropping the 57 I don’t think this is necessarily going to go too high though it’s obviously just that single maneuver and uh just had to look through the judging criteria that you know let’s have a look here so Maddie this smaller wave you can really tell that he’s forecasting down the line here looks for this maneuver I mean it was done with a lot of speed but yeah can’t too high it’s just that one maneuver grabs that rail super in inverted get that gets that tail really high just so whippy once he hits the water again it comes out of that with so much speed but yeah I mean it it definitely just can’t to go too high it’s just the one maneuver but uh yeah good way to back up 633 so 4.67 so the need now for Jordy Smith is a 4.17 Smith with priority and a ton of time on the clock 23 minutes and 45 seconds yeah you know it’s uh I was just going to say looks like we might have a couple of sets actually maybe on the horizon lines coming through here Jord spies this does not flinch on this first wave as of yet and he’s just going to sit stoically and hold his position second wave in the set is a bigger wave Matthew mcgil getting the inside on Jordy Smith Jordy will he go on the this one looks like a good wave and Smith decides hey I’m going to hold court and Manny mcgil says I’m happy to take this Insider little trip up there on the bottom turn which led to a catch rail on the top turn and that wave was actually very very tapered off so it didn’t really have that much potential so that’s not going to hurt anyone no I I not at all I he’s just trying to apply that more pressure right he’s trying to drop that 467 I mean already judging by you know the judges are really liking Jordi surfing all right you’ve got to look 683 I mean that’s a great score already they’re obviously really appreciating that variety that Jordy had on his opening wave and I mean Matt knows he’s not safe yeah Jordy Smith the oldest on the championship tour at 36 years old look at his career highlights 17 years on the championship tour six event wins 15 finals appearance is excellent wave scores nearly 3point rides he’s got six of them but of those 6 10-point rides Jordy Smith actually got two of those six in one heat he’s on that really really Elite list of Surfers that have surfed a perfect heat Jordy Smith yeah I I think what was impressive about that and we spoke about it in his last te that happened at JB and that was on turns I mean which is super impressive and these days you seeing those T get thrown around obviously barrels but for Big Air Maneuvers or combination right and to do it on you know the strength of just rail work alone is very impressive yeah Jordy Smith um pretty incredible you know with with his stats and just the how long he’s been able to hang on to remember he came on as a rookie um in 2000 oh well he was Rookie of the Year in 2010 he was um runner up in the world in 2010 he was runner up in the world in 2016 as well and Jordy along with Matthew will be representing South Africa in the Paris 2024 Olympics there’s number 23 Michael Jordan Smith yeah and you know what he absolutely charges I mean they both these guys do really I mean Matt’s also had a perfect 10 or 10 he had it uh in Tahiti as well but both these guys but Jordy I mean he just always impresses me in waves of consequence right he’s had some amazing moments at pipeline at back door but yeah these two are going to be fun to watch in the Olympics so Jordy being Ultra selective he’s only ridden one wave in contrast to Matthew mcgil who’s been on five waves in this heat and still trailing uh is Jordy Smith but just needing a mid-range score under a mid-range score of a 4.1 seven so I think the strategy and I want to get your thoughts actually flick on this is just you know holding it down hold down priority knows he doesn’t need a big requirement to turn the heat yeah of course right I and I think Snips already kind of mentioned it but I feel like everyone’s so good right and this is finals day but to to win these Heats today you need to be identifying what the best waves are right and I think we just heard some truth as we see Katie get the Jersey on she’s warming up coming up in that semi-final heat one yep Caitlyn Katie simmers up against Gabriella Bryant when we shift gears into the women’s semifinal number one Katie simmers has been an absolute phenomena she will be wearing yellow into the Vivo Rio Pro stop number eight on the championship tour and that kicks off gosh pretty soon I believe the 22nd of of June so from El Salvador to Sakara is going to be the story there and she won there last year so she she’ll be defending champ yeah she’s gone back as defending champ good positive memories and she’ll be wearing yellow so and she’s already had two wins this year I mean wow as so young you know it’s just absolutely incredible second year on tour big big big future ahead for sure but uh yeah right right now in this heat I I I honestly think back to the point that I was talking about before you just need to be on those best waves and identifying what they are and John was speaking to that in that post interview a little bit you know it’s those mediumsized ones with that really beautiful cup sort of those big set waves today they’re pushing a bit wide and they’re just running off a bit fast so I feel that this heat kind of hasn’t had one of those yet and and I feel like these guys obviously know that J’s just going to wait now right he’s going to wait for that moment wait for this set to come through and he’ll pull the trigger yeah uh for more Intel from the field we’re going to go to AJ McCord AJ what do you have for us kypo I was catching up with Brit Merck who of course is Channel Island shaper the board under Matt mcgilvery’s feet and I asked him what was the piece of advice that you gave Mattie before he paddled out for this Heat against Jordy and he said he reminded him hey jordy’s swoops right now are really hard to beat so the point of difference for you is going to be how critical can you be and how well can you take to the air he also reminded him that Jordy has the pressure on him in this heat he’s sitting in that top five picture that’s where jordy’s focus is and so for Maddie it’s about putting the pressure on Jordy early on in this heat and we saw him do that pretty early with that 6.33 yeah there we go with Brit Merrick you can see him there second generation surfboard builder of course is that owl legendary in surfboard design um both from fit templates foils surfboard templates I mean the high bump squash invented by Al marrick his dad at Channel Islands of course uh we saw multiple World titles won on Channel Island surfboards where we look at oh Lisa Anderson and we look at Tom Curran we look at Kelly Slater I mean it’s pretty endless and and it’s good to see Channel Islands still up there still relevant we talk a look at our Vista CT shaper rankings and Channel Islands is currently in the number three position on that Vista CT shaper rankings we’ll update you at the end of this event on any changes there Maddie up and out let’s take a look at those uh Vista CT shaper rankings coming into this event it’s been all lost sharpy in second place but Channel Islands hey a win by Matthew mcgil will definitely uh Vault them up in that point total oh completely and you know what I mean you got to look at lost still gaining more points Yago through to the semifinal taking on uh Gabe but I just yeah Matt Bol is absolutely running away with it at the moment and uh well and truly got that yellow Jersey on for [Music] sure pel also with some potential um Betty Lu Sakura Johnson’s been riding of pisel of course we know pel’s number one team Rider John John Florence is into the semi-final so we’ll keep you updated on those shaper rankings um at the conclusion of this event it’s just another great facet that we’ve Incorporated on the championship tour still ocean here but the good thing that I’m seeing right now flick other than like Al low is that the ocean surface is still relatively smooth yeah to me it even looks like there’s a ever so slightly Tad little bit of offshore ever so slightly very smooth but I think that that was forecasted you know I was checking surf line yesterday afternoon I mean we were all checking it yesterday throughout the day multiple times but it was saying that that it was going to be you know a little bit offshore and and and it is way more groomed you know it kind of likes that he I feel like today I mean we’re looking at a different ptoa for sure I mean we already spoke about it earlier but though it’s definitely Focus way more up the point we’re not seeing you know I I don’t think there’s going to be so much more opportunity down the line like what we’ve seen you know in the beginning of the event so if it’s getting finding that opportunity on the paddle back out I mean that was my first takeaway this morning it’s definitely focused up there there a little bit more tapered walls today so I mean we’re looking at a great ocean right now and uh I think it was a good call you know yesterday I mean we did do a lot of waiting around but good coold to call it off and uh back here today was some beautiful conditions yeah well the strong onore winds yesterday made it pretty impossible for us to to run heat so we were hoping that that would change throughout the day but it kept on blowing things calmed down overnight and that we got these glassy and like you said maybe even a light offshore conditions this morning uh we’re looking for this to be finals day in Crown men’s and women’s Champs that is contingent however on those wins we know how the weather can change here very quickly in El Salvador and so we’re just going to be on a heads up the good news is that we’re only day four into the event window so we haven’t had an off day as of yet of competition so that means you know when we look at the entirety of the event window we got a lot of stuff if we can’t get it done today we have a lot of calendar to still play with oh yeah and even you know I had to look again tomorrow morning still saying glassy and you know similar sort of size maybe a little bit smaller but there’s so much opportunity and right now it looks like we might have our first set coming through in this H Jordi Smith with priority he looks interested in this one Jord is going to engage drops down stalls a bottom turn double pump off the bottom slashes off the top talked about that swoop here comes a swoop from Jordy Smith just a trademark turn that he’s able to apply so much pressure all the way through the turn on the Smith shape and a little Bobble there but he gets his footing back makes up with it with a short turn catches the nose there we talked about well Strider talked about maybe the crease in the board and so I don’t know if that crease was affecting The Rocker there it did see like the board skipped out a bit here we go with Matthew mcgil roundhouse cut back back a series of them snaps up into the lip mcil racing the section floater clears into Open Water one more gouge on the Channel Island surfboard here we go with Maddie looking for a nice finish lip slide finish for Matthew mcgilla this is going to tighten this heat up wow Advantage Maddie I mean he surfed so well there and he had to pull the trigger right that was the this is the that’s the first set we proper set we’ve seen come through in this hit Jord went the first one and to me I mean first takeaways that first wave of that set it was just a l didn’t have as much scoop to it the second one that Matty took off on just had that nice Bowl allowed him to get more critical and to you know AJ’s reporting and to Brit’s point I mean Matt’s definitely sticking to that he’s trying to get you know that point of difference be a bit more critical in the pocket but you can’t go past the beautiful rail work from Jordy hey let’s go out to stri wooki yeah just just watching the paddle by we got CAD in the water they’re having the conversations Matthew actually getting priority back into the lineup cuz he’s further out as as they ended their waves I feel like mdy got the better of that exchange I mean he’s more way more intense in the lip and and way more radical on the on the critical part of the wave Jord wave had a great Pace to it but it had kind of a a softer shoulder it didn’t have that lip line that you know MD mcgil was able to go straight up into and throw that board he he climbed the sections he was looking intense and I think he he’s he listened to Brit mer price obviously because he’s really going after those technical power sections he knows he can’t win on the rail so he’s going to go to the lip and that’s exactly what he did Jordy patlin out now he’s starting he looks like he’s on a good Pace but he’s also knows he’s got to get back out there and do some work yeah we saw Jordy paddling by there he also paddled by Duma his manager as well as the inwater caddy and he declined on Switching boards here we go go Jordy Smith we’re waiting for the score yeah so this one beautiful rail work right this is you know this is trademark Jordy this is what we come to see this is the surfing I love from him this move maneuver here I don’t know for me it’s probably like one of my favorite Maneuvers to watch the Figure 8 The Roundhouse carve but that moment he just gets himself off balance and you know what happened he was standing on his leash yeah he had he tried to after that I mean it’s almost like he shouldn’t have tried to do that it was all working right but I mean there’s nothing worse than taking off and that leash being on your yeah and that int tail came from Strider whilei out in the water Jordy actually said that to Strider when he was paddling by so straight from you know jordy’s mouth to Strider yeah what was bothering him on this wave and we can see is that he’s standing on his Lee and you know every Surfer knows that feeling and if you have a good wave you’re going to power through regardless um but he did have to do this one one spot where he’s like getting rid of this under my feet let’s say you can say it there it’s just like it’s just such a bad feeling man oh yeah we hide it we hide it but at some point in this replay I hope we catch it there he there he’s like get rid of that okay now I’m back okay now I’m fully on the tail pad yeah but it’s kind of like he maybe shouldn’t have done that he just overcooked it now that he finally had really good form here’s a 7.77 uh for Matthew mcgil on the replay yeah this was a beautiful cup out wave second wave of the set had a lot more steepness to it a lot more draw off the bottom of this point break gets a little bit caught behind here drives around that section again and I just love that he’s just playing to his strengths it’s so evident right and and he got the Finish which is super important he’s applied so much more pressure now on Jordy and yeah really playing to that strength that was a beautiful fin relas there well Matthew mcil does go into the lead and has PRI heat control to Matthew mcil JY Smith he needs a 7.24 to turn this heat he’s got 8 minutes to do so we’re going to step away for a sec we’ll see if Jordy can come back when we return e for quarter F number four in the water it’s Jordi Smith up against Matthew mcgil Jordy Smith needs a 7.24 here goes Smith medium siiz wave pops it in the air and just goes down and that will not help jordy’s cause he’s still going to be searching for that 7.24 and he’s under the priority of Matthew mcil who has the lead as well as priority yeah that’s a little bit painful for Jordi for sure because we just know how inconsistent it is wraps around here everything’s looking so good puts lots of mayo on that air and just comes on dark behind him Matt in and out smart decision yeah so Matt wants to continue with heat control so rather than going on the offense in that position he just uh said hey I’m going to stay in a defensive position and put myself back at King of the peak priority with Matthew mcgil and the clock at 6 minutes so this is a control time and a lot of pressure on Jordy Smith Strider yeah you know what 100% a lot of pressure on Smith’s shoulders right now Smith sitting number five so in that race he’s right in there for the finals but at number six you got Gabriel Medina and Medina has just Advanced so he is going to be claing away into that final five spot and so not only the pressure of this heat but the pressure of the final five resting on Smith’s shoulders right now there’s a lot at stake for this heat let’s see what happens yes and let’s take a look at the live rankings as Strider was saying Gabe Medina right there behind Jordan Smith look at the point differentiation not much Medina he moves on into the final he’s going to be bumping Jordy Smith out of that fifth spot and remember at the end of Fiji stop number nine on the championship tour we take our final five men to head to trestles for the WL finals September 6th through the 14th is the window for that one day super event to Crown men’s and women’s world champs yeah you know what I mean right now gab’s rubbing his hands together he’s sitting in that sixth place and I mean it’s not looking too good for Jord I mean it’s definitely doable but he can do it in this one wave 724 but I mean you know what for Matt this is great too this is an epic result so far for him if he does advance out of this he’d be equaling his best result so far this year that which is that third that he got down at Bells so Matt’s not going to want to lose this here he goes he uses priority on this one quick slash off the top long bottom turn fin release on that second one getting Rhythm down the line and just smooth no bobles at all lip gline float clears that straight back up into a second float and mistake free surfing from Matthew Mcgill and the Red Bull athlete Zone and the rest of surfers completely enjoy that wave wow that was so well done it was so smooth to your point KES no bobles no little you know tweaks or checks between turns that was just such a beautiful surfing great flow really pleasing to the eye so will he better that 6.33 what do you think Fleck yeah I think so I think this was awesome let’s have a look feel like he’s playing to his strengths once again he goes here beautiful rap sort of carb setup turn straight up into the lip there I just love that he’s fading his bottom turn so that he can get so critical in the pocket and I mean this was a really fast little section here and to do it so smoothly and finish how he did I I think it is going to that 633 let’s have a look from this angle that first turn was you know the first little car was really a setup so he could get so critical in the pocket he’s just he looks connected he looks like he’s locked in it and sort of cracked the code here at pter rocka that maneuver there I mean threw a lot of spray I mean I said it was a setup turn but it was it was really a turn but wow I mean even just that lip line and then to transition straight out of that into this next section which he hits so so late he has such a good ability to do that I mean even with the airs that we’ve seen him go to in this event as well it’s kind of his trademark and he’s very good at doing that just like identifying that really late section and and it seems to me that he he enjoys it it’s like he’s seeking that you know that late section and yeah that’s something I’ve really noticed during this event it’s just he feels comfortable doing that yeah and really the core strength to to meet the lip both with the airs as well as those floats coming to a late section stay stable through that entire maneuver um impressive we’re still waiting for the number we’re suspecting that it will increase his heat total and put a larger requirement to Jordy Smith and Jord is battling the clock as well because really it’s not against Maddie at this point it’s all Jordy and what he can do but his biggest Nemesis with priority is that clock and just 154 left yeah that and he knows right that there’s only been one maybe two good sets coming through in each heat they’ve had one but I feel like he’s going to it’s going to be hard work right now cuz he’s chasing a 724 it’s going to be his best wave and you know you got to be thinking that he wants to do it on set he’s going to be chasing more than 7.24 as the number drop for Maddie a 7.4 one judge goes as high as a 7.8 on that now the requirement for Jordy Smith is excellent he needs an excellent wave of 8.3 and that’s hard to do on a on a really small wave right and he’s going to need a really good quality wave and is that going to come through in the next minute I’m not sure maybe look like there was maybe one line on the horizon there but when this is hard work and you know what hats off to Matt I mean improving on his score line continually and I mean that’s it’s the best wave of the heat that he’s got to score so 8.3 big number yeah I mean jordy’s been selective he’s just ridden three waves Matthew’s just been tenacious in this heat wave after wave after wave looking to build his score Line Road nine waves Matthew mcgil and that strategy of just staying busy out there seems to be paying off for mcil we’re down to 25 seconds and a pretty quiet ocean for Jordy Smith not a lot of opportunity not I think it’s all she wrote for sure and you know what I’ve said it’s been inconsistent but I mean Matt’s definitely found waves out there I mean nine of them and obviously that this approach is definitely the one to go for I feel like it’s just he started off with that 633 great score and then since then he’s just been sharking around around trying to back it up and priority was also on his side when a couple of those sets came through well there you go equal fifth for Jordy Smith and a place in semi-final number two for Matthew mcgil mcgil will be in that second semi-final facing off against John John Florence and speaking of semi-finals women’s semi-finals on the way after this Caitlyn simmers comes up against Gabriel Brian [Music] spech spech for the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona is brought to you by Surf City El Salvador home of the right surf by Eventbrite proud sponsor of women surfing on the WSL Championship tour and by Corona this is [Music] [Applause] [Music] living welcome back to the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona the fans are here in full effect and thankfully they’ve got some fans themselves mind the pun but it is sizzling down here at ptoa in the best way possible we’re living the dream here in Paradise Surf City El Salvador has provided so far so good the men’s quarterfinals were awesome I mean every surfman will agree there were some magical moments happening in the men’s quarters and now the semis are stacked for the men but before we get there we got some incredible Heats lined up for you the women’s semis are about to start Chris cotay Mitchell Salazar Mitch so far so good so fun no tranquilo no chill all action here we go Katie simmers versus Gabrielle o Bren give us the ti of the tape well Katie already with a couple of wins this year you got to expect her to be a contender here on finals day but Gabby Bryan in the last Heat surfed incredibly well here she goes Chris it seems like we got some action Gabby with a huge turn outside I said there’s no chill and they uh they got the memo starting it off with a bang Gabriel o’ Bryant’s power has been unmatched so far in this event what a way to start I mean you know she’s going to have her hands full Caitlyn’s simmers has been on an absolute tear title threat locked into that top five position for now at least so either 35 minute heats the very basic the very Essentials are that your top two waves will be total Whoever has the highest heat total they’re going to make it through you just have to Surf better than the other person in your in the time frame yeah in in 35 minutes sounds pretty simple but yeah you know Jake Marshall said it and he’s absolutely right you don’t necessarily have to be the best surfer in the world you just have to be the best surfer within 30 35 minutes whatever it is Katie right here on her opener frothier wave on the outside great opening snap right there good amount of release on the lip line too carves it back so strong combo would open this wave up and unfortunately for her Chris wave just Fizzles out should still be a great score though I feel especially with the work done on the outside this was amazing though look at that even grabbed the rail just slightly I mean so degree of difficulty just absurd right there by Gabby yeah and she dropped an excellent score in her previous heat got to be thinking this is going to be a large number too she’s done this several times though she loses control coming out of it maybe stands a little bit up too straight needs to be careful of of that right now we’re in the semifinals spot on the final in the line that was a heck of an opening exchange and I think this dude got sprayed multiple time Strider watch luy in the channel Strider what’s up and saying these ladies are on it that first exchange was bananas to me I mean you know I was kind of going to get into the conversation of we got Gabby with that really heavy powerful rail game and then you got Katie with that in the lip uh you know just kind of technical game as I I would say would be the contrast of the Surfers but then Gabby catches that first wave and goes straight up into the lip and shows that she’s got both sides of that so I think it um we’re going to have a battle right now with this thing we got we’re really fortunate right now you guys we’ve got a beautiful west wind blowing so it’s kind of like maybe compare it to uh being at ringcon in the Cove when those onshore flow everywhere else this this beautiful West Wind kind of grooming the surfaces here we are so fortunate right now and the waves are have got a good Spike on the energy via the Surfline forecast so we’re going to see a lot of Surfing go down with great conditions of the rest of this thing beautiful West Wind that sounds like a Jimmy Buffett song and I’m here for it conditions are stunning right now and that turn was crazy absurd Poltergeist whatever you want to call it Chris bring out your adjectives right now yeah where’s the thesaurus because we’re going to need it this is going to be a big heat right here what a great start for Gabrielle o’ban so this is where we can all play play judge you know we can we can pretend we know what we’re doing here uh those those two waves are pretty comparable I would say I feel like Gabriel o Bren maybe just had a little bit more power which will never go out of style will always get you a good number but you got to think Caitlyn simmers she’s the most Hightech high performance Surfer there is on the Women’s Championship tour agreed uh Lightning Fast her consistency rate her strike rate has been just vastly improving with every heat that she surfs but so far a real even matchup between these two Surfers baseball analogy incoming right here you’d think because of her size and stature she’d be you know a double play turning short stop or second baseman she plays like an outfielder she has a cannon too and she really packs a punch in that small frame that she has but she when she gets on the right wave definitely can be up there with the most powerful Surfer on tour it seems like Gabby going to get a big number out of this opening exchange though yeah so I I was dead wrong not even at all Gabriel o’ Bren with a huge number seven Point ride going up against Caitlyn simmers with a 433 you know I feel like Katie just had that one big opportunity on the outside she did a beautiful turn a kind of a tail sliding snap with Gabrielle O’Brien using the rails of that board to the utmost effect carving her way down the line adding speed adding some flare to the end of her turns as well majority of those points coming from the first turn though yeah that turn was Radical power hack absurd and out of you know the women’s division so far this event probably have to go out on a limb and say it’s it’s the gnarliest tour we’ve seen all of it long definitely one of them and we’re going to see more turns just like that thankfully 2658 to go ktie Sim’s having a look and she’s in couple pumps generating speed what’s she looking for what do we got here for Katie simmers she going to stick to the wrap appropriate turn for the section of that wave she’s just waiting for this thing to get a little bit more critical and when it does it goes wrong so the uh the patience didn’t pay off there for ktie simmers but I don’t think that wave was really going to turn into anything too radical anyway so with plenty of time to go Katy Simons will get back out into the lineup it’s to 25 for your Surfer in red 2620 on the clock Matthew McGill R just took down one of his alltime heroes in Jordy Smith he’s on the glass now with J mcord yeah Maddie I caught up with Brit during that heat and he said his advice to you was to find the critical sections and land the airs that was going to be the point of difference between you and Jordy you executed that from Perfection it looks like from the shore how’ you feel yeah I mean the waves were pumping um I was really lucky to be in rotation with the set waves and uh I think it’s because I started the heat on the inside I got the first wave and then somehow it put me in Rhythm um yeah yesterday the airs helped me and today only did one on a Insider but I was yeah the set waves were so perfect so such nice shape for turns and carves so yeah such a great great day to to have the competition on and you’ll have another chance later on onto the semi-finals a place that you’re finding yourself in a little bit more frequently here in the last few events what do you attribute that consistency to um just being more patient in the water and yeah I guess build up of experience and just realizing that I can win Heats if I stick to my own surfing and I don’t get lost you know just got to focus on yourself and and believe we’ll see you in the next one Maddie awesome thanks so much you know MD’s got to lean into it right this is what I I I hear my kids yelling this from the other room when they’re playing fortnite with their friends I am him I am him that’s what Maddie needs to bring that kind of energy and you could kind of see it a little spark in his eye right he’s starting to realize that he is him and he could win this contest but he’s giggling all the time he still still feels like a kid and self-belief confidence it goes a long way and there’s a reason why Jordy Smith has been on tour for 17 years now it’s because he’s always had that in him and as of right now mcgil putting on a performance for the ages 1517 against he would have to consider him the massive favorite Jordy Smith going out into that heat with these kind of conditions Matt with another semi though he’s looking good Chris yeah I mean I know it’s it’s probably starts to sound like a little bit of a superlative here but Jordy Smith is also one of the best to ever do it mhm and when you can take him out in a big quarterfinal heat like that that’s going to give you a Launchpad of momentum and confidence and look you know let’s just take a second here how beautiful is the sky right now I’m liking this a little Moment of Zen soak it in book your ticket come to Surf City El Salvador breathing it in right now oh what a what a fortune we have right doing this for a living getting to travel to all these places and so rad uh yesterday I dropped a board off for a kid that that I brought actually from JT from dark arts and um you know seeing the community so involved here not just from El Salvador but neighboring countries a lot of people from Costa Rica come to watch this event everybody from Central America I love to see the impact that it’s having not just within Surf City and El salor but within the neighboring communities too it’s really rad yeah I mean downtown Elko and Surf City was going off last night and not just the bars and restaurants but the surf shops were popping there’s a really cool local surf industry developing uh there’s shaping base there’s ding repair shops you know you can order a custom board shaped right here so uh the the idea to kind of lean into surf tourism is AB absolutely working and why wouldn’t you work with the natural resources that you have there’s an abundance of waves here and a lot of places around the world you wouldn’t I don’t think you’d really be like broadcasting it to all your friends and you know all the fans and everybody on your social media but the cool thing about Surf City El Salvador is there are waves for days all up and down this coast and I’ve been here we both have been here for those events where there’s 600 plus Surfers in town you can still find a Nook and a cranny to surf you can and always a good restaurant to go to as well food down here is just as amazing as anywhere else and of course the local Cuisine I would have to say a delicacy the papusas and the scale of papusas today maybe five out of five I almost feel like it’s better out this side that than it is a little bit too big out here yeah I got to agree with you there 2150 to go Gabriel o bryen is in the lead reading her trusty lost Surf Word shaped by Matt Bolas and I think Matt got the memo he probably saw Brit Merck all over the broadcast and he thought I’m getting I’m getting down there I’m getting involved and yes he is here on a working vacation not only scouting the team right now doing some on the-fly R&D but he’s actually shaping boards down here in El Salvador I love that it’s like an artist that does a residency around the world right you got one of the best Shapers to ever do it Matt biolis here in town believe he’s shaping over at cport factory papaya so he’s he’s involved he’s in the mix and he is leading the 2024 visista CT shaper rankings not just leading by a by a long by a long shot what am I trying to say by a lot also saw marshie here from sharpy over in the Red Bull athlete Zone mer from Chan isans pisel having a good event it’s got both Betty Lou and John John into the semis shout out to team C smaller manufacturer over there on aahu but iconic abely iconic and some of the best logos we’ve ever seen all time airbrushes too but can’t deny shaper of the year last year mat Biol and the entire crew over at lost once again they’re having a great event here and they’re really far out in front right now Chris yeah yeah and and you know to again to talk a little bit more about Surf City here it’s I don’t think you’d be able to tell the difference if uh between a Matt Biola shape that he did in San Clin than than when you did here the the craftsmanship that you have down here in El Salvador is on par with anywhere else in the world so shout out not just to the Shapers and designers the glasses the Sanders everyone people who put your fins in I mean that can make or break a board right there so ding repair thank you so much to uh all the surfboard Builders out there and to all the fans keep ordering boards yeah but don’t ask if it’s done yet please 1940 to go Strider wasauski he’s out in the channel he’s on a Sur Ford and so he probably heard that conversation we had about the Visa aboard rankings Strider what’s the word the word is there was a lot of work done but sorry I’m just trying to stay out of the sun here that there there’s a lot of work that was done before this event between Gabriella Bryant and Matt pis and the shaping and and the little fine tunes that they do so that these athletes can have the Edge over their opponent so Gabby known for her big Power hack and they you know they’ve got the the uh driver 3.0 under her feet 510 but then they went into work and said you know what Matt called her in and said hey I want you to be able to have more flare I want you to be able to go straight up into that lip and blow that tail out I want you at the end of those carbs to have a just a little bit more turn to really punctuate that and give it a little bit more radicalness and and a look to it that’s more appealing and so they took the back the back of the board they lifted the tail up with the rocker and that gave they hell it everything else is the same it holds the drive everything looks beautiful but then right at the end you have the ability to kick a little bit out of it and really break that tail free and so far it’s been working really well for her and she’s super excited to have that relationship and she talked to me about it while while sitting out here in the lineup how how cool it is to have somebody call you in the shaper called her in to do it and she didn’t have to do that work and now they’re well we’re in the semis and looking good sympatico hey Strider first of all I love your little uh Slim Shady look right there with the hat positioning out the ear covered I’m keeping the ear covered hey but in all your years of covering the sport doing the job that you do out in the lineup where would you rank this event it seems like the waves have been non-stop throughout the entirety of the period it has and Katie simmers is going to be non-stop on this one she’s going to come off the bottom get straight up into the lid big front side air can’t pull it down but that kind of Surfing uh and and these kind of waves you know this this wind right here I feel like is is what we were after this whole event this West Wind is always cleaning and and grooming this lineup and this place has so much swell and we have so much opportunity here I mean we’ve been running every day of this event window and that just goes to show you how you know the the call for this event is is is right on the money and having these kind of waves on tour gives the opportunity for the best surfing in the world you get to see these athletes licking their chops I mean all the athletes in this event have been super pumped on the opportunity to have these ways and now here we are on finals day and we’ve got you know groomed perfect lines coming in we’re really fortunate fortunate to have this event on tour and the Surfers are loving it thank you Strider got to give a lot of credit to Strider I mean yes he’s got the best job he’s sitting in the best seat in the house but he’s also go go uh find a buddy with a jacuzzi and go sit in it for 12 hours in a wet suit you’re it’s it’s going to be tough so full credit to Strider wasi it’s always great to have him out in the lineup giving us that front row Taste of the action look at that and I saw in the background one of the orange jerseys so that’s our our water Patrol team yeah got to give them a shout out too because guess what we haven’t seen them we haven’t noticed them and that’s means that they’re doing a great job if they’re behind the scenes and and you don’t see you know any of those skis flying in and out of the lineup they uh that means they’re on top of their game they’re like you know they’re like the SWAT team they’re down here just making sure everything’s cool everybody’s safe you know uh we’re within the realm in the the kind of the the fences of this lineup it takes a village Mitch it really does it takes a village does yeah Matt ROM uh Chris Grim the entire crew over there for water patrol all of our production crew um really want thank all the local people that come down and work this event to especially the volunteers as you said it takes way more than just a village but most importantly the job that it generates for the area too we’re just going in and out doing the rock dance coming in and out on the jet skis and coming in for a little break get some uh water a little bit of food and head back out and uh try not to ding myself up again couldn’t have said it better ourselves that’s not tough job though I mean I don’t want I don’t want that job no I like this we’re in air conditioning room right here with a beautiful window to the action especially your feet the walk in and out doing that multiple times a day especially after being out on the water all day all dehydrated like your feet take a beating out there yeah the men and women on the on water Patrol teams around the world are a different breed here we go 1450 in this semifinal matchup Clash of the Titans so far Gabriel o’ Bren has had the Edge by using the edges of her surfboard and throwing a lot of spray third turn and she’s been having a little trouble at the end of her waves but I don’t think it really matters because that third turn was an assault on the senses and whenever you see dog smiling and not kind of grabbing his little notebook looking down it’s a positive sign despite her not getting the last turn in shout out to Aaron Hughes right there too one of the best photographers in the world right there but Gabby Great Wave selection excellent use of priority too waited a long time after getting the seven right here and great opening car but these next two turns really impactful into the lip right there give it a growl Mitch wacka pulling a little Strider right there and then just a little bit mimed right at the end but it’s going to come down to these second turn second and third turns on these waves good a carve but look at at the high impact and the amount of spray she sends on that second one but especially the third right there Bango you couldn’t have placed those two turns any better look at right where she hit it just in the perfect pocket of the wave and this one too that was a incredible two-turn combo see how she keeps her speed down the line still though like that’s something that she has in her surfing that few people have on tour if you’re into your bottom turn and the spray is still coming down from the turn you just did you did something rad oh yeah and your timing was perfect too your timing isn’t in the judging criteria I guess it would be kind of in that flow area but it’s in the middle of speed and flow yeah it’s super important obviously so with 13 minutes to go we’re going to let the judges decide what the score was on that last wave and when we come back we’ll tell you what’s the scoop here in semi-final Heat number one Gabby Bryan versus Caitlin simmers we’ll be right back [Music] spe for [Applause] now you can go to the beach W in City that many trash because they save it it can change so many life and see that for me is so beautiful to see today at w sal1 ocean we have learned how people take Beach cleanup and Mak it into so much more obviously Plastics pollution in the world’s oceans is something that we’ve been grappling with for a lot of years so what we’ve been doing is collecting Plastics as it flows out of local Rivers before it gets to the ocean and recycle it into usable products like this bracelet what I do is I work with communities of women who live in at RIS camp areas and I design and develop product with recycling products what’s really special for me is to see how these women believes in themselves I do it through economical empowerment but what’s really important is that they believe in themselves because once you achieve that they are unstoppable show us what you’re doing by posting on social media with the hashtag we are1 ocean and tagging W cell and W cell1 ocean in your post welcome back to the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona here on the cobblestones at pooka and there’s no hiding from the Sun here that’s why I have the chaso clear sun care stick it’s 50 plus SPF it’s extremely water resistant and you can feel good about this packaging 90% plantbased plastic in the packaging thank you chaso for keeping us protected from all of these UV rays out here thank you you kypo for that public service announcement and yes if you do come to serve city of Salvador pack as much sunblock as you can carry uh the elements are what you’d expect in a paradise but uh yeah they’ll get you if you’re not care here we go this was during the break Caitlyn simmers this is an answer back to Gabriella Bryan’s opening waves and this is what we want to see from Katie yeah I was honestly surprised that the score didn’t didn’t go a little bit higher but she did get a little hung up right there but the timing on that last section was perfect and a really difficult maneuver right there right at the end too but great opening combination on the outside really love that term right there in the pocket very critical and then you can see right here she puts a lot of emphasis into these last closing Maneuvers I just feel like the flow from Caitlyn is a big difference within this heat so far A little bit more maneuverability in terms of the open face right here Chris and and when it comes to the speed management from Caitlyn simmers to me perfect on this wave right here great CMO gets a little caught coming out of that turn but look at the way it actually set her up perfectly for the last one into the lip great stuff for the surfer who is now in live rankings in the lead Chris so looking good to qualify for the finals once again the surfer from Oceanside yeah and she’s uh pretty much alone in the top of the live rankings at least for now Bria Hennessy Molly Pam Joan deay are out of this event that means there’s room up at the top Caroline marks is hanging in there at number five but here we go Katy simers I like that you could tell you know what what what her intent is and it’s about to be criminal cuz you saw the little stall right when she took off she’s she’s she’s wanting something she’s wanting a section she’s wanting to do something radical and she will she still has 7 minutes and 40 seconds to go here are your live rankings it’s all happening Katie simmers jumps up into the yellow Jersey Bria Molly Jo-Anne out Caroline Mark she’ll be moving up Gabriel bryen she will most likely crack into that top five position Betty Luc akura Johnson as well she moved from 8 to S big moves Mitchell big moves happening and Sakura still in the event he’s going to be coming up in semi2 against Caroline big heat right there especially with the small difference between points seems like Katie she’s going to be looking for an air here Chris yeah we’re trying to fill the field for the Lexus WSL finals coming up September 6 through 14th she’s just looking for that ramp she’s looking for that ramp on the inside doesn’t have to be a huge wave either but she’s got that ability Chris and I’m down for it that’s uh that’s that’s if she shows us a little something different you know the judges are going to be into it 640 now here in semi-final number one Mitch would you call this an upset if Gabriel O’Brien gets the win here not necessarily she was number five in the world coming off of uh her first Victory on the championship tour over then Margaret River another semi-final right here I would say not necessarily an upset just a huge bounce back for Gabby you know especially after losing in elimination round over there in Tahiti I feel like she still hasn’t done her best surfing and give her a lot of credit in almost 30 minutes she’s only caught two waves and she is still eaing too she has the best wave of the heat backed it up with the 65 immediately after putting a lot of pressure onto world number one right now Caitlyn simmers great heat yeah it’s been entertaining so far for sure well we do have an embedded journalist in the field AJ mcord is on the case Mitch you were talking about putting the pressure on Katie that’s exactly what dog told Gabrielle Brian to do before she hit the water he said to treat this like your finals because Katie is so good he wanted to see Gabby attack every single maneuver every single wave and just leave everything out in the ocean here in this semi-final thank you for that one ajs there you see on uh your shot in shot Richard dog Marsh that’s the crew right there and you know you would think all right so couple Australian fellas right here why are they cheering from a young lady from the Hawaiian Islands well because they’re in the same crew right they travel together they train together and they be they’ve become a really strong unit supporting each other their family basically it travels on tour together Family First like the Fast and the Furious don’t bring up Dominic tetto don’t tempt me bro 457 to go here we’re at a bit of a stalemate right now Gabriella Bryan in that big lead a seven and a 65 but Katie simmers looking for a 671 she can do that with one big air one big turn her Arsenal is unmatched Mitch you know that wave that she just kicked out on I know she was just a bit too deep but the wave ran down the line and it had some potential and the 6.8 that she has as her best score so far was one that kind of had that extended line and right now what Gabby does very well is she sits on the other side of her opponent with priority you don’t need to overdo anything right here if you’re Gabby and I love the reporting there from AJ getting the inside from because this should be the way you treat a semi-final like this against Caitlyn simmers she’s already won two events so far this year has been a bit inconsistent outside of the victories and as of right now doing what she needs to be doing Chris a seven and a 65 this is a great heat so far by the tactician Gabrielle O’Brien so 352 to go Caitlyn simmers who uh in a previous posted interview saying that uh she likes to listen to a little Billy eish before her Heats there is a specific Billy eish song I think it’s called happier than ever that starts off nice and calm a little sad and then it gets angry and wild and that’s exactly what needs to happen right now for Katlyn simmers she needs to get angry she needs to get wild she needs to lean into that Billy eish Breakup Song and go off I feel like most Billy isas songs are pretty sad and then uplifting and then angry the only one that I can think of that I’ve heard is ocean eyes that is like pretty calm the whole time and it’s like kind of inspiring everything else like it’s pretty up and down Chris I don’t know if I’d want to be listening to that before my heat get mad Katie we’re here for it so inside of 3 minutes now got waves couple I think that’s probably one of the most used words in surfing couple there’s an Instagram account called couple fun it’s one of those words that really just fit in anywhere right how is your heat couple couple out there and that can go either way yeah like couple really good say it horrible ones I got a couple that means you didn’t do well or I got a couple that means you had a great session also it depends on the way you emphasize it it’s a one-word question it’s a one- word answer all right decision time for Katie simmers well it’s not her choice to make because Gabriel bran had priority and she uses it she’s trying to close this one out and that’s how you do it with two big Power hooks wave could have a double up through the inside it’s growing down the line she’s building speed trying to clean up a finish a little messy at the end but uh she made it work this first two turns solid might be in that 6.5 range that is currently where her backup score is maybe so here we are a minute 40 seconds to go you got a minute minute 40 Katie Surfers in the water can’t hear us by the way we do have technical announcers hea and Mato are giving the Surfers all the information they need and nothing they don’t EXA they they they have to remain emotionless and no excitement they just go boom you got to make your voice clear loud give the information keeping it simple too as we look at Timo simers right there Katie’s bro you want to see how good he surfs watch the recent maps to Nowhere that kid rips yeah he does he’s got a sick style too just over a minute here Chris and seems like we do have some lines coming through and I don’t think G’s going to improve so door open here here goes Katie all right looking for a 671 this is one of the most exciting Surfers on the planet right now hoping for a clutch finish building up speed down the line looking for the section there she see it a lot of pumping a lot of speed quick snap there comes around it floats it again she needs a critical section of work with I’m with Mitch that was awesome look at Timo that’s a nervous brother right there and right behind him you saw a nervous crew so 671 let’s decode this a little bit here let’s think about this before we start freaking out everybody I already freaked out 20 minute 20 seconds left I don’t know Katie no no no I don’t know don’t doubt yourself just yet what would Billy ish do what an exciting that that really is as CL I feel like that’s as close as it gets it wasn’t a grand slam it wasn’t super obvious but was it a 671 thankfully we got the best judges in the business well this was a very difficult wave to serve I mean for her to be able to keep up the pace with it and not get ahead of herself is one thing so a couple floaters right there down the line once again this turn is the most radical we’ve seen all event long though love progression creativity degree of difficulty commitment too look at that talking about seconds on the clock and look and look who sees it she has to give it her all look at how technical it is too digs a nose right here coming out of it that’s a turn that belongs in a video part right there oh man sick wow the the the creativity the degree of difficulty the commitment to that maneuver right there think of the overall judging criteria did she do enough she had a lot of speed going into it coming out of it too I’ll tell you what that Chris B surfboard looks perfect what a heat what a heat Gabby she should regardless of the outcome she should be really stoked with the way she served she competed she surfed the perfect Heat I mean kept her off of the wave at the end didn’t improve it’s just going to be a close one right here she’s needing basically her best wave you think she’s going to come into the beach and scream get it right I hope not well they’re obviously thinking about it we still don’t have the score a lot of speed okay there’s the speed and the flow you’re looking for it took her a long time just to get going though but in her defense didn’t allow anything else those two turns were cool I mean she was flying but that’s it right there is that the turn that gets her a 671 let’s compare and contrast here this was a 7.0 yeah so the commitment degree of difficulty right there the size of the wave a much better wave overall as well yeah but but then it flattens out but she does get this one turn at the end too so you know I I don’t even feel like like they’re comparable you know like the seven is so much different yeah they’re so much different and this is where subjectivity and and and really your opinion comes into play yeah Billy Miss eish are you watching are you about to write a happy song or are you about to write a song about heartbreak like what’s it going to be from my perspective if she gets it it’s just because it’s so different you know like we don’t see that very often that turn was incredible and she’s looking for a 671 oh there’s well it’s going to be a breakup song by Billy ish after that he the turn was one of the turns of the event but unfortunately she just didn’t do enough on the outside section I’m going to agree with the judges there as much as I love Katie simmers Gabriel o’ Bren she just outp powerered her right there got better waves and got the victory so all credit to Gabrielle Le Bry who just ripped her way into the finals here at the Ser City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona what a day so far and more to come stick around for for [Music] [Music] [Music] welcome back to the Surf City L Salvador Pro presented by corono we’re straight into it we got Caroline marks versus Betty lose Aura Johnson straight off the buzzer Caroline little tester right there kind of a no-o but right behind her Betty Lou the waves are starting to fire absolute racetrack down the line nice carving Snapper Betty Luca Kura Johnson good little brief pause through her bottom turn to get herself into the critical section of that wave quick combo there goes down at the end solid start for Betty Luc C Johnson I’m Chris cotay and I’m happy to be joined by Big Wave charger and small wave Shredder ficity Paul M Felicity you’ve been at every tour stop so far and I know you’ve been enjoying the rise of the women’s side of the draw each and every event it just seems like it gets better and better and better the performance levels through the roof we’re seeing upsets we’re seeing all kinds of just exciting entertainment from the women’s draw what’s your takeaway from beginning to where we are right now oh wow okay I mean big question I just went threw a pile of papas in your lap I mean this year has been incredible there’s no doubt about it I feel like the story line The Narrative is the women’s Vol tour I mean that performance level continually raised I mean there’s been some key moments for me obviously there was so much hype around pipe and the opportunity that you know the women had to Surf absolutely pumping pipe and back door you know the heat between Betty Lou Molly picklum I I just it it’s it’s really impressed me so we had that heat I mean we obviously Katie simmers as well pushing barriers there getting that win and then you know I even go back to the Challenger Series too and if anyone watched snappa that first event and saw the 10 that Aaron Brooks got it was absolutely incredible on her backand I feel and then we moved to Tahiti you know where once again I left the back of my brain there it was blown out of my head yeah once again it was just unbelievable stuff right that that hero moment from Tatiana V getting the win the waves were you know super consequential and I I you know was talking about it yesterday as well to someone and you know it’s hard to pinpoint WSL have provided which is epic but then it also takes a lot of guts to be able to step into the arena when it’s pumping when it’s big when it’s consequential and it just takes one little step forward and I feel like the women now especially this younger movement on tour you know that’s what they’ve always looked up to sort of you know this tour that has these waves now now they’re just inspiring each other continually it’s just one foot one foot in front of the other and the flood get are open you know the performance barriers just are continually being pushed in every aspect I mean we just saw in that last hit like you know Katie didn’t get the score but the way she surfed that wave was incredible it was close in all aspects it’s uh yeah it’s so inspiring and uh it’s continually happening I mean I I mentioned about Aon Brooks but you know she posted a wave yesterday uh oh my gosh at the uh yeah at the the Olympic training session that the Ia put on honestly do yourself a favor get on the old IG the Instagram and yeah search up this search up Aon Brooks look at the wave that she towed into it was absolutely incredible a chopes a big nugget and you know that’s just also another sign of look at this bright future that is about to hit this two or two and she’s going to continually raise that bar but you know got to pay homage to the women that came before because there’s always been charges out there and those people that haven’t been scared to step into that Arena you know you get to go like of relle ballad KK you know you’ve got CLA Bev Aqua who always pushed the women to p and back door you know there’s you know page arms there’s so many there is women that have come before I feel like the opportunities are just here now and yeah women are running away with it let’s go love to hear it 28:30 to go and I feel like this year 2024 is a good sophomore story happening right you had Katie simmers and Molly picklum really grab a lot of the attention and I think that fired up Betty Luc Secura Johnson she had great results at p play in Sunset but it it just felt like she was kind of the third person in the conversation I feel like that’s changed with the way she served in the last few events I mean she has really raised her hand and staked her claim as one of the best of the best she’s a title Contender now and she’s going to be for quite some time sorry I was getting caught up in my thought of how amazing the women were and if I missed any other good ones we’re talking about Betty right Betty L I was just so in the moment of like who else do I need to mention a lot of good but I mean we’re we’re right now watching this heat and Betty Luc Johnson started that 533 and I think that narrative is spoton head back in the game flicky okay yeah I mean it’s it’s a spot on narrative but I mean you know what let’s talk about Betty Lou because the start of the Year for me was so impressive with her obviously she had that crazy hate with Molly and we just talked about it but then she went to Sunset and got a runner up finish and for me I feel like her maiden CT Victory is close right she’s knocking on the door of that she is this year I feel like we’re seeing a different Betty Lou I feel like you know she’s got a bit more experience under her belt she knows what it’s about now and and I feel it and maybe as well you know obviously she’s mentioned it she’s testing out all these different boards it seems like she said in a post head interview the other day you know these pels are feeling really good but yeah she just looks she looks fired up and I wouldn’t be you know she’s sitting outside that final five picture right now I mean we’re having a look at her results here I mean that started a year a third and a and a second you know pipe and sunset incredible right and she that locked her above the cut line pretty much yeah but right now she’s outside of it but this is a huge opportunity for her right now because Caroline she’s sitting there in fifth right so Caroline obviously she’s said it she wants to defend her world title I mean she wants to Surf back at home at lowers and and get the win again but right now this is super valuable for um Betty Lou if she gets this win because she’s an inch and up closer you know and if she want this whole event I mean I mean opportunity is there to jump right up in I mean that’s the most telling graphic we have so far uh uh as to what we might see in the Women’s Championship Tour live rankings we go towards the Lexus final five at lower trestles this September you know obviously Carolina marks has shown us what she’s capable of there she’s our reigning world champion won that at lowers Gabriel bran knocking on the door Betty L jumping up from 8th to seventh already so you said it I mean if she can take Caroline out right now she is I’m I’m pretty sure mathematically going to be up in that top five spot but please don’t quote me on math you can quote me on music quotes uh movie quotes all that stuff do not quote me on math that is not my strong suit I just follow what the graphics tell me to follow and they also listen to my heart and my heart’s telling me that Betty will be in the final five by the end of the season oh touche touche I I you really wow okay we heard it here first write it down I I like to sound smart at the end of the season 2455 to go Betty l in the lead with a 533 and using the power to her Advantage Gabriel o Bren went off went hard got the wi she’s on the glass with AJ McCord a lot of power and straight on the attack for you Gabby in that heat dog told me that’s exactly what he asked you to do is attack every maneuver attack every wave how did you apply that to the heat yeah I think uh like he said just go out there and just do what works best for me and what I’m good at and don’t change that because it’s Unique for me and um if I just dig into what I know and how I surf I knew I could do it so just it was a little slow wave wise but I made the ones that I got count so I’m super stoked speaking of super super stoked you’re finding yourself in the finals a bit more frequently these days what do you think is the biggest difference the biggest reason that you’ve been able to do that the last few events um I think I’ve just really found confidence in myself I kind of started to lose it I think at the beginning of the year after two bad results and um after Margaret River I was like oh I could do this that was my first win and um first Final in two years or yeah two years so um just believing in myself I think is the biggest thing and like I said before just using my strengths to my advantage and making smart decisions and now here you are in the finals again two of the last three events we’ll see you there thank you well the intimidation doesn’t just stay in the water those shades are statement sunglasses Gabriela Brian means business and yes she’s in get another final what would a win mean for Gabrielle Bran’s uh season right now oh it’s giant I mean that’s final five that was such an easy question wasn’t it no but you know what I think it’s just reaffirming because she’s got a win her first madeen C victory in marar River you know and this year post cut too or on the cut yeah and needed it exactly big Jobo and then she went to Tahiti and didn’t probably get the result she was after probably a bit Bumm that she wasn’t you know that conversation of pushing that performance cuzz you know all these women want to be in that and they all are in their own way but then she’s come here and I think it just must be reaffirming to her to just pick back up right where she left off in Margaret River really play into her strengths and uh yeah just reaffirming and confidence boosting all right 2230 to go here in semifinal Heat number two let’s check the pulse of the environment surrounding us oh yeah there we go this is the pulse Medina the machine in his last Heat dropped a 777 and a 7.5 for a 1527 total dismantled and destroyed G chanka who put up a valiant effort but you’re not going to stop Medina when he’s surfing like this blck oh wow I mean just amazing on fire so precise so Cru and yeah another little goof moment here yeah Battle of the homies we’re calling this air Dora that was one of the best shots of the event one of the best Airs of the event expertly captured by our crew and I could watch this all day long it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of skateboarding or not that right there was fla’s finest yodora flying but John John Florence well he’s just doing John John Florence things yesterday or the day before he did the best three turn combination of the entire event and today he mixed it up John Florence on point he got an eight and a seven 1 7 that’s the highest heat total of the day so far John John’s doing it and then the uh South African duel calling this Brew versus Brew that’s what they say in uh South Africa in Li of bro uh these two friends went out there and they were very unfriendly to each other they both went off in this heat McGill who has no doubt looked up to Jordy throughout his entire career got the edge on 15 .17 vers 13.7 Matthew McGill was the underdog but not anymore mat McGill back on top speechless aren’t you that was a great addition of the pulse really left you hanging there didn’t I now I was just locked in and that Gabby’s looking deadly isn’t he he’s looking fired up I’m scared from here me what do you he’s listening to over there music just deep dark house he’s going into like a a German basement and just listening to some gnarly house music all right I like it I like it I can get on that can we get a zoom in over his shoulder and really find out what what if it’s Taylor Swift or something we don’t know Beyonce he’s he’s a mysterious guy I will say that it’s very hard to read his emotions maybe he’s listening to the broadcast what’s up Gabe either way 1950 to go and Betty lucer Johnson had second prior she has to give away to marks and when you give a right-hander to Caroline you you got to be scared because her backand is the best of the best she shows us why right there three turns out the back another on the inside probably the best one yet and even her setups throw tons of spray technical nicely done right there uh that that was just like a well-made sandwich there you go that’s your lunch eat it up you know it’s not not going to be a 10 but it’s definitely going to be above that mid-range score that most Surfers have been starting out with including Betty Lou this is a nicely surfed wavely Great Wave selection too and and that’s something that Snips was talking about this morning got to be on the best waves technically like you said Chris just beautiful to watch isn’t it it’s like ah it’s like poetry right now I mean it’s just beautiful as she’s timing all these turns so well she’s placing them so well there was great Rhythm there and Tempo throughout this wave there wasn’t much much you know Bing between Maneuvers I mean check that out I mean was like vertical approach she got the fins fins free there it doesn’t get the timing just doesn’t get better right it’s just so well done if I if I’m thinking of the like the type of music that that is that’s just a good rock and roll song Right nice and simple no big guitar solos nothing extra nothing added just pure rock and roll surfing right there from Caroline marks all power very precise expertly timed uh kind of to me like the epitome of the wave that you want to start your heat with right yeah I I also feel like she could that’s the kind of Sur she does with her eyes gear right yeah I feel like she’s got a few more gears to click into boom judges loved it they cranked it up to a 767 so one of the highest single wave scores of the morning so far and you know why because she did everything perfectly she didn’t do too much she didn’t do too little she just kept it all right there matching the tempo of the wave is so crucial and so critical if you go too fast you’re going to miss the section if you go too slow you’re going to get caught behind she was right in the perfect spot from beginning to end yeah and I feel like this whole this way of this event obviously the stats don’t lie we talked about it at the very beginning you know she’s so successful out here I mean defending chair and it just screams lowers to me I mean we’ve heard you know with the cola Brothers talk about it how this is similar to Low’s and I just feel like you know she just feels at home it feels comfortable for her and I mean it’s just going to be so hard to beat and she’s the lone goof in the draw obviously this heat we’ve got a regular footer goofy footer point of difference but straight away I mean I just love what I see yeah that’s a massive number to start for Caroline marks 1650 to go pretty serious out in the water but let’s not forget we’re in Surf City were surrounded by good times and in the midst of those good times is AJ McCord that’s right the good times happen in here in the Red Bull athlete Zone Liam inside the ice bath and Connor I’m sorry what was your official title here I’m chief of uh making everyone really really really freaking cold a hard thing to do here in El Salvador but I think you’re up to the task yeah I feel like his hairs become less curly cuz he’s really cold how you feeling Liam yeah I’m pretty cold have to get out pretty soon st e there l oh there he goes there he goes inside the ice bath he made it out back to you guys in the booth yeah it’s deadly serious in the Red Bull athlete zone right now as you can tell and those ice baths are less for you know kind of like the Wim Hof dramatic training that we sometimes see and more because it’s sweltering in a great way down here in El Salvador one little ice bath a day that’ll keep your core temperature cool for at least an hour so are you a talker when you get an ice bath or do you go mute there’s two approaches here I think what’s an ice bath that’s the first time i’ see one I don’t get in there come on don’t lie I just I’m a Winger actually when I get in a ice bath I’m one of those people that okay so you’re a talker then yeah yeah I go into full me bud well it’s 1520 to go in the lineup these Surfers sitting out there in silent lucid waiting for the next set to roll through we could see a bump does the so this might be a random question ficity I know you’ve surfed a million Heats before that buoy out there does that help and I hope this doesn’t sound too dumb but does that help the Surfers identify the sets rolling through is that something that they’ll look at to maybe Aid them in like gauging if a set’s good or not uh yeah I mean look you can see it right there beautiful demonstration what timing thank you yeah beautiful um of course it does I mean it’s bombing up and down right now K sort of having a look at that first one but then I think another good indicator here obviously it’s a Point Break look up the point see if any lines are hitting up there and we obviously know that this swell is very focused more up the point today so I feel like that is a great indicator as well all right with priority it’s Betty lucer Johnson she has a paddle she can’t get it she’s going to give way to Caroline marks yet again Caroline might make her pay for that decision comes around this section with Fury a lateral snap down the line building speed with every turn she does another big whip on the inside section waiting for it quick snap there like a switch blade bam down the line Caroline marks she just got a 767 on a wave kind of like that but yet again we see Betty Lu Johnson missing that second wave that could be maybe one behind it she might have actually got lucky right there that wave was kind of a burger and a close out yeah it was right but sometimes missing a wave can work in your favor I except for the one the one before as well I feel like that’s two misses that’s going to probably be playing on her mind right now and then obviously Caroline back she’s backing up this 767 so well and I mean let’s have a look so car Betty actually missed this one Caroline says thank you so much I’m going to take this I’m going to back up my 767 with some more beautiful textbook back hand surfing that little carve here and just really lining up this last turn waits for it gets the finish this is not uh how Betty Lou has envisioned this heit going to plan I feel at all I mean this is tough 30 minutes on the clock and feel like she’s going to need a couple of scores now she’s probably going to maybe be able to do it in one way we’ll see maybe still be able to do it in one life but Caroline’s doing a good job at making it hard for yeah so as it stands right now before the score drops BTY Le would has just needed a 285 that’s easy stand up one turn you’re good but that’s all going to change I don’t feel like Caroline’s last wave is going to be better than the 767 I mean Captain Obvious hello but I think it’s going to be above average yeah agree there’s a reason why I’m here and not over there where the expert panel sits my emotions they run hot I I I give big scores we give fun in the booth we give personality and I mean obviously analyzing things too but yeah I mean I I’ve got to agree with you though I I don’t think it’s you know it’s not a major number we get back to that Betty looking for something that that wasn’t it definitely not I feel like that’s harsh times right there for Betty loose so not only got caught behind a little bit but gets nailed by the lip of that wave thrown over the falls sometimes a wipe out like that can be a little wakeup call yeah maybe I’d like to I just see a rhythm shift momentum all these little things that continually keep happing in uh happening in a heat they all let up right and Caroline score came through just as we expected right there upper midrange of 593 now that is troublesome for Betty lucer Johnson she now needs an 827 most likely that would be in the form of a a combination or if she gets that Magic wave that rolls through and surfs to the level that we know she’s all capable of she could get that number she’s only got uh just over 10 minutes left so as Caroline Mark sits out the back with priority Betty Luc Secura Johnson has some catching up to do well while we wait for the next set wave we’re going to jump in the ice bath with Cola Pinto Brothers this is a bonso brew break they should fill those things with ice Bon soy for second and [Music] [Music] begin [Music] [Music] and as we jump right back into this heat that right there is a totally legal tactical maneuver Caroline marks had priority and you got to feel for Betty Le right now nothing seems to be going her way and you know when you’re when you’re when your job when your office is on display for the world it’s got to be rough to have a tough day at the office usually when that happens to the rest of us nobody knows about it except our boss but right now you know it it it’s it’s Global sport but the good news is Betty L Sakura Johnson is one of the best Surfers in the world if anybody can tap into whatever the the flow state is whatever she’s been practicing mentally physical with her physically with her coach Ross whatever they’ve been talking about pre-event um she has the ability to tap into that don’t counter out just yet she needs an 827 to get through this one but there are perfect waves out there she’s an amazing Surfer and there’s still time yeah this is did I sugar coat that enough for you flick uh yeah I believe all those things are true definitely however I feel like clock time not on her side and Caroline really smart maneuver from her before blocking on that wave because that could almost I look I don’t want to sound like what’s the word negative here but just knowing that it’s been very inconsistent today as we see Matt biolis on screen there so he is here in El Salvador and obviously got team Rider Caroline marks out in the heat right now so he is going to be lacking the situation for Caroline yeah and in the surfboard combo there’s a lot of world titles between these guys right here John John Florence team pisel for life has won all of his titles on pisel boards Caroline marks she won her world title on a map Biola shap board uh so that’s kind of what we’re seeing in the lineup too right now you got pisel V Bolas and they are friendly Rivals and I would love to see their text message chain together because they both Love A Little Love a Little Bit of uh prodding smack talk which is always fun yeah it’s good I think uh back to the point what I was saying I mean I I think Caroline that was such a smart maneuver by her just to block because I don’t know if we’re get that she just took that opportunity away obviously but I don’t know if we’re actually going to get another opportunity because you know you just got to look back to the previous Heats and just how today’s been playing out and it’s been very slow right so Caroline going on that and just like taking that o opportunity away was really good I just feel like the pressure is going to be on because you got to think back they’ve already had a coup couple sets I had a set right at the beginning of this heat and then one kind of in the middle you think about history of Heats today there’s only been about two per heat I hope I’m wrong I hope there is another exchange well let’s see what the Heat recap has to say about it this is how it all started for Betty luur Johnson she got a really strong start this was a great wave I mean look at this thing nearly double overhead firing down the line she ripped it to bits but I think the judges kind of knew that there was more out there and of course she didn’t get the Finish which opened the door for Caroline marks yeah Caroline’s just looking too good out here I mean on the backand just that ability to get so tight in the pocket goes straight up into the lip her timing and placement of all her turns have just been on point right I mean it in terms of textbook backhand surfing it really doesn’t get any better locked in the 7.67 really put the pressure on Betty and then had the ability to back it up with a 5.93 I feel like she’s also doing a really good job at identifying what waves suit you know the backand style of Surfing out here these waves aren’t running off they’ve got that beautiful cup to them you know she’s been able to go up into the lip look if if you’re a goofy footer and you don’t want to surf like Caroline marks there’s something wrong with you she’s one of the alltime great goofies that’s for sure and this wave just suits her style and and her technique perfectly and there it is it is your road to the finals Tatiana Weston web and Katie in quarter one Caitlyn simmers went off but Gabriella Bryant stopped her dead in her tracks got the win there made the finals now who’s it going to be Caroline marks or Betty Luc Johnson with 330 to go it feels like the momentum is heavily in Caroline Marx’s corner but they’re still 3 minutes 25 seconds to go and the good news for Betty Lou is she’s got priority she does have priority how scary is that parity though right now with 3 minutes to go I mean is it heavy I feel like it’s the clock’s going incredibly fast with that this is how it always goes I mean and for Caroline it’s going slow and it’s so funny I mean I’ve just got to be thinking right and I I go back to Connor’s conversation we had with him a couple of days ago in the booth and you know he’s kind of identified with his coach dog that you know if you’re going to put down a big score that the judges were kind of wanting you to get a big O set wave right you know if you lock in something seven and above hard to do it’s kind of he mentioned like it’s sort of like they’ve capped it at you know under a seven or or even lower if you’re on those smaller type wavs so already I think that I mean yeah Betty is uh this is going to be pretty challenging for her unless a like one of those nice set waves come through 827 is a high ass right now there’s there’s there’s only been two ways to do it on those medium waves one is John John Florence with the 883 and that was three turns that no one else in the world is capable of doing in that matter of time of space uh so that’s one way to do it the other way is go the Yago way which is above the lid up in the air do a giant flashy air reverse straight air whatever you got in your weapons chest and you could get into that excellent range on a midsized wave but I’m right there with you I mean this this has been a partially a wave catching contest and just getting yourself in the right Rhythm and using your priority at the right time and is the right time right now for Betty lucer Johnson here we go good start there quick snap this one’s a runner could have some meaty sections for her here on the inside nice second turn she’s doing it solid third bash goes vertical on her forehand which is very difficult but watch out because Caroline marks is back on the escalator another big snap for Caroline marks I feel like she just kicked the door shut Benny L’s walking in with groceries in her hold on hold on bam the door slammed in her face and then another big set out wow how’s this one I mean right now if you Betty ping back out I mean she did such good surfing on that last wave you’re watching this one go through beautiful surfing for sure but was it in time was it enough I don’t think so it’s definitely the best surfing she’s put together in the heat I think she looked fast she looked whippy she looks fired up let’s have a look here takes off straight up into the lip and then flies around this section jams it in the pocket here I feel like she’s leaning on that rail even harder digging that rail in gets the finish a vicious combo right there that was awesome great three turn combo Caroline also three turn combo little lip line there lines up this end section cracks the lip I think she improves on her situation makes Betty’s requirement a little bit higher as well 21 seconds on the clock yeah Caroline score came through to 417 they were waiting for or I think the 417 might have been for the previous wave that she blocked yeah Betty L on so with 3 seconds left our chances of seeing a repeat winner may have just skyrocketed Caroline surfed a perfect heat yeah I mean in she just was on the best waves she really was I mean she picked the eyes out of it you know a couple of tactical Maneuvers blocking Betty on that one too but wow she’s looking so strong and the backand I mean it’s undeniable out here oh yeah with All the Right Moves on all the right waves and using priority to its best effect Caroline marks gets the win congrats though to Betty lucera Johnson a great result for her and more to come oh my gosh Medina Dora whoo let’s go wow [Music] is for for let’s go [Music] [Applause] [Applause] semifinal number one out in the water Yago Dora gave Medina Dora on his first wave and just goes for a half a point ride there rolling into this semi-final we saw some highlights from stop number six on the championship tour Gabe Medina was in the semi-finals in Tahiti he’s back in the semi-finals here I’m Kyo Gro along with Felicity Paul moner couple Brazilian goofy foots out there your thoughts oh just crazy matchup and I can’t wait to break down both of these approaches because there is differences between their styles of Surfing obviously they’re both goofies but the way that they’ve been attacking PTO Roco is completely different really if we think about you know both their roads to this semi-final and I mean Gabe he’s just building with momentum right I mean it was evident from uh from Tahiti to here and he’s looking in good form looks super strong picking Great Waves powerful Yago looking excellent but different approach opting to go above the lip multiple times and and had some really highlight moments yeah um in the quarterfinal we saw an epic air by yod Dora um my opinion should have been an excellent score uh but he still was able to win his match up against good friend Jack Robinson and move into this semi-final against Gabe Medina and um it is two Brazilian goofy foots let’s see how they match up head-to-head Gabe Medina it’s been 1-1 so it’s been a while 2019 Gold Coast gab Medina took a win over yodora by the way the Gold Coast is back for 2025 and yodora in 2017 was able to beat Gabe Medina remember that 2017 victory over Gabe Medina yodora was a wild card at rio He also beat Mick Fanning he also beat John John FL that year you look at the max Heat score it actually goes to yodora yeah wow I mean you know what it’s pretty incredible that it’s been that long since these guys have matched up right I mean one thing I’m excited about you mentioned it Snappers back how cool is that next year yeah next year we’re going to have a a trifecta if you would over on the Australian league so we’ll have bells Western Australia and Snapper Rock super Bank all on the schedule schedule will be released after um the WL finals so we can’t tell you the order of those events but um keep tuned in worldsurfleague.com for more information watching on to the semi-final who’s he going to meet well I actually don’t want to project that yet for John John Florence he’s interested in the conditions cuz he still has to overcome Matthew mcgil in semi-final number two so he’s got some some work to do but a studied eye John John Florence on the lineup here at pooka um what have we been seeing flick I’m just coming into this seat what do we see as far as concern consistency as far as wave quality and everything coming out of semi-final number two for the women there’s really good waves still on offer definitely right however snip said it when he was in the booth with us and it’s just ringing true throughout today is that just those really big lws right and I just feel like it’s so important that when that set comes that you’re on one of those okay and when you’re on it I mean you’ve got to be converting and a and a fall or a mistake like that on finals day is just so crucial yeah the uh we’re nearly at low tide it’s 10:16 local time 10:44 is a low tide of a half a foot so I would consider that um kind of yodora putting himself in a little bit of a compromising position took that first wave handing priority over to gay Medina yodora just with a half Point ride so that was a big big error for yodora strategically now let’s see if Gabe medino can capitalize on that yeah I I think Gabe is definitely going to make a you know capitalize on this mistake for sure I think and priorities so so important when that set does come through and even in the last Heat I mean we have we just just I just Caroline I can’t commend it enough she made some great strategic moves as well blocked Betty on one you know what I have sort of noticed as well just in the last sort of half an hour we’ll get back to that here we go yodora number two wave for Dora way up the point you can see mamaa making her presence known really shallow section here pops up inverted cork lands on the cobblestones watch out for the Rocks kicks out just in time wow talk about a high-risk maneuver in a high-risk section of the wave yodora he’s had those on command another incredible backside rotation from yodora well that is how you kind of clean up that little mistake that was so sick he let’s have a look so there a little smaller inside wave here but I like this approach like let’s go let’s try put some points on the board let’s apply a little bit of pressure to Gabe give him something to think about this one had a few lumps and bumps in the face of the wave but just goes for the full rotation and sticks it on the end there you know what I I I just love it I love that he made something out of nothing here I mean this was a smaller inside wave and you know we were kind of thinking okay is this a mistake handing priority over to Gabe but I mean you can see gab just watching on here I mean this is not what you want to see oh God so it gets corked gets inverted if you would and is able to put it right back under his feet just like a cat reminiscent of his big air that he did back in last year here in L Salvador yodora at that time was testing a new foot look at Gabe a look of disgust as he looks back out the Horizon Here Comes Medina the machine easy carve to start for gave Medina he saw the air from yodora is he want to go to going to want to match it yes Medina lands it oh tricky Landing is going to have to struggle for that and he’s just going to have to throw that away he struggles on so maybe forced into that maneuver flick uh after seeing Yago with his air I would say so it’s like the whole Monkey C Monkey 3 thing I mean he literally just watched it he’s like oh okay like and you could see he’s forecasting for he was kind of stumping on the tail pad He adjusted his feet and you know it was a small wave and I think he was just like okay if I got to keep a pace this is what I got to do let’s have a look really you know sort of taped approach here at the beginning and you can see right here he’s like okay lining up gaining speed takes flight but just has a bit too much weight on that back foot and he doesn’t convert and Yago having a good old good old look as well Yago hearing right now that he started with an excellent score of 8.3 33 under Gabe Medina’s priority that is an incredible feat for yodora and we know one thing about Gabe Medina he likes a quick start in his Heats he likes to take control at the beginning of the Heat this will be a challenging heat now for Gabe because typically when you look at the history of his compet in heats is sometimes he struggles to come back when he’s behind especially early on a lot of times gab will try you know try almost too hard and that was kind of the case right there we got these Surfers paddling and we’ll see if Medina is going to try to sneak one under priority let’s go to an interview with Caroline marks yeah Caroline coming out of the water catching your breath getting ready to prepare for another chance a chance to defend your title here walk me through that heat cuz from the shore textbook is what it looked like Great Waves great choices on the waves how did you execute yeah no thank you I I definitely um I feel like this whole conest I’ve uh had good moments but I haven’t like put together a whole heat the way I wanted to personally and um so that heat felt like a step in the right direction and I feel like from start to finish I just selected the right waves and um yeah select the right waves for for my surfing and uh was really Patient felt really calm and um just felt really solid I don’t know so it felt good to put together a whole heat and and uh yeah that’s what I wanted to do so I’m stoked how important is it to get that confidence boost heading into the chance to defend your title here in El Salvador yeah it’s huge I mean everyone’s so good and the level’s so high that you know you have to um you don’t want to make any mistakes and so um Betty Lou’s beaten me a lot and um I’ve beat her a couple times but she’s beaten me more and obviously that’s in the back of my head and it just lights a bit of extra fire and um so felt really good to beat her and I really like her as a friend and a person but yeah I’m stoked to beat her and I knew she was going to be really tough so yeah that was fun congratulations Caroline see you soon thank you wow well during that interview we saw Yago again up to his sorcery up to his trickery uh that was uh you know this is what you got to do you got to put um Gabe Medina up against the ropes you know and that’s what Yago has done right here yeah this is beautiful right I mean great way to back up his uh 8.33 gets a couple of turns in and just love that you can just see the differences in their Styles and lining up this inside section Kyo What’s this called it’s a varial varal again yeah it’s a varial so uh the this is a varial because if it was to turn the board 180 without the use of his hand then it would be a shove it or you could call it a pop shove it okay so the fact that he used his the hand assist to to secure his board uh that would be a varial now the varial actually came from in skateboarding in pools and bowls early on Eric Grisham from veriflex did that I we’ll get back to that cuz gay Medina is trying to come back right here on this replay yeah already from the beginning of this wave he goes with the a just he something’s just not quite clicking for him right now well I think I said that just in that in his history when he is put up against the ropes early on in a heat often times Gabe gets emotional and has a has a harder time to struggle and get back because he’s such a brilliant Surfer that he almost tries too hard he you know cuz he doesn’t need to try that hard cuz he’s such a brilliant Surfer and his best surfing he does is when he’s light but I I think the weight of being behind yodora and knowing that he’s in a two-wave combo right now he needs 15 points he needs to do it in two waves so he’s in a combination position he does have priority so that’s the good news for him to get on that combo yeah yeah yeah you de you’re dead on there I think also I mean how many times does he really find himself in this situation I mean not a lot because he’s always I mean he’s obviously one of the best servers in the world multiple World titles but he doesn’t often find himself this early in the heat in a combination situation I mean he’s usually the person that’s doing the running away with it and you know what like let’s talk and command Yago because for him to be able to you know do that under pressure and without priority and score that 8.33 it’s it’s epic yeah well waiting for the next wave to come through Medina with PR we’re going to take a look at our live rankings John John Florence is still in the competition and number one on the live ranking G Medina six right below the cut line remember he came in 19th to Tahiti and he’s been climbing those rankings ever since great back half of the year so far for gab Medina look at yodora yodora he’s up to number nine from 17th coming into this event up eight spots and he’s up in the air what what was that that was a MC twist Indie mctwist that’s a full twister that was as Twisted as you could get now I challenged for I CH like that’s got to be excellent here we go Medina and in contrast he’s going to go to turn sticking on the rail here beautiful bomb turn top turn combination super powerful for the three-time World Champ Medina looking down the line sure footed solid surfing clean rails great flow here a contrast to what we just saw from yod door lines up for something has to skip that section looks for the ramp and he’s just going to go for a little foam climb catches the outside rail of the kabanka goes down but yodora I I can’t say enough and and he’s been wowing me and I’m sure a lot of surf fans throughout this entire event another incredible air from yodora so Innovative and so creative it’s it’s it’s incredible right I don’t think we’ve seen creativity like this in the air for for I mean we know he’s always been capable but this is incredible the the you know that’s a full rotation Indie right there a rare bird even in free surfs this would be a rare bird this in a jersey is incredible gets the pop gets upside down Indie grab around full rotation nose to the beach you just got to take it’s like we’re playing a video game right now and we’re just each different wave we’re just like okay let’s go for this move let’s go for this it’s just it you’ve got to commend it it’s incredible and to bring that in heat with a jersey on oh my look look at the reaction look at the reaction well it’s a big number big number dropped and there’s the score I’d give him a 10 but he ended up with a 9.33 maybe we’re expecting more from y odora but that was the highlight moment one of the Highlight moments for sure for me of this entire event uh think about the edit that he will be able to put together for social media purposes after this contest are you kidding me the creativity The Innovation it’s amazing and I and I I just love that he’s being able to do this best surfing in a jersey it’s it’s it’s amazing yeah a lot a lot of what he’s put down would make into a nice Video Edit uh for a free Surfer that would have multiple tries at it and unlimited time in the lineup to get those clips these have been going down in a 35 minute time frame with the pressure of a jersey judges and another competitor in the lineup for yoor so this is this is stuff this is surfing progressing competitive surfing progressing before our eyes right now from what yodora is able to bring and here he goes one more time can’t wait to see what he’s got float through there and a little caught behind time to take a breather yodora he’s got Gabe Medina in a serious combination 17.66% that often right that’s a rarity surely like combination you know situation 17. 66 huge total to break down I mean wow it’s Yago I mean hats off to him I mean he came into this event and I mean you could see him coming from a m where every heat is just been incredible but you got to be thinking coming into this up against Gabe with so much momentum like how you going to how you going to break this one down I mean this is is exactly how you do it the news is spread and everyone’s gathering in the Red Bull athlete Zone to witness what they know is an incredible display of Surfing some of the highlights of the Year for me when it comes to Progressive surfing and JW shanka is in for the show so is Ryan Kalan Lobby Liam O’Brien had to get on the ice bath he heard things were heating up Conor o all of them coming out to see what it Yago dor is able to put down 17.66% two I’m sorry uh two-wave total he is on an absolute sunbender oh wow I mean it’s so cool right because he’s got this really big total I guess now where does he go with this creativity I mean what are we going to see next I mean the shackles are off you can kind of relax ever so slightly and mean if he takes off and he’s trying to he’s either going to try and improve on this 833 or he’s going to do something strategic and block Gabe so I mean either way we’re going to get something tining happen the one thing that yodora needs to be aware of and stay away from Gabe Medina has a high heat IQ he’s a master tactician yeah so if Gabe were to somehow draw a priority interference on Yago Dora then Yago would only have a 9.33 heat total so that would be like one of the outside chance Playbook plays that still could happen but don’t ever underestimate Gabe Medina when it comes to heat strategy no I I agree with that 1 million per I I feel that he you know I mean he’s changed the game and he he’s incredible and you can’t count him out 15 minutes still a lot of time on the clock anyone’s going to break down a total like this it is G uh you just got to have your wits about you right now if you yo I mean he and he knows that he knows the kind of competitor he’s going up around I mean he wasn’t born yesterday so I mean looks like there’s a line maybe coming through gab’s having a little bit of a look here we go Medina Stomps on the tail that means he’s looking for a ramp projecting down the line telegraphing in air oh the frustration you can see the clenched fist he was with that tail Stomp and that telegraphing down the line he just wanted to blow it up do a back flip or something but just not and look at the frustration on the paddle full speed back yeah and and I guess you know he knows he knows right that 4 and 1 half minutes on the clock just with this inconsistency today how important it is to convert when you’re catching waves and I mean and now he’s not going to have priority as well so so that makes things harder however maybe maybe it’ll make him a little bit less selective and because he doesn’t have this priority maybe he’ll have a look at something that he might not necessarily have had a look at and that’s how yo actually got that 833 he made that priority mistake at the start well we thought it was sorry not a priority mistake but made that mistake by taking that first wave we thinking oh was that a mistake here we go yo yo had a good size set wave here Dora making Mayhem proud right now with his performance part surfboard part airplane wing yag odora back again and that time he could not get his Underneath Him gay Medina pops it into the air and again on his heels not centered over his board unable to put the landing gear down wow I mean it you know what it is push this is pushing Gabe right now I mean he’s going for it and he knows what he needs to do if he needs a big score looks like we’re having another line maybe r through the lineup this one looks a bit stretched out but yeah I mean yo is pushing Gabe right now he’s going for he’s going to the air you are watching excellent surfing right now men’s semi-final number one and yodora is putting on a show the show continues after this bonsoy Brew break [Music] 12 spe sh [Music] the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona is brought to you by El Salvador land of hosts by Yeti built for the Wild and by bons soy the official milk of the WSL back in the semi-finals here at pooka gate Medina on the comeback right now he’s a combination behind yodora speeding down the line the three world three time world champ skips through this section telegraphs an air big full rotation Stomps it in the white water gab Medina wants to get a handle back on this heat and start reeling in yodora he’s in a 17. 662 wave combo he needs a 7.66 to break that two-wave combo it’s kaguro along with Felicity paler on the call here in the semi-final number one great effort by gate yeah that was great and he’s had a few Falls now and a few attempts at that so it’s going to feel really good for his confidence sticking it right let’s have a break down let’s break this one down okay so a little bit caught behind you can just see he’s just looking and eyeing up this end section gaining speed he sights it he takes to the air it was a really quick whippy air you know I’ve just you just got to start comparing it to you know the sort of airs that yo was doing the scores he’s put down here’s a place to compare it over the board not as corked out and honestly not as dynamic as as Yo’s a he also get a little caught up yeah he gets a little caught there and that little bble is going to it’s going to hurt him yeah it will hurt him it will as we start you know coming back and uh we’ll look at the numbers for Gabe Medina remember he needs a 7.66 to break the combination and he gets a 6.73 so still in a two-wave combo G Medina even though he did pull that air still needs to do more yeah I I mean we knew it right as soon as we saw it it was a great air it was a full rotation but just the execution of it the fact that he didn’t ride out cleanly obviously it’s a big thing with the judges on the notes every morning you know just making sure that you’re really riding out of that finishing maneuver with control yes he rode out of it but that was that little bble and just the height you know and you got to go back to how exactly to your point how corked Yo’s airs have been again looking for an air and goes for the varial but I think what the Trap that gave Medina maybe falling into that yodora has set for the three time world champ the Trap is he’s trying to match Yago in the air game instead of just surfing his game and we all know how brilliant Gabe Medina’s game is he can combine turns and airs unfortunately he’s kind of getting into a one one mindset of just going for the airs to you know we know gab is ultra competitive but just basically like to try to match yodora but I think he can match the numbers with another approach yeah I agree I think you’re spot on it you know you think about how he’s got to this point in this event and it’s with big powerful combos on his back end you know turn after turn and also timing right that’s he’s been on those biggest set waves he’s been stringing those backhand hits together it’s been precise he’s been surfing with great Tempo and you’re just on the money I mean this is exactly what’s happened he’s I mean we saw the shot you know on that first wave uh the 8.33 that yo scored Gabe was right behind you know his head was his head was on a swivel and he was having a good old look at what Yago was doing clocked it and has now just been in the track of okay I’ve got to match this got to match this I’ve got to match this and he’s had a few Falls he’s had a few attempts nothing stuck and I couldn’t agree more that he has got to get himself on one of those set waves and just go back to that big powerful backhand uh approach yeah it’s going to be a bit of a challenge right now because we talk about heat control the ultimate heat control you can have is having priority having a small clock and having a big lead which would be the combination of 17.66% is definitely uh indicating that for sure uh it’s getting to the point where we’re almost able to say that this could be almost impossible maybe we’re almost getting to that point well it gets a point for Heat recap starting with Yago Dora and Dora came up playing remember this came under priority this is the 8.33 flick yeah beautiful wave under I mean under under priority and he made that first mistake and we thought it was a mistake but being able to capitalize Gabe obviously looking on clocked that was disgusted and then he was able to back up that 8.33 with this absolutely Perfection variety creativity I mean he just keeps showing us more and more of his repertoire I mean gabes tried to fight back and he did I mean he’s locked in this 6.73 however he hasn’t even broke combination you know I think and it’s got to do obviously greater full rotation but just that you know not running out of that maneuver you know with total control and that not being a clean finish yeah unfortunately for him it that stinks it stings well we saw gay Medina in the round of 16 come in early from his matchup there full of confidence and knows he did all that he could do um goor I don’t think he would be as bold as to do that at this point but my feeling is that Yago well you know what we’re not going to count on gab because he’s pretty miraculous but he’s in such a tough position things are going to really have to go his way and this isn’t a beach break this is this is a point break so we have to factor in the paddle back out um if Gabe get does get another good wave here we go Yago Dora heat Leader by far Dora this time ah goes for a little mute grab there for for variety it’s a mute backside it’s a slob front side front hand on the toeside rail so yeah I like the fact that Yago got that in his bag of about 100 tricks oh I mean right now it is getting really hard for Gabe I mean if this is what we’re seeing in a semi-final from yo I mean if he’s moving through to this final what more are we going to see from him looks like maybe another opportunity well this also brings into a conversation on the development in surfing progression from wave pools cuz a lot of this what you’re seeing from Yago Dora has been developed in Brazilian wave pools which Yago has been frequenting while not at events so that’s a whole another conversation we’re going to talk about gab Medina right here and he’s just looking to break the combination with some smooth surfing on a rough texture Stomps on the tail wants a ramps going to have to go for turns here no ramp opportunity sees it down the line telegraphing for an air punches it through the air lands on the White again so combination of turns and that aerial finish we’ll see if that’s the 7.66 to break the combo wow that was great surfing this is more like it I feel like he’s just registered okay let’s just and he’s still fired up this is good you know this is great I mean it’s 2 minutes what 2 minutes basically 2 minutes on the clock by the time he gets back out the back possibly maybe a little bit less a minute 30 and he’s just maybe giving himself the opportunity here with potentially breaking this combo yeah it starts with breaking the combo um and a Sprint paddle back out to give himself another chance we’re tracking him right now we’ll see how long it takes for him to get back to takeoff spot yeah I you know it is going to take him a while to get back out there he’s quite down the line you know good news for him is that if he ends up breaking this combo it’s possible to do it in just one big air I mean that’s what we saw yo do I mean the 933 is literally just that one maneuver so it’s possible and Gabe knows that I mean so there is the opportunity it’s just you know yo is going to make this incredibly difficult I mean you got to be thinking he wasn’t born yesterday he’s just going to move right down the line and he’s going to you know take he’s not moving right now but gab’s moving towards him but you got to be lines are on the horizon maybe we’re going to see one more roll of the dice you got to be thinking that yo is going to uh utilize that little pee next to his name and uh take that W off yeah 90 seconds now this was uh important heat for Gabe Medina but he’s he’s climbing up the the r live rankings but he’s right below that line and without getting in through this heat he’s going to remain below that final five line going into Brazil Yago in Pursuit and Yago just is as a sign of respect right here Yago is not going to take anything for granted and he’s going to follow and position himself for the block utilizing his priority yeah I think he just also heard too that Gabe didn’t break that uh combination yeah 7.5 Gabe through all his effort remains in a two-wave combo a rare occurrence for the three-time World Champ but a testament to what blazing form Yago Dora is here at the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona that was in my book a landmark heat and one of the most Progressive displays we’ve seen on the championship tour so far this year by yodora we’ll just enjoy some serving by gab Medina it was a short short short snack there and uh it’s going to be yodora into the final whoa well oh here we go what creativity are we going to see here keep the gas in the tank Yago you got a final to Surf and you’re on the verge of taking a big win here at stop number seven on the championship tour keep that board all together watch your ankles watch your knees watch the cobblestones there for those fins they’re valuable but let’s let’s all give a hand to yod Doro that was thoroughly entertaining ah that was just definitely one of the hates of the Year for me that was in terms of just pushing performance some creativity wow I mean giant numbers amazing 17.66% [Music] [Music] spe e semi-final number two in the water John John Florence up and riding John John with a big snap to begin with power guard looking down the line John John skips this section comes around beautiful full rail carve bending the fins John John Florence pops it in the air and a tidy little air to finish for John John Florence in his matchup against Matthew mcil we’ve had I’m just G getting my breath back Kyo Guero and and Mitchell Salazar that semi-final number one was mind-blowing what that guy’s doing kypo I didn’t think was possible on a surfboard and he’s done it three times in this event so far really excited to see him compete against the winner of the semi-final number two yeah we’re talking about Yago Dora who’s already in the final there he is walking up up the cobblestones and he’s preparing for the final up against the winner of this semifinal number two and the winds have cooperated today the lines are long and it’s John John Florence up against Matthew mcil for a spot in the final Mitchell not only has Matt competed super well so far this event Kyo he’s done it against really big names including one of his idols and Jordy Smith in the quarters going up against the most consistent Surfer on tour so far though John John Florence he’s made three finals still looking for his first one so far in 24 kaipo yeah John John Florence start of the Year finals in the pipe Masters we saw him again in the final at Margaret River as well as in a final just coming off the last event over in Tahiti John Florence opens up with a 6.17 John John’s on Wave number two fiery first snap for John John Florence gets around this section via a float one more float biting his time realizes there’s no more scoring potential he kicks out yeah the score coming through for the opener kypo 617 so the judg is deeming the last maneuver of the air incomplete right there still a good opener though when you consider that he only has to beat Matt in this time zone of 35 minutes so you don’t have to look at what Yago did in the previous he just do your own thing out there waves firing through here Atoka nice long lines and we’re happy to report that the swell is hanging in there yeah it is approaching the low tide right now too M mcgil this is the second wave for mcil Fades off the bottom snaps off the top and wow he’s has a habit of coming late to the lip for those big front side air verses but that time he just got projected into the flats and not in a good way I I get scared when I see that anytime the board flips and you see somebody really close to landing on top of it I’m just really afraid of them landing on top of their fins seems like everything’s cool with MD though but you pointed out in the previous he with flick it is really shallow out there right now we just hit the low tide of the tide today and you really got to be careful because there’s some big cobblestones that really do stick out especially closer to the top of the point kypo yeah when you’re looking for points though in the heat it seems like Surfers are willing to sacrifice boards and body talk about sacrificing body check this out great carve to open things up and as you said a really steep wave Hollow right here for Matt just never really catches the grab right there and that’s what I’m talking about see how close it was to not only landing on top of his board but maybe even getting the whole board in the fence of the face too got to be careful with those ones yeah let’s take a look this is the first way for M mcgilberry yeah just a 2.33 so the little setup right there same thing tried to go a bit too hard and when he came out of it seems like he was already looking down the line right there KES that was right before this wave from John John Florence and this one comes through as his backup so good combination right here and he was looking for more speed down the line wave just kind of fizzled out he was like okay I’ll kick out after this carve still some good surfing though but a really difficult wave to serve for John it’s actually a 617 right there for Florence so that’s his best so far and you know getting deemed incomplete right there at the end but he held that rail for a long time kypo yeah good amount of speed on that that’s the stuff that we like to see from John John Florence that extreme rail pressure and then this finish right here the judges deemed incomplete yeah they got it right too I don’t think he fully rote out of it with control either so spot on right there by five judges upstairs yodora oh yodora yodora AJ unbelievable kypo you told me Yago that Gabe is the one who pushes the most out of everybody what does it say about you and your surfing that the most was enough to take down Gabriel Medina yeah for sure you know going up against a guy like Gabriel you know you have to to go with everything and and try to go big because I was pretty sure he’s going to have two big scores so I was like okay I’m just going to go for it every wave and every opportunity I get and I it worked out I I keep Landing this there somehow somehow and every everybody holding their breath for a long time while you’re in the air we’ve seen some incredibly impressive stuff from you already today what can we expect in your first final since Rio in 2023 yeah yeah I’m really grateful to be in another final and it’s time to go for it again like the final is the stage for it uh we see the next one you got yeah yodora I mean just gaining momentum right he’s coming off of of of an event in toiti in some heavy waves where he made some heavy statements serve to the quarterfinals there so far this year up until that point in the year that was his best result and then he took that momentum from the heavy left-hander and then applied it in a whole different playing field here on a long right point I’m going to go on record and say this is the best I’ve ever seen Yago compete in a jersey um you mentioned that this is probably the most Progressive heat and Progressive surfing we’ve ever seen this year I I’m I’m going to go on record and say all time all time the grabs the difficulty of degree especially with the waves we’re at a point break it’s not like we’re at a beach break and the fact that he brought up that he’s been training at a lot of different wave pools I think that’s the key right there yeah thank you for uh confirming my observation I hadn’t thought of it I hadn’t thought of it until now because that’s what I observed with Yago all his downtime he’s spending in those Brazilian wave pools and he’s dialing In the Airs and that’s the one thing that wave pools can bring to surfing is the chance to repeat over and over again and repetition practice practice and in the ocean it’s so hard to get that ramp over and over again and and then to to broaden the conversation what’s that going to bring to surface cuz then you take that and you apply it to the ocean when the opportunity comes up to you and that’s exactly what we see with yodora I I fully agree I fully agree how many times can he count somebody doing that to game yeah and what is it leading to it’s leading to up nine places on the live rankings Yago Dora is now eighth he came in here number 7 [Laughter] and then he’s up n and now he’s knocking the door a win we’ll see if that where that takes him what a year yeah great year right dude I’m I’m so stoked to be part of Surfing right now it’s so rad to see an 7,000 points between JN and second place right now that guy is also having an an absurd year seriously yeah oh man well can Yago get there to the final five and compete in the Lexus WSL finals that’s going to happen the window September 6th through the 14th that’s going to go down in lower trestles that’s going to be a one-day competition to Crown both men and women world champions we’re going to pick the best day out of that window at lower trestles and that is an airf friendly wave it definitely is and we’ve seen Yago do very well at waves like that in the past especially over there in Rio right here though just under 24 minutes Kaio Matt nothing better than a 2.5 he wants to get to work because John’s low score just a 317 we’ll see uh if there’s any sets on the horizon and if uh either migil can take one underneath the priority of John John which he’s interested in this one here goes Matt and he didn’t see anything eventuate on that wave so kicks out John John better looking second wave here Florence speeds through a bottom turn and TOP turn hack right back into the pocket wow quick snap on the pisel another quick snap oh loses the fins a little bit has to regain composure gets back up in the lip and salvages a finish that was so difficult to do right there at the end the way he had to recover after really the unforced layback right there it was a mistake on his behalf and to get into the lip right there at the end very difficult so it should add into the scoring criteria right there and he’s going to have a good backup for the 617 yeah so inching ahead of Matthew mcil uh with this effort John John Florence excellent use of PR and most importantly capitalizing on a golden opportunity here great carve love how he brings it all the way around kypo into the lip so the variation is there and there a little misstep but see how he recovers so quickly and eyes the next section that is very difficult and there’s a reason why this guy is wearing yellow right now in the rankings leader another angle brings it all the way around that’s been a maneuver that we’ve seen JN do many different times over the years here on the CT and you can just see right there the amount of power and push that he puts through that first turn kypo very committed especially from the Geto on that wave yeah I always often talk about Finn bending and JN John doing that with the power and the push in his turns but the recovery from this impressive yeah and really difficult he’s basically sitting down at that point right there core strength obviously a big thing for JN right here but the way he had to flex right out of that and go into the maneuver right afterwards should be a significant score right now yeah well it’s not going to be a backup it’s going to be a keeper so far he adds a 7.5 to the 6.17 mcil in a two-wave combo at this point so John John on the P back out we can take a look at all the judges score Mitchell what a bounce back for Double J too considering how he lost to Rio WIA last year in the elimination round 17th Place finish here leading the rankings at a pivotal point of the Season 2 Kyo great stuff from Double J Double J I like it so good they had to name him twice John John Florence you know H in and just his career trajectory too all of the injuries that he’s had to go through love to see him physically fit right now John John Florence here’s another stat is John John Florence in his career on the championship tour has missed 24 events that’s two years 24 events because of injuries uh so that is is an important fact to take a look at that means he knows how to come back out of the 12 years he’s been on the championship tour we got a paddle here and mcil with priority says Nah and John John looks down the line and says Nah second wave in the set maybe a better wave looks bigger cleaner John John on the inside Matt take a look at oh now taking a look let’s take a look at the head-to-head matchups between these two it’s been all John John Florence 2021 pipe John beat Maddie in 2022 at Margaret River John beat mdy in a big way scored that Max Heat score at marget River in that heat 18.9 John John and in 2023 John John he did it again to Matthew mcgil uh so it’s been all John John so far when we look at their history yeah not just the max Heat score the max wave score too over three points the difference right there and not surprising given the amount of experience that Florence has in comparison to mcgil but Matty Ari with at least two semi-finals in 2024 looking good so far but it’s looking for a good combination right here yep and then we also look at some other analytics between the two Heat winning percentage at this break for John John Florence 67% Heat winning percentage for Matthew McGill gilway at this break a 33% but for the average Heat score Matt actually has an advantage average Heat score at Puna for Matt mcil 12.45 John Florence his average a 12.32 pretty good stuff right there by Maddie he’s looking for at least a seven right here to get into this heat kypo couple waves coming through yeah the W cell buoy up and down and a good indicator of an incoming line for our Surfers mcil uses priority hack off the top another snap off the top carve for variety Fades that bottom turn great flow on this wave and gets the Finish John John behind him Giant aloop and puts it down continues on full momentum down the line after a huge alleyoop and he’s going to continue to assault puta what do you want John John Florence there has just been a murder on the Dance Floor ladies and gentlemen good Lord woo n you’re so excited you’re making me excited but that’s easy to get excited about surfing like that John John Florence um right when we thought you know Matty mcgil was going to start reeling John John in right break the combo start reeling him in make it into a onewave situation John John goes out there and I dare say needs to go excellent oh no doubt the height on the that thing where he landed the combination that he had afterwards and how easy he made it look so all the way on the outside gaining speed right here click bam right there with the landing as easy as Sunday morning Kyo straight into the carve right there and then how’s this little combo right at the end too wow Flawless you don’t see a lot of claims from John John this is from the water Mitch whenever he claims a wave that includeed over in Tahiti it means that it’s something special look at how perfect that was the height the angle The Landing the rotation everything and he it didn’t stop any of his momentum any of his performance on that wave so difficult Landing in the spot having your feet in the same place theg great of difficulty as high as it could possibly be oh love this in slow motion Mitchell ah just perfect technique always well balanced on top of the board excellent stuff right here from John joh but once again where he lands look at the back foot perfectly placed the entire time and then straight into a bottom turn that is just absurd wow into the next carve too this should be a huge number kipes yeah we feel it’s a huge number and we’ll get the finish and wow the judges know that it’s a huge number a 10 and not just a 10 a perfect 10 a 10 from every one of the five judges John John Florence scores that perfect 10 and a Yeti cooler stuffed with a bunch of Yeti gear he already rides for Yeti but he’s just he’s going to have an extra Yeti cooler uh in the garage there and boy John John talk about yeti cool it’s time for him to chill out because he’s got a big lead on Matthew mcgil a 7.5 a 10-point ride 17.52 wave total John John Florence with that Yeti 110 well cool off a little bit right now that’s what I’m saying chill out do not break your board don’t injure yourself we’re at the low point of the tide right now just take a breather let Matt try to answer back cuz you know he was close on the last one he dropped to 6’5 and all of a sudden you go right behind and John drops the perfect 10 which by the way by the way nowadays for you to get a unanimous 10 especially over there in to you saw it first hand oh yeah it is nearly impossible nearly impossible to get every single judge to give you a 10-point ride yeah that was um hey thank you John John Florence we’re going to take a bonsoy brew break because Mitchell and I need to chill out a bit we’re going to do a iced iced latte you want with almond bonsoy that’s what we’re going to do we’ll be back with more of this very entertaining [Music] semi-final [Music] e e for Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona semifinal two in the water John John Florence if you’re just catching up with us has already scored a perfect 10 and he continues his assault here on the at puntera throws that one away giving an opportunity for Maddie mcil mcgil with a nice carve to start sees no future in that wave he kicks out mcil in a two-wave combination behind John John Florence needs a 17512 wave combo to advance John John Florence putting on a show after we saw the yod Doro show in semi-final number one and John John continues to build upon his stats John John is in the two-time world champ is just uh doing incredible surfing if you’re just catching up to us check out this this is a perfect 10 for John John Florence Mitchell well a perfectly executed alleyoop and the way he places it on the landing especially with his placement of the feet is just nothing short of spectacular it goes straight into the next carve too and the combination of major Maneuvers it’s it’s basically what we’re seeing from the whole Criterion on this wave right here has progression The Innovation with the alleyoop and even these three turns afterwards not only fit that aspect of innovation they also fit speed power and flow which are the three most important ones but once again this guy his resume he’s going to go down in the history books as one of the all-time great Kyo and he knew it a rare claim from John John Florence after that wave he impressed himself with that performance look at the 10-point ride totals he just added to that 18 10-point rides in his career John John Florence has now tied Gabe Medina with those 10-point ride counts look at the excellent wave scores 390 won throughout his career four out of 10 Heats he’s surfing are excellent Heats and I would argue that the other six have to be at least 14 to 15 points too the guy is just absurd he’s he’s on a different level especially when it comes to this year three finals he’s 10 minutes away from his fourth Kaio yeah spot on Mitch um we’re seeing you know John John talked talked about it at the beginning of the Season about how last year was kind of a reset year for him little disappointing not making that final five and being in the you know the Lexus WSL finals and not having a chance for that and um and now John John you know had to re-calibrate had a great beginning of the Season yep had to be play dad and welcome his son into the world right before leaving to Tahiti and with that Dad power made the final there in Tahiti and he’s on the precipice of making back-to-back finals and another thing too is that he’s been the most consistent Surfer throughout those events that he’s made the final and then he’s just gotten a big slap in the face once he’s gotten there you know like against Baron at pipe great surfing Baron gets the only 10 out of the event right there in the final on the men’s side next thing you know same thing in Mark G and over in toiti he was one wave away from winning the event well great guys like John John Florence have a lot of support and one of the guys that supports John John is Ross Williams Ross is out in the water with Strider wooki thank you kpo yeah sitting here with Ross uh tell me about the combination platter we got out there what’s on the plate a little bit of lobster big big steak plate for Johnny boy but um yeah he loves it he loves um displaying combination of major Maneuvers right and power surfing mixed with the air what gets better than that well we got we got Matthew trying to battle back into this probably going to try to over surf because he’s he’s really behind the the ball here I mean I personally I’m putting this one in the fridge would you agree MD’s definitely capable of getting you know an eight or nine so it’s not over yet with uh 8 minutes left but yeah John’s Tails wagon right now he’s he’s pretty stoked big chokes point breaks you know the tour is on fire right now it’s really fun wave so um you know John’s really happy well happy John’s a dangerous John we can see that and uh what do you think about Yago and John coming up against each other in the final is there a difference yeah I mean uh just sitting there in a room you know in a a Red Bull athlete Zone with John watching Yago we were getting inspired like super stoked for for Yago and that light’s John up you know that upside down corked out flip he did was insane so um you know Yago is definitely deadly he can get a nine on a close out and that’s going to be really fun cuz um that’s going to Peak John’s interest and I think he’ll want to rise to the occasion for Yago thank you very much Ross good talk we’ll get back to the Heat and uh the women’s vinyl coming up that’s right and uh just an update that for our yellow leaders jersey John John Florence and Katie simmers will be in yellow going into stop number eight the Vivo Rio Pro when the tour continues that window starts June 22nd excited I’m excited I can’t stop smiling dude I’m like as Ross was pointing out right there you can’t prepare the same way in this seat as you’re going to do for the final especially considering that Yago has that ability of doing it on one wave but so far our rankings leaders they’ve looked amazing all year long Caitlyn simmers and John John Florence having heading over there into Rio yeah yeah and um and the diversity and the that you see on the tour and how you have to adapt to different to different waves we’re like Polar Opposites right we we came from Tahiti where pretty much most Surfers didn’t do a turn other than just sitting in big gaping barrels and then you come here where you’re all about performance on Long rightand walls and then next stop we go to itona where talk about a Mixed Plate it’s a Mixed Plate there right at itona beach could be the short Hollow right could be the long left y there’s the backwash Factor always over there and then there’s just a head space right of Brazil like with thousands and thousands of fans that de descend upon that beach yeah it’s no doubt the most most crowded place not only on the championship tour I had a Challenger in Qs Alik too but you know for John he’s won there twice before it’s a good position for him to be in heading into that event Kyo Here Comes JN John again uses his priority big gaffing turn off the top looks for another ramp and has to throw that front side air away looks like he was going for the slob grab on that one and Mitchell you’re glad that that board got away from John John please no need back off a little bit right here like we saw the same thing with Yago in the previous seat he kind of understood it’s like hey I’m six minutes away the other person’s comboed don’t peek too early first of all you already have the 10-point ride you have a 75 you have the other person the combination there’s absolutely no need for this right now just chill out yeah yeah I on the keep the board in one piece you don’t want to like that boarding really really really good for him right so you don’t want to buckle that board you don’t want to do any damage and John John also keep the knees intact we talked about we talked about the you know JN John’s resilience and having coming back from injury and you know even with that Brazil conversation we saw him you know in the past you know hurt his knee out there Bara right 2018 I remember that yeah and you know that took him out for a while and in that in that heat he was way out in front as well 17 points against w carmichel i remember yeah Heat recap it’s been incredible Mitchell well not only have we seen the 10-point ride opened up with the 617 then eventually got the 7.5 afterwards which is this wave right here excellent combination of Maneuvers for John John Florence and this no doubt one of the best waves written all season long kypo perfectly executed alleyoop not only with the placement with the integration of the other Maneuvers afterwards to just ridiculous stuff from the two-time world champion seamless transition from a giant alleyoop into a flurry of snaps John John likes it and every single judge did as well tends across the board for John John to see that guy claim a wave which is not very often you know that it had to have been something ridiculous and really like to see the perfect 10 right there well deserved for John John and Matt unfortunately after the 6.5 kind of the same thing that Gabe tried to do a couple of waves in a row where he maybe tried to go a little bit too big too early on with enough time on the clock but just 4 minutes to go it’s going to be really hard to break the culmination right here and even take the lead oh yeah it is John John into the final with yodora and we can anticipate that the the rest of this heat is a formality given the two-wave combination um and the distance of paddles between y a long wave we got three minutes and 30 seconds on the clock and we can already start talking what you anticipating this final John John Florence against yod Dora if I were Yago I’d be doing the same thing I’d been doing the last three or four Heats open up with wave under priority doesn’t necessarily have to be a set get things going anything above a 6.5 could be a keeper and if you’re John you stick to your guns you make sure that you’re on the set waves make sure that there’s clear separation between your scores and his and don’t try to fall into an air game don’t try to go air for a like we saw Gabe try to do in the previous Heat migil does have priority there is a line coming through here he looks like he’s interested in this one the South Africa is going to scratch into this long bottom turn top turn combo very smooth on the Channel Island surfboard pops it into the air yes sir nose picks out of it a little bit hung up but no problem gets right back into the Open Face to continue down the line little catch of the rail there that may cost them he’s looking for something dynamic for the Finish pops it up and eases through another air reverse gets a bonus section on the inside here one more time and he can make it three on one wave to the Applause by the fans here at Puna I like the fight back and maybe he should be out of combination with that what do you think Mitch could it be the 75 was a bit cleaner um personally thinking I’m just dizzy watching that wave uh couple rotations right there and uh you know know we got to give Matt a lot of problems beating Jordy in the quarters who’s having an outstanding year getting his second semifinal in 2024 he’s been surfing great and he’s just always underappreciated when it comes to a lot of these waves on tour great opening roundhouse right there I thought that nose pick right there was really difficult to do especially with the landing inside of the white water and then comes around it gets to work right here with the rail work unfortunately catches the edge breaks up the flow and then this is where gets the two XR a reverses in a bent lateral right there still with a good amount of height and fits in the last one a bit forced still very difficult so maybe it’s right around there of the 751 maybe just under but even still like the guy got to be really stoked with the way he serve yeah and to commend Matthew mcgil in his young CT career Just Four Seasons on the championship tour this is his fourth semi-final appearance so you know we got to acknowledge Matthew mcgil as an upcoming Talent as well and an incredible Surfer he he did um some beautiful surfing throughout this entire event I think he took down Ethan Ying on on the way up to this to this who would have been one of the favorites here on on this point break no doubt uh Ethan had only lost with big numbers and his results don’t really translate into the way that he surfed so far but he’s going to have to settle with the semi here cuz that big dog on screen that guy’s moving through to his fourth final of 2024 Kyo here we go John John Florence juanan so good huh named him twice that was that was uh really good uh migil by the way as the numbers come through should break the combination and he does with a 7.93 so he’s going to go out of this heat not comboed and a great last effort for Matthew mcgil and a great result for Matthew coming out of El Salvador anticipating Brazil the South African took down Ethan Ying took down Jordy Smith had a great run here in El Salvador got to be really happy with his performance and his result but that guy Kaio he’s looking good John John Florence and yoor in the men’s final women’s finals coming up after this it’s going to be Gabriel o’ Bryant and Caroline Marx what e e for Sal [Music] [Music] well as Glenn Fry said it in the theme song to Beverly Hills Cop the heat is on Caroline marks is up and at it already here in the final of the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona let’s go back to back why don’t we Carolyn up and out real quick but Gabrielle o’ban he got a little something to work with here it shoulders off quickly so a bit of a false start but the good news is we still have nearly a full 40 minutes of action for you in store I’m Chris cotay that’s Felicity palet here both of us are very excited to talk all of you through what we expect to be an epic final we’re talking goofy versus regular power V power the waves are firing this is going to be a classic flick oh it is it’s uh this heat is stacked and you know what I mean both of these Surfers power Surfers Gabriel O’Brien in my opinion most powerful woman Surfer on tour at the moment just the spray she’s displacing on these right hand Point braks has been incredible but then coming up against Caroline defending event champ current World Champ I mean it’s going down well tide is low but starting to switch that’s a good sign the wind is on our side as well 3628 both Surfers resetting theirselves in the lineup this guy looks good in yellow he looks good in the sky as well John John Florence is on the glass with AJ McCord John we got to start with that 10-point ride you had here in the semifinal to all but punch your ticket to the finals talk us through that wave uh yeah I I had like a six and a seven already so I was like okay I’m going to try to do an hair now and um I was just pumping down the line and had a good wall to do like an alleyoop and uh yeah I did the air I was just I was really surprised how like clean I came down came on down on such a good part of the wave and I was like more in front of it than I thought I was going to be and I was like oh my gosh I can go straight into do another turn and the wave just kind of stayed lining up and it was a really fun wave I can tell by the smile on your face how much fun you’re having but I know how badly you want to win this competition you’ve made the finals a few times this year what’s it going to take to get your first event win of 2024 um yeah I’m just going to keep sticking in my plan um I don’t know I’ve been serving good and the yo has been ripping too so it’s been fun to watch him and uh it seems like he’s kind G on the same strategy on the medium ones and doing those crazy errors and so um it’ll be interesting uh the waves are pumping so I’m soed looking forward to it John up thank you yeah I had a minute between heat I just popped into Salma Masa who was doing a a live feed on his Instagram talking about the similarities and differences between surf skates no airs and the way they’re judged and uh the point being that the judges have really made an effort to not just score airs that are landing but landed well and John Florence right there uh rewarded because not only the height and just how amazing that air was but also the fact that he landed in transition like you’re supposed to you know like he he landed like he’s been there before which we know he has but then landing and going straight in the bottom turn straight into the next turn I mean that is if that wasn’t a perfect 10 I mean this rocks would have been flying it would have been Madness in here uh but the judges were spot on right there easy call for them across the board and we’ve been saying it there’s a difference between a 10 and a perfect 10 and that my friends was a perfect 10 yeah it it was incredible right and and to your point the just the landing from that big alop he cleared a section it was kind of just like he just taken off again he couldn’t have couldn’t have been any more perfect I mean he kind of said it himself he kind of surprised himself too but yeah it’s just that seamless transition between turns it was awesome to see and yeah performance just just keep them being raised here at ptero well not only is this a wave being ripped apart but so is the live rankings scenario here’s what we see right now for the Women’s Championship Tour live rankings these are alive they’re moving it’s an organism it’s fluctuating up and down all day long if Gabby wins Caroline will be third Gabby will be fourth if Caroline wins Caroline will be second Gabby will stay in sixth so there’s a a lot more at stake in this final than just you know the prize money the trophy the glory there’s also the year end rankings in play now flick that makes it just that much more exciting yeah it does right and it’s it’s there’s so much more on the line for Gabby right now because I mean she has to win this to get inside that final five picture whereas you know Caroline either way she’s still in there obviously if she gets a win she moves up in a second which is awesome but either way she’s going to be in there right but Gabby mean this is super important because she wants to crack that final five picture well you know who’s feeling good about this final is the leader of the vla shaper rankings Matt Biola and lost surfboards both of these Surfers writing his art I I’m reticent to call surfboards equipment just because of the fact that they’re so Hands-On they you know every piece of this board is is shaped to Perfection especially the boards that these Elite athletes are riding I would lean more towards art you know ridable art functional art than uh sports equipment uh but either way you know when you see Surfers do what they do on these boards it makes you want to go into a surf shop and squeeze some rails please squeeze lightly though be gentle in the surf shop and and you know as we saw earlier on John John Florence writing his pisel board to an amazing effect you you know the inbox of John pel the uh the factory just blew up a little bit I want one oh I mean what a good day for uh Matt I mean two women in the final ab and his lead in that in the in the rankings is wild oh and and Yago on the men’s side yeah I mean he’s cleaning up you kidding me right he’s going to have to go straight back to the shaping room he’s going to be busy all right so two openers on the board now for Gabriel bran and Caroline marks 3.17 for Gabby Carolines was a no-o set rolling through here so just a little lowkey note we’ve moved up to 40 minutes for our finals and you’d be surprised what an extra 5 minutes can do oh a lot definitely I mean it’s incredible you know sometimes what happens in that last exchange looks like Gabby may be having a look let’s that one go I think that was a wise choice yeah yeah that was smart and I think that’s just another aspect of the elite Surfers that makes them different than the a lot of the rest of us I would have gone in that wave you know like anytime I just when you’re free surfing or even when you’re doing a club contest or whatever it’s just like there’s a difference between those of us that just see a wave and go and those of them that are among the best of the best that know exactly the type of wave they want it and Gabriel Medina said it earlier uh a couple days ago you know it’s not always a lineup point it’s not always a a whistle or something from the beach a lot of times it’s just a feeling and they just have a different feeling only an elite Surfer knows the feeling what you been doing something so long though you’d hope you have that feeling right I mean have you seen the waves I catch well I don’t know I mean this is the thing when you’re so conditioned to Heats and and Performing and trying to squeeze the best performance out of every session and and most sessions you know it’s it’s they’re always working on stuff it’s they’re going out with an intention there’s yeah intention behind every wave they’re catching looks like nope Caroline with Pary that was kind of sketchy lowkey sketch Factor there for Gabrielle O’Brien who was directly in the path of Caroline marks if she had chosen to paddle straight from where she was at could have been a bad situation Gabriel o bran but luckily nice looks like a little bit more interest maybe from this one I’m actually surprised they let that first one go it kind of looked like it had quite a nice ball to it but Caroline pulling the trigger all right with priority Caroline Marks here we go the wind up the swing setup turn to start but still her setups are glorious there it is quick Jam there for Caroline marks the wave bowling out perfectly through this mid portion you see her fins just tickling that power section right in the white water she goes into a bottom turn that’s going to be a good start her current coach right now Mike Parsons looks excited but it’s a a tempered excitement right he’s not freaking out just yet that’s probably going to be a mid-range score but it’s a starter kit for Caroline marks really good choice to let that one go through before cuz this wave here a lot more size to it and starts off sort of like a cut back to the source but this wave here just really starts to bowl out and really cup out I really like how she just redirected on that second turn just to make you know that that turn really critical and really good finish there too so she goes up into lip here carves it around this wave had a real big bend on it so she kind of just that little redirect there was super important it was so minimal but it just set her up for this turn really perfectly and I mean the Finish was great as well I feel like you know I think you’re on the money like it’s not going to go massive it was great surfing once again it’s just such textbook Caroline marks backand but you know it’s the final right so and look we all love waves like Tahiti we love watching pipeline oh it’s just the Carnage the drama it’s all so exciting but when you watch a wave like this as a surf fan that is so relatable you saw the bowl in the mid portion of that wave if you’re if you’re watching this as a surfer and that didn’t just make you jump out of your skin wishing you were on that there’s no waves in the Tahiti event that I wish I was on nearly every wave out here I wish I was on how about I wish I was on and could handle but these waves most Surfers can handle this right it’s perfect it’s long you will get pounded out here I mean this this wave’s got a lot of power but this is just relatable Perfection Caroline marks I mean she’s feeling right at home right that was a very that I’m not I’m not going to say that was too close to lowers because that was a perfect B on the inside but I mean again her backand on this wave it’s uh it’s big numbers all day long and she starts strong with a seven-point ride yeah Big Score already on the board and Gabrielle bran looking to answer back all right let’s turn on the power here we go just like that you hear the oo and Oz from the crowd and she gets up and into the lip and goes over right when I said this wave will pound you it does it demonstrate right there but I love her intent you got to go for it yeah no that was absolutely going for and and it is this is the final I mean there’s nothing else after this so you know you’re not going to leave anything on the table you’re not going to leave anything to chance it was a big section potential to get a big score if she did make it let’s have a look this wave long wall really stretched out right so obviously not offering this first carve beautifully timed goes up to the lip bit late there and just gets absolutely belted got the lip to the Head it looks like like so that first carve was just beautifully done and yeah she got absolutely detonated oh that bottom turn that right there look at all the water she’s displacing right now that s right there was powerful yeah I mean oh my no hesitation I love that did not even think about it she wasn’t thinking about her board she wasn’t thinking about anything but attacking she got attacked back of course she got mauled but yeah she got slapped hard yeah I just love that she didn’t care she’s going for it no matter what yeah 2519 to go Gabriella Bryan makes her way back into the takeoff Zone Caroline marks with the lead for now the contest area is going off and AJ mcord is Right In the Mix could not ask for a better finals day here at Puna serf City L Salvador Pro and there’s no better spot to watch it all go down the finals figure out who the champ Champions are going to be then right here on the VIP Corona deck they got some Corona setups some Corona extras so come on down this is front row seating to some of the best surfing we have seen on tour you guys agreed and I love this venue not only of course for the waves I mean it is firing out here but just the vibe all around it’s epic Caroline marks now trying to cement her place in history to go back to back here in El Salvador surfing like this she’s making a strong case for that perfectly placed turn winds it up again and there is repetition but when the repetition is that good I’m I’m fine with it I’m here for it I’m here for it too that was very very well served just the slight adjustments that she’s doing to allow her to place the perfect turn in The Perfect part of that wave I feel like yeah it’s great soing you can focus on the turns but it’s the little movements that she’s doing the tiny adjustments just so that all her turns are placed really well you know she gets a couple of Maneuvers here but then realizes that this wave’s got a bit more speed to it cracks it up there comes around this section belts it little adjustment did you see that just ever so slightly turns that board the nose straight back to the beach can wind up get a little bit more vertical I feel like yeah her raid is just really good I mean I’m taking mental notes as a goofy footer I want to Sur like that and I know this guy does too Strater waski what are you seeing we’re seeing uh patience we’re seeing Tempo we’re seeing you know that moment where you set it up and wait for it you she’s kind of foreshadowing down the line of what the wave’s going to do and then just attacking the lip there was a turn in that wave in the middle that was absolutely perfect and I feel like that’s where our score is going to come from and being it was such a beautiful well timed perfectly placed Precision turn carupo going off Carol marks is on fire that said there’s a young lady out there with something to prove so we’ll see if Gabby gets back in there and starts throwing some belts into the lip because we’ve seen her just throwing down this whole event she’s got the power and the tech let’s see it yeah know you’re you’re absolutely right there’s still 22 minutes to go here I noticed a little something in Caroline marks when she surfes it’s like a little subtle double swivel in her bottom turns is that an element of style or is that a technique that she uses to give herself a little boost well I think she I mean Caroline definitely has a distinctive style there’s no doubt about it I mean we just heard carupo I mean her little nickname there that’s been coined obviously reminiscent of Mark o okalo but you know what I feel like she yeah she’s got this distinctive style but I mean I was sort of pointing it out in that last wave she does a little adjustment right and I feel like she’s obviously got this great read and doesn’t want to project too far out because other she’s going to be too far out in the pocket right she just really wants to be able to square up so I think a lot of it is actually intentional this little thing right here just a little double pump well that I mean yeah that little double pump there’s another round moment actually I mean that was great timing but every now and then she’ll point the board a little bit more straight back to the point right and then she’ll set her Rail and then she’ll go into her bottom turn I mean that two turn combo fantastic coming yeah and I love that she’s not just blindly going into the bottom turn top turn yeah it’s that little subtlety that just set up this moment otherwise she would have come out and she I mean yeah fair enough it was out on the face but if she didn’t do that subtle little you know adjustment of her board she would have been way out in the face so it’s these tiny little things that you know to the naked eye or someone who’s just getting into serving I just don’t know if you’d necessarily pick that up straight away but I mean it’s years and years and repetition and I mean Years of Living at lowers and and just absolutely perfecting it I mean she’s kung fu fighting and she’s doing it with expert timing it’s amazing and she’s got a lead now that last wave of 593 so the judges are keeping her honest right mm a lot of turns down the line but it’s very obvious that seven-point ride more power bigger wave a little bit faster so uh the scale right right now to me in in my eyes is set perfectly Gabrielle o’ Bryant had two opportunities 317 and 323 uh she got slammed on her last wave maybe that will be the you know catalyst that she needs to get fired up I mean I don’t think she needs anything extra she’s she’s obviously in form today and has been all week long and you know she’s she’s been doing it with a lot of Joy which I think counts for something you know she’s been smiling post heat preheat just having fun enjoying herself down here in El Salvador and if you can you know love what you do and do what you love at your job I mean look at look at their office it’s pretty awesome it’s pretty good isn’t it it’s pretty good I mean it’s not a bad job is it it’s the best oh no I I feel um you know Gabby is impressing this year obviously she’s got her first Maiden CT Victory you know Margaret river wave that really suits her surfing you know powerful big open ocean wave and then yeah it’s just been really cool to see her you know obviously she didn’t get the Finish she wanted in Tahiti but to come here and find herself in a fin again is is epic and that turn that she did on that uh in her first heat this morning against Katie I mean that thing was incredible on a bigger wave I mean it was so critical it was so late um that single maneuver for me really stood out I know Katie had an awesome uh one moment in that heat as well at the end but in my eyes I mean she’s just got so much power so so much ability and it’s so awesome that we’re fight like we’re really getting to see it you know now on tour yeah every Heats felt like a video part so far and it’s been waves have been plentiful through the day has been these LS like we see right here but you I’m not even going to say anything I’m just going to let it unfold I don’t want to jinx anything I just Hi how are you I’m good mate all right 1838 and uh I guess that worked because here comes another set here we go Caroline marks second priority she’s got to giveway to Gabriella Brian who looks like she is about to fully engage in this wave and I was wrong she did not and that one looks real nice let’s just mind surf This Together flick we’re going tandem oh wow how cool look I mean look how smart these two Surfers are but on any day that’s a great wave we’d all want that but in this heat that’s not going to be the score that you need yeah this is like it’s just they have just got such a good raid obviously and that’s impressive yeah that that wave wasn’t it I didn’t really have that bow that really fun for us to free Surf and go tandem on uh but yeah not great for you know if you’re chasing or single wave 97 for Gabby even just to break it down here we go Caroline’s going to pull a trigger under priority yeah second priority of Caroline marks and it looks like it could potentially build up for her nicely on the inside that’s that patented Caroline setup turn but didn’t like the looks of that one wisely pulling out but I don’t see anything wrong with that you know roll the dice a little bit when you’ve got the time and the opportunity to do it I’m wondering if they’re looking for waves that almost have that appearance of a close out you know because the ones that that look like they’re going to be perfect have kind of been slowing down through the middle but the mediumsized waves that look like that line is going to break in front of you seem to be giving these Surfers the best opportunities yeah I think my take is that I think these two are looking for slightly different waves one just because Caroline’s on her backand and and I don’t think she necessarily wants one that’s super stretched out I I I think it’s been evident to me that she just wants those ones that are really cuppy in in my opinion she’s actually been looking for ones that have got a bit more of a taper on them whereas Gabby you know I even think back to this morning I think she’s definitely searching for those ones you were talking about Chris those longer more stretched out ones you know I yeah I feel like it’s two different approaches here I mean we’ve already seen it even Caroline 7 it just had that cool little Bend and it’s really yeah Bend and it was like cupping out whereas yeah Gabby I feel like is searching for a sort of different wave is the search over oh it looks like it Gabrielle O’Brien paddling hard but that was that was good because she didn’t make any effort to get into that wave more out to it so with 16 minutes to go here Gabrielle O’Brien Caroline Marks here in the finals of the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona with about halfway left to go yod door whatever he’s been doing he should keep doing it cuz he is ripping he’ll be up [Music] next e e Corona is brought to you by Surf City El Salvador home of the right surf by event brigh proud sponsor of women surfing on the WSL Championship tour and by Corona this is [Music] [Applause] living with we are back we’re live from El Salvador Surf City’s going off and Caroline marks is utilizing this canvas to full effect that was a real announcer way to say she’s ripping makes her way to the inside section belts it again nice and tidy four turn combo for Caroline marks she’s sitting on a seven second score was a 593 that one felt good it looked good we heard cheers from the grand stands I think it’s going to be a solid number my hunch was right let’s pay it off here a 7.40 for Caroline marks wow okay so she’s making this Jobo a lot harder for Gabriel Brian right now I mean backed up that seven beautifully 7.4 and 13 minutes on the clock I mean it’s just that textbook surfing I mean she’s looking so good it’s just I mean there’s the sore break down there I mean one judge obviously went High eight but we do drop the highest and the lowest and average at the three so 7.4 but she’s just you know what though I still feel that she has more gears to click into let’s have a look at this one cracks it up in the lip so so much spray flying beautifully timed second turn and just those little subtleties in her surfing it’s just so evident to me it’s just really the thing that’s setting her apart and just the read on the wave is so well it’s just so well done uh I just she I mean think about how many RS she’s got in her life at L right years this wave was under priority yes this wave was under priority so ouch yeah this stings right this this is painful right now for Gabby but I mean think about how many times she’s done this bottom turn think about how many times she’s coiled up off the bottom cracked a section at low is so similar to this I mean that’s never going to get old that combo right there bottom turn snap like that I’m sorry that’s fresh all day long all year any decade any time any era that is great surfing oh it’s just really pleasing to the eye that’s what it is it’s aesthetically pleased the judges are pleased it’s aesthetically pleasing right here we go Gabriel Brian’s got to fight her way back into this she’s got a big wall to work with here this this is looking like a nice wave for Gabriella quick snap there goes vertical on her forehand underrated for how difficult that turn is carving hard right back into the pocket solid surfing for Gabrielle Bryan I mean that’s exactly what she needs to do just surf to her superpowers which is powerful quick great decision- making there variety down the line yeah this is that’s going to get her back into this this is good I like seeing this because two different approaches right Caroline’s calling up she’s getting in the pocket we’ve now seen Gabby’s strength with her rail game big Power G gouge in the middle there let’s have a look taking off got to weave past this first section here but I mean nice up into the lip this power G gouge was really cool just great technique there and then cracks it up in the lip one more time it’s a good bit of variety there too and this is going to feel good for her right like she kind of needs to make some bit of a charge you know basically now I mean you’re leaving at any later and things are getting really difficult right up until this wave I mean Caroline had her in a combination situation you know just needs 14 points or more so this is going to feel good this is the best wave she’s put together really well timed and this is going to Aid to her confidence too because before this things were starting to look pretty tricky you know factoring Point Break long LS puddles back car it was it was feeling Grim yeah but now there’s there’s some light at the end of the tunnel yeah there’s definitely light for sure and and and just good for her confidence too you know like if she would have taken off had a fall thing like that I mean wow it’s you’re almost thinking okay this could be all she wrote you know it’s it’s hard yaka to come back from there but yes this is looking good it was it was a short wave but it’s short but it’s impactful you know like a good Ramon’s song right just everything you needed Bam Bam Bam and she’s right back out there and she still has plenty of time I mean 9 minutes 15 seconds to go Cadence of the sets have been really favorable in this final score comes through a 693 she’s out of combo and into this heat a 747 is now the required need for Gabriel O’Brien you said it that’s a feel-good wave could be the feel-good hit of the summer if she gets back out there and gets in position for another long Runner like that inside of 9 minutes to go yeah that was really cool and you know what you said it too short but impactful we knew it was good surfing there was variety there and now she’s broke the combo she’s chasing 747 so look it’s got to be the best way over the heat so still a big job but you got to be thinking she’s get she’s got herself back in this game and there’s plenty of time on the clock to do it she’s just got to ask a couple of questions of Caroline now well as as an Australian that likes to add o to the end of words and names would you say Gabrielle is gabo that’s a different conversation John John Florence Jon o jonno Jon John flick may say but uh John John’s been on fire all event long he seems rejuvenated re-energized and ready to go out there and hopefully put on an air show mixed with the the power that we’ve seen him on put on display throughout this event I I’m so excited I just can’t hide it I feel like one of The Pointer Sisters it’s all happening yodora coming up against John John Florence and get this like the numbers there John John’s number one in the world Yo’s number 17 in the world after this final uh do your own math cuz I sure can’t but I’ll tell you one thing he’s going to be way up the rankings that’s might be the jump of the year at least here in this postcut landscape yod V John John Florence coming up next but we’ve got a heat on our hands surf fan 7 Minutes 13 seconds left Caroline sitting on a hot pair of sevens Gabriella clawed back into it fangs out 693 yeah uh look it’s so doable right now for Gabby only qu thing is is uh and the question M right now is that Caroline has priority if there’s a set that comes through you mean sets today two to three waves and you know the need right there you see it at the bottom of the screen 747 it’s got to be the best wave of the heat so you’re going to be comparable to you know Caroline’s last wave 7.4 you know think back to that what did she do obviously it’s different type of Surfing but anyway she’s got to if this set comes through right going to be two to three waves Caroline’s going to have to make a decision multiple choice question What wave am I going to take and she’s got to be thinking okay well Gabrielle is going to get a chance to get this 747 I’ve got to improve on my seven right so let’s hope for the surf fans and for us and for some excitement that we do get one more exchange do you by any chance have a seat belt on that chair if you do buckle up here we go six minutes left Richard dogar Marsh coach to the stars and that includes Gabriel O’Brien out in the water here we go this is a set and it’s going to be Caroline marks using her priority taking the high road now waiting patiently to drop down cutting into that bottom turn big snap highspeed turn for Caroline marks quick whip there comes around this section straight up into it three turn combo another impactful yet condensed wave and here we see Gabriel O Brien late to the first hit but makes it out quick under thee lip snap there comes around this section has a big chunk of white waterer to attack she does it likes it fist bump right there that’s fine with us love to see it so 5 minutes 18 seconds left live rankings updating by the minute before this event yodora Was 17 now he’s eight John John still in the lead same thing’s going to happen in the women’s side of the live rankings as well as we get to see a paddle battle flick it is on St do we get you commentating on this again please wow amazing okay so looks like Caroline kind of has the jump at the moment yeah she does well and truly here well I mean Gabriella could be drafting like a F1 car there this is true this good duck div oh they duck dive so good too they do everything so good um yeah okay I mean it’s crucial right now that Caroline takes this uh spot because I mean I’d like it’s going to be cool to see what here we go ster yeah well we got Caroline on the outside she’s going to take this thing all the way out I think she’s going to win this way lookss like Caroline in the blue she’s got it no problem but let me tell you something I’m going to slow down here and talk about Gabriella Bryant and what she needs to do because I feel like Caroline has got another gear to get to to win this final and she’s going to get priority but she’s going to be out there and she’s going to understand that she’s still going to need to back up her low score because I feel like Gabriel Bryant hasn’t really opened up yet in this final and once she does we’re going to see some excellent numbers drop I feel like this is what we’ve been waiting for this is what gab’s been waiting for so we’ve got two wave sets coming in almost consistently we’ve got beautiful glassy conditions and it’s right in the Wheelhouse for both of these Surfers but Caroline I feel like hasn’t 100% committed to her surfing out here yet so I feel like we’re going to see the next level out of her hopefully because I think she’s going to need it with Gabby on her heels yeah spot on there I mean this ising by no means over but let’s take a look at the last exchange of waves ridden starting with Caroline marks yeah so she’s just highlighting it there just to get around this section but she cracks that first bit and little setup maneuver here but this last turn very well timed got to release on the fins there and then behind her this is the wave that I wanted to see I wanted to see the start if there was any other work done here so she goes straight up into the lip really late little Jam in the pocket and she’s lining up this end section she’s really stoked about these okay sometimes you’re late to the party but you’re still at the party she yeah I’m going to get some points for that it’s not sure if it’s going to be up in that 74 range the Caroline marks is in right now so Caroline’s just paired her first 74 with a second 74 yeah Gabriella bran now needs a 787 it’s a big number but I feel like anytime your your your requirements under an eight got to feel just a little a little bit more attainable oh definitely even if it’s that close as soon as it hits that excellent Mark you’re like oh God okay here we go we we require something excellent something great something really really good um but and mentally you know confidence-wise it’s definitely feels more achievable for sure I I don’t see it on that last wave you know it’s good surfing and I feel like you know it’s going to feel good for her to you know finally put a couple of scores on the board where she hasn’t fall and she’s clicked into gear but Caroline’s making it just really hard I I do agree with Strider though I I feel like this is great surfing from Caroline but this is not her best like she has more to give she does I know I feel like there’s more GE six gear seventh Gear Well I feel like she does I feel like this is this is awesome right 27 fours but I don’t know I’ve I’ve seen her go more vertical I mean just check the IG check the highlight reel I feel it’s possible Che the receipts we we we have the receipts they’re in the computer they’re in my phone I’m going to be up late watching the highlights tonight over and over and over again the post show is going to be epic but guess what Sur fans we’re not there yet still waiting for a score here for Gabrielle Bryan looking for a 787 and watch out okay I eat my words all right well power is never going to go out of style and the judges are rewarding Gabriel O’Brien for what she did on that last wave and ow man 7.53 I mean that was a millimeter under the required need I think she needed a 757 one judge you know threw an 85 too I mean obviously that’s the high number so that gets dropped but well okay like I’m definitely eating my words there uh judges is really appreciating it judges must be appreciating that uh first hit through the lip I think just that’s what I’m saying you’re late to the party but you’re still at the party she went vertical up in the lip showed power showed control but by the slimmest of margins I mean you can’t see through that margin Caroline marks gets the win she is our backto back Champion here in El Salvador at the search CDL Salvador Pro presented by Corona Caroline marks does it again that back end is Unstoppable she’s the Terminator crowner it’s undeniable and like I said she is more gears people that was great but and you know what to back up this and defend you know she’s a defending event chant this is where she started her title run last year too scary history repainting itself payol there she is on the Red Bull the victory LP I mean she’s she’s literally been here before and she’s acting like it look at that she’s not surpris she knows what’s up your 2024 Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona winner is Caroline Marx starting to see and feel a little bit of deja vu in the air here this is looking like a miror image to what happened last season Caroline got the win here went on to surf in a lights out manner all the way to a world title so number two in the world I love that it was close though I love that it was so close and now Strider was lki is with our winner well back to back I mean come on that’s an incredible feat right there you are the champion here Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona you just went to number two in the world wow that’s crazy um jeez that feels really good I um Sal has just been really good to me and um it kind of kick started my campaign to win the title last year so um I don’t know it’s just been good to me and I love pun Joka it’s so fun it was also really cool to have a final with Gabby she’s a really good friend of mine on tour and um gosh it feels good winning feels really good I’m really happy you just said uh you know would set up a your your world title campaign how you feeling about that this year yeah for sure that’s why I’m here I want to you know win as many titles as I can and I’m super aware of how hard that is and how good everyone is but um um yeah I’m just kind of focused on myself and my performances and um absolutely would love to go back to back for sure but right now I’m going to enjoy this talk about enjoying it the waves today we absolutely cracking how cool is El Salvador El Salvador is awesome it’s um like I said it’s been really good to me it’s been really fun being from Florida this was a short flight for me so I’d come as a kid a lot and um I just love it here The Vibes the people are nice and the wayes are fun and I don’t know just it feels really good I’m really happy all right well we’ll let you get to the beach and celebrate congratul ulations number two in the world at the moment ready to keep going can’t believe it you’re on fire girl thanks strer thanks to everyone at home for watching um love you guys we love you too Caroline marks you’re winner and wow you’re in for another show that was an epic final and get ready cuz we’ve got John John and Yago heading out into the lineup this is going to be awesome we’ll be right back spe for spe surf C Salvador Pro presented by Corona some of the highlights working into this final check this mctwist Indie full rotation yodora check out this alleyoop John John Florence flies High into a perfect 10-point ride lines on the roof and unimpeded continues straight down the line Multiple Man scored a perfect 10 and that sets up these two in this final yodora coming up against John John Florence I can’t wait to see this getting going it’s uh H it was fireworks in the semi finals and also I want to congratulate Caroline marks for her win on the women’s side this Crown a men’s champ Mitchell Salazar and it’s the first time we’re going to have a new men’s Champion too kypo outside of Griffin Kinto outside of pH toled neither of these two gentlemen had made the final here in the Sal before we’re going to Crown a new men’s Champion yeah we sure are and these two have been putting up impressive numbers in their road to this final for example Yago Dora too many to count no I’m going to just you know coming in the semi-finals Yago Dora think about what he did in 8.33 under priority and then a 9.33 for a 17.6 six heat total yod door in that semi-final John John Florence 7.5 start and then went perfect 10 for 17.5 two-wave total for John John Florence some of the biggest numbers we’ve seen all competition working their way into this setup and we applaud what is uh on the way and we’re applauding Caroline marks it’s a difficult chair up to the cobblestones those are hot too so hopefully they’re not Barefoot whoever’s carrying her up but what a performance from Caroline marks backto back Champ here KES backto back champ and our reigning world champion Caroline marks 40 minute final the clock is starting to tick down before these two Surfers and they’ve had some matchups in the past we’ll get to that as we wait for the first exchange between Yago and John John Florence again open priority at the beginning of the heat so nobody with that priority mitel yeah but as always Yago he’s been doing it all event long I think it’s a smart move you take the inside right here and you start off with anything better than a six let’s take a look at their head-to-head matchups coming into this final here in Al Salvador and it’s been two times and both times went to Yago Dora in 2023 just last year Yago beat John John in the semi-final on his way to his Maiden Championship tour victory in 2017 as a wild card Yago beat John John he also beat in 2017 Gabe Medina and mcanning as a dangerous wild card and you can see look at the max Heat score when these two are matched up it goes Yago Doo’s way yeah nothing has really been going the way of John in both of their matchups before and I believe 2017 was the first year we went over to Saka and didn’t have the event in real proper so major props right there for Yago handling the pressures of wild card in 17 that’s right and that’s when you know the the world came to know yodora as a competitor not just as a free Surfer and really put everyone on notice what at the time he was he his nickname was the skinny goat and the skinny goat came through and and to did some grazing on the entire field back then since then he’s developed as a surface and he’s gone on to become one of the best in the world yodora yeah one Victory so far on the championship tour that was last year in Sakara as you would mentioned over Ethan Ying dropped the 10 in the final too the only 10 out of the event and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Yago and his father Leandro for many years stok to see him in another final here Kaio yeah Yago Dora came into this event number 17 with this finals appearance he’s up nine spots to number eight on the ranking so now really making a push for that final five conversation yeah and being from floripa originally in Santa Katarina southern part of Brazil excellent Surfers out of there very consistent ways but in comparison to here it’s much colder kypo especially during the winter time of the year over there so big contrast but it ain’t his first rodo right here remember he’s dropped Nines in the past especially in 2022 in the first round yeah well it’s warm in Hawaii and that’s where John John Florence is from so he knows how to handle the heat in every situation John John two-time World Champ and John John the scenario for Florence is he wins this event and he clinches his spot in the final five so one of those chairs will be taken in that final five if JN John goes on to win this event and regardless of the seating right doesn’t matter if it’s one all the way through five he’s just stoked to be Ino and he’s been very vocal and expressed it throughout the entirety of the event would it be awesome to see him compete for the first time ever at the finals 2 given the new format that we have in in place but backto back World Championships and he’s been really surfing well under pressure too I think that’s been the most impressive thing fourth final looking to get his first win yeah and John John you know regardless of of his placing at minimum John John will be 8,540 points ahead on the rankings of second place Jack Robinson that’s a lot that’s a big lead right now that John Jones starting the show well and given that he’s made the semis multiple times in real he’s won the event twice too that is a big statistic right there so everything in favor of John not only qualifying for the Finals over at lowers being one of the top seeds too but he’s got a difficult task right now 32 minutes still on the clock nobody’s caught away Kyo Yago Dora with a win here will get above that line really into number five on the live rankings let’s take a look at the live rankings going into this final he could go from 17 to number five in the same event kpo 10,000 points for first that’s absurd look at the massacre that we’ve seen so far two all the way to seven especially considering that ealo lost in the El in the elimination round Jordy Smith still right there in number five he wants it to stay that way Ethan y he’s had a couple of early exits in the last two events and Griff once again still with more than 30,000 points but Yago as you said could move up to number five that’s really incredible stuff right there Kyo that’s why uh and you know what I mean we can’t sometimes there’s there’s you know people go on Lucky runs and there’s there’s brackets and there’s seating and there’s whether you’re on the top or bottom of the draw certain matchups kind of how you make it but we the numbers that these two have put on their road to the final undeniable through the entire context of this contest right so I feel like you got the two best Surfers the two best performers matching up yeah matching up in the final good point but that’s the whole point of the finals too you should have the two best Surfers in the world match up in those final three matches sometimes there’s those hot like super hot heats that come in early that that take out you know some top performers but uh yodora is really um you know start off with a with a lukewarm start this year Ninth Place and then 17th the string of nins a 33rd that was painful yeah at Margaret River then back to form quarterfinals in Tahiti as we look at his year end but here we go first wave John John Florence glassy condition slightly offshore JN John with an opening snap pops it up puts it down John John Florence wants a little bit more is not going to get back up into the Open Face stuff to get excited about I’m definitely excited right now that was a major air right there cool transition coming out of it too unfortunately that wave just a little too fast coming out of it but still combined with another major maneuver at the beginning of the wave should be a hefty score in the first 11 minutes Kaio another look at it so comes off of the bottom right here he was already eyeing this ball coming off of it great first snap right there love the way he took his time too didn’t try to rush anything matri that he was able to get the grab look at the height on that thing too impeccable stuff right there from Double J another angle here from the Drone off of the bottom into the lip right there good variation kind of throws a little tail slide into it too and a major air right here anytime you see big spray like that coming off of rotation kypo means that there was a lot of power involved too look at the spray off of that thing bang puts it down and he’s going to take the early lead one more time let’s take a look at the red tiger from pisel in Flight here yeah that’s a modified one too so tail brought in a little bit more and you can just see right there a lot of control coming out of the maneuver so should be a major number right here we still looking to see an answer by Yo though John John’s dims on that red tiger 6 foot 19 and an eighth and two and 58 it’s 36.6 L squash tail the Mayhem board under the feet of Yago Dora looking to respond Dora pops it up and has to throw it away whoa oh came close to the fins I think he might have hit the board and and with smile on his face so that indicates he’s fine waving off uh our water safety he’s he’s switching up the equipment it seems Kyo may have yeah I don’t want to speculate we’ll see if he makes a a um yeah he’s going to make his way down the point to the water caddy yeah landro the Silva is caddy over there now we have water caddies at this break because that In-N-Out through the Cobblestone is just too dangerous to run not not just that it takes you a long time too yeah so you know you know under the guys of safety we have these water caddies and there’s a switch off for a new Mayhem well let’s see what happened to the other board it might have been the fin it might have popped out but riding the driver 3.0 it’s a round tail too John John opened up with 8.5 he’s already gone excellent he wants more back up in the air straight air for that one pokes to those on the way down but John John already has a valuable excellent wave with that 8.5 on that first huge Rotator yeah and he’s going to be able to recover priority right here too which is extremely beneficial to him Kyo lots of time though 27 minutes on the clock he can’t let the foot off of the gas right here was looking for a quick backup love to see that from John and it’s a testament to how he’s evolved as a competitor too look at that nice little tucked in straight air right there just unfortunately maybe a little bit too much weight coming off of the nose oh that’s yeah that’s what you saw I think he made contact with one of the fins right there looking at the slow-mo right here check it out and yeah that might have buckled the fin right there roll the fin man John John wave number three slashes off the top one more time the carve 180° all the way back into the pocket layback hack he’s got some variety so far on this wave smooth in transition through this sleepy section to beat some white water pops a nice tidy air reverse for the Finish mhm Yago up right behind him Yago nice nose pick reverse there on the backand goes for it again double spins for yodora yeah and should be a decent little answer back I don’t think it’s going to be comparable to either JN scores though so two rotations right there on that one one different from each other which is major but it seems like John’s going to get a little decent number right here to back up the 8.5 at the beginning of the heat kipes let’s go out to Strider walosi okay so we checked out the board that Yago was riding you guys are right he did connect with the fins and the back fin box completely busted out of the board so a lot of velocity a lot of power and you know going through those those turns and those airs so everything happened compressed I don’t know what happened to him I don’t I don’t know if there’s any damage to Yo’s body but he definitely damaged the board broke the fin out on the back up and you saw what he’s doing thank you Strider yeah we had a vision of Jack Robinson picking up that board that started as a Thruster and is now a twin fin that I mean you got to be going at a fast speed to break that thing out too especially a futur fin box yeah they’re a lot more stable to rip that thing out you got to be really you know at a Full Throttle Pace right there oh yeah I mean in a side glancing blow to a fin with you know either fcs2 or Futures that’s the most vulnerable way right another look here at joh joh Florence we’re waiting for this number for so good combination on the outside went into the lip carved it back great layback right there too so a lot of variation in this one and the response right here at the end too into the air antics of Yago nice little reverse and then we saw DOTA on the outside had the one snap then threw the little rotation right there and one extra just for good measure too a bit force right there at the end though should be a decent little number but I feel like John going to get another big score right here yeah yo the pal back out the judges recognizes a bit forced he got a 4.67 JN on the other hand nearly goes excellent so starts pulling away John John Florence with a 7.83 and 8.5 has put yod Dora into a two-wave combination Yago needs excellent 16.33% take to the air once again it’s just really unfortunate that had to happen so early on in the heat you know like it’s towards the end at least things are competitive by now we don’t know you know how how it’s going to affect his performance whether or not he hit it at full speed and hopefully he’s okay but it seems like the board’s working great too same exact model same exact dims well he was he was smiling after that so that’s a sign to me that it’s fine and like I said a side glancing blow to a fin box will break the fin but at least you’re not on top where you’re going to get hurt yourself this take a look at that broken equipment at that broken F AJ’s on the Cobblestone yeah that’s right I’m here with Jack super caddy got that backup board set up for Yago you can see the damage that we were looking at earlier what’s the backup for Jack I think he’s on a 5’11 uh round pin now um and yeah I don’t know the model cuz I don’t ride mayhems but they look good and yeah I think he landed on the fin just now so uh yeah hopefully he’s all good and get back out there and get a good one caddy Sur for all the things yeah look out for my brother he did the same for me it’s okay he’s good back out back up to you Kyo that’s right look out for your brother those two yeah super close Yo’s dad Leandro is also Jack Robinson’s coach they travel together as a family their family unit and their love is very very evident when they’re on the road together and Jack and Yago push each other and that’s why I think both of those surfers we see them their performances gain New Heights every season on the championship tour they elevate each other they push each other to levels that they probably didn’t even know we imaginable kypo love to see the camaraderie right there but as you said you know not only the Brotherhood they truly admire and love each other and want to see each other succeed too it’s it’s beautiful stuff God love the family on the road right there and uh Jack Robinson again a new family man and uh he’s I got that Dad strength he’s number two on the rankings and he been traveling with his his son Zen wife Julia and it’s just been a a cool to see Jack Robinson grow up to be you know not just a great Surfer but great human being great father he’s happy yeah love to see him happy too same thing could be said for Papa John right that’s right Double J he’s got that D strength too and uh seems like it’s working right now cuz he’s got the lead and a pretty hefty one but as I said before Yago on his way to the final has just been Relentless excellent scores different grabs which major point of difference too and that could easily be the way that he wins his final rate here in these next 21 minutes yeah yo looking to make the backup and uh we got some news out in the water with Strider wooki thanks guys yeah I just wanted to jump in on the conversation about the combination platter so obviously Yo’s in combo but he put Gabriel in combo on that last te so now it’s a reverse situation how’s he going to react is he going to be able to go over to John’s plate take the Lobster off and wipe the butter off of John’s face you know is it is it you know this is like a high pressure situation and I I do believe that Yago can rise to the occasion we’ve seen him all event his theatrics in the air are just unbelievable so can he get back in there can he grab some of that steak off the plate from John I can’t wait to watch it go down making me hungry Kyo wave coming through here Yago with prity he’s going to use it let’s see if he can get back into this heat smooth off the bottom quick off the top smooth off the bottom and another nose pick but goes a little too high on that one in complete and you know we saw Gabe when Yago had him in combination Gabe started trying really hard hard and some of that actually you know in it was it worked against him is Yago trying too hard right now well he was off to a great start on that one the first snap was incredible I do think though he maybe got a little ahead of himself trying that rotation to early on the outside maybe save that a little bit for down the line especially given that he’s coming off of that broken fin right there but technique wise positioning timing that first turn is as good as it gets especially on the back end out here the section just wasn’t allowing that reverse right there was a bit forced I think it’s going to be an error for yodora still half of the heat to go though yeah and really you know a 6.33 will get him out of combination but really to be comfortable yodora really needs to match JN John’s score right so he really needs an eight-point ride M yeah I agree I like that you agree with me so easily uh we’re on the same page Mitchell Salazar 19 minutes and 20 seconds on the countdown and now he control to John John Florence he’s got the big lead he’s got Yago in the combination and he’s got priori so he can again really control the entire you know Temple and and and mood of this heat uh by what he does whether he goes whether he sits Let’s uh let’s check in with our heat check and so far in this final heat and break down all the numbers that are available for us on the bottom you see our top scores for each of the Surfers look at John John Florence with at 8.5 and it was straight across the boards with all the countries Mitchell yeah it’s not always unanimous when it comes to excellent scores like that we’ve seen it twice in a row now for John the 10 in the previous heat and of course the 8.5 right here Yago only answering back with a 4.67 as his best but John’s been very efficient he’s caught three waves and out of those three he’s caught two that are higher than a 78 three Kyo yeah and Dora on four waves with two throwaways and still yet to break the combination with the remaining two in his score line here we go Yago beautiful snap to start car through that second turn aggressive third snap putting it together right here the Rhythm evident down the line for yod door repeatedly snapping on the Li on the back hand and Pops it up puts it down and a b of it back into it John John goes down and Yago with that last wave ridden now we have a final on our hands and no doubt should break Alo right here needs at least a 633 to do that great combination on the outside and you you know mix in the air right there on the inside too degree of difficulty very high for that maneuver right there from DOTA sweet flow right he didn’t try to do something too far outside but what he did do is tap into the rhythm of the wave and once he tapped into the rhythm of the wave he started a Full Assault and this right here is should get yador back into the game we’re going to start actually with John John Florence on this wave well he’s looking to improve on something close to an eight-point ride combo outside was okay got a little hung up right there and this is where we caught up to him the major air down the line and wasn’t able to complete the rotation so that won’t change anything for him here’s Yago little bit of a smaller wave I don’t mind it though culmination was really strong on the outside beautiful stuff right there especially when you consider him going on the back end and having to be a bit more varied in terms of his attack that whip was beautiful right there into the lip so a lot of different Maneuvers on the outside and then reaches this point of the wave and throws the Hail Mary you know I’m a firm believer in just letting your guys do their own thing kind of feel it out when it comes to in the water situations like this with the caddy out there you just got to G him props words of encouragement when he’s paddling back out look at this combo right here the timing was impeccable just beautiful stuff on the back end from Yago and then when you combine it with the variation the creativity the progression right there with that air should be a big number right here for D oh look at this if it wasn’t hot enough here it is on fire in this final between John John Florence and Yago Dora remember Yago in a combination but not anymore for Yago Dora he has broke that combination and he’s broke that combination in a big way a 9.77 Mitchell yeah and he is just on another level right now when it comes to competitive surfing kypo his strike rate in terms of the airs as high as it comes couple of three 9.8 out of the five judges and a 9795 thrott weight the high and the low 9.77 now he just needs a 6.56 to take the lead off of John John Florence so it looked like at the beginning of this heat it was all John John but yodora as we’ve seen him throughout this entire competition Relentless what did you say a while ago though you’re the heat leader control the pace make sure that the other surfer trying to catch up to you and not the other way around so come couple Mis attempts by John John um and with you know with the use of the priority when John John used the priority just got a six-point ride yeah did not increase his lead right opened the door yes Yago Dora and Yago said thank you very much I think I’m coming to the party 9.77 he did it again under priority though yeah majority of his waves today majority of his waves throughout the event that have been in a scoring um situation have been under priority I’m glad you I’m glad you pointed that out well we’re going to catch our breath right now and we’re going to take a bonsoy brw break Mitchell and I uh we’ll be back with this incredible final from the Surf City El Salvador Pro Pres presented by [Music] Corona for spe [Music] the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona is brought to you by El Salvador land of hosts by Yeti built for the Wild and by bons soy the official milk of the WSL welcome back to the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona oh the fans are spinning [Laughter] both literally and figuratively here at Puna kpo Guerrero along with Mitchell Salazar oh they’re even lucky they have those fans right there too it’s a hot one today we’ve had a lot of wow moments Mitchell and the wow moments have not stopped all day long what a final we have on our hands John John Florence opened up with a 8.5 7.83 backup and yodora pulled them straight back in got out of a combination with near perfect 9.77 John John holding court right now with priority and the lead but there’s lots of time on the clock for yodora to change the situation yeah there is and he doesn’t need that huge of a score either a 656 pointing out again that it’s 977 as like most of his scores throughout this event have come under priority 656 could easily B be done on a mediumsized wave too especially when you consider how creative he can get with his airs well we got Strider wooki out in the warm water Strider the warm water just started boiling man this is ridiculous how insane that was Yago we we wondered how he was going to react well in a big way I feel like now he’s in the driver’s seat he went over to the plate and took the Lobster off of John’s plate now my question is is he going to be drinking the champagne at the end of this thing because Yago looks unbelievable comfortable did not seem like he had any nerves now and he’s in the driver’s seat but he is poking the bear this man John John Florence is ready to attack Ross Williams earlier stating in the channel that he has to just try and keep him on his feet and kind of settle him down all John wants to do is kill a wave he is a wave killer so he’s going to get right back into this he’s got priority this is going to be an amazing finish to the rest of this final yeah John John you know featured in a lot of finals a few finals this year but his last final win was back in pipeline in December 2020 so it’s been a while since John John has taken you know the corona shower if you would and he’s looking for one of these two are going to take that Corona shower and celebrate a win here John John Florence three finals this year can he take this one out you know I I I’d love to see him win right here especially considering that if he does so automatically clinches the spot into the finals too that being said the trajectory of yodora the last two events including this one has been miraculous we’re looking at a superstar right now somebody who made the top 10 last year was really close to qualifying for lowers too and coming off of a quarterfinal finish over there in Tahiti with what I would say was probably one of the heaviest waves of the event to one that he charged that he didn’t even make it out of coming up against JN right here who’s posted excellent numbers throughout the ENT entire event massive statement if he’s able to win it in the next 9 minutes yeah and Yago with a huge bounce back right I mean stop number five in in Western Australia Margaret River Yago dead last with a 33rd had to reather himself right regain himself and got that quarterfinal finish barely made he barely made the midon he was the last person last person to qualify yeah last person to make that mid-season cut right and then great performance quarterfinals in Tahiti and now we’re talking about a potential well now he’s in the top 10 so pulling everything in we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves right now with um with everything but we can take a look at our heat check again and update what has gone down because I want to see Yago dor on the top score on the bottom row you can see all the judges numbers and the com countries represented for those numbers yeah and as we’ve said before a lot of efficiency on on the side of Florence throughout the event he’s caught four waves in this final so far his worst out of you know his top three has been a six meanwhile you look at DOTA he’s slowly progressed into that 977 still needing a mid six but in terms of the scoring so far props to the judges too it’s been really difficult to compare apples to oranges in this final this is what we like to see in a judging panel not a big spread a high of a 9.8 a low of a 9.5 8.5s we like to see that straight AC straight agreement so now when you don’t see a big spread between each of the judges numbers the average is tighter the average is tighter right and I feel it’s just like it’s a it’s a not a more legit score but it is a score that has numeric science behind it when we break it down by the individual judge is so it’s clearcut that it was that score right there was fitting within a couple of decimals of each other yeah we don’t have to have a conversation about it right so so far um yodora right back in the game 9.77 that’s the highest single wave of this heat and he’s uh unfortunately for Yago right now the clock has been drilling down burning through and he’s down to 7 minutes with JN John still with priority but you made a great Point MIT I feel like yo maybe doesn’t even need priority he just needs a wave do he doesn’t and that one you can see a little bit far in right you talk about the Cobblestone and some of the the the Reverb Reverb that so that one he probably recognized that as well get eye though it seemed like that one was kind of shouldering off a bit more too and maybe got a bit too small for what he was looking for he’s capable though he tried a rodeo a few Heats ago and feel like he gets the right section the right ramp he could easily pull one of those and as I said not only the strike rate for the airs for the grabs yeah that’s the craziest thing we have to consider how many different grabs we’ve seen over the years which aren’t many that are successful over the championship tour probably the straightest the most single but most efficient grab there is in the sport of Surfing he’s doing slobs he’s doing stalish he’s doing mutes or at least trying them and the IND a he’s done it twice so far within the event yeah and they’re stylish IND ears right with like the inverted rotation on those Indies um that’s not an easy grab on the backand too to put yourself into that position well one part of your body’s going one way another part of the body’s going the other way so it’s like you’re fighting yourself just to position yourself right on the board and you know I personally feel that airs are probably the hardest uh excuse me grabs are probably the hardest part of airs yeah it’s good to see the judges acknowledging that everything is crowded here all eyes on yodora and John John Florence the stands are packed the the capacity is actually overflowing into the cobblestones and the Red Bull athlete zone is packed as well the who’s who of Surfing right there boy a final C but what an event what a year um you know I’m on the hype train for real too I think we’re going to have another great event over here but 5 minutes too I just want to see them have a final exchange right here can Yago get the 656 can John respond and improve on a 7.83 also shout out visit the CT shaper rankings Mayhem have another great event and pisel could take out the win right here with John’s performance take a look at our Heat recap John John Florence this was his eight .5 Mitch yeah he opened up real quick with this one kypo excellent surfing and no doubt one of the larger waves we’ve seen during this final too that air absurd from Double J drops the 8.5 and was able to back it up with the 7.83 but Yago does have one of the single highest wave scores of the event so far 977 on this one just picks your perfect surfing always in the pocket as precise as you could ask of him and technically too as efficient you could as you could possibly be fills it in with the air right here and just a beautiful rotation great landing for a 977 on that one not every day you get to see that guy claim a wave especially when it’s close to Perfection too oh man and another takeaway from this event is Caroline Marx Gabriel bryen and yodora all riding those lost Mayhem and lost is getting closer and closer to a shaping World title we’re talking about the Visa shaper rankings and backto back years yeah could well I mean it’s early still but he’s going to get a lot of points out of this event lost will I feel like with the lead which is humongous by this point now it’s going to be hard to be thrown them unless sharai they just go on a rampage during these next two events but props to everybody involved within the the shaping world too all the glass the Sanders everybody that works at the shops too appreciate you guys very much yeah and uh I know you talk a lot about on the lineup with Dave prodin and breaking down equipment and we love breaking down equipment and it’s something that you know not just for the elite Pros you can see these guys are the formula 1es but the formula 1es the trickle down effects makes our normal luxury sedans that we ride Mitchell that much more efficient well luckily I got an SUV it’s a hashack too so thing works great no but just really stoked it’s a part of Surfing that we should celebrate more and I’m really stoked to have the Visa CT shaper rankings on board for the second year in a row Ro too and time winding down here kypo 250 and we haven’t seen a wave in at least 10 to 15 minutes I would say now we’re at the point for John John Florence where he can almost it’s a Tipping Point where he can almost play defense on his lead because he’s got the lead and he’s got the priority doesn’t want to give yodora a chance basically for a seven-point ride well outside of the two outliers in the CT event on the menide Philipe and Griffin every Qs event here had at least one Hawaiian final list oh you look at Alesa quisan on the women’s side h gasal a former winner and of course can’t go past Ezekiel ler there’s always been that pacific connection between H Sal and the Hawaiian Islands you know why the Islanders we do good in warm weather no problem it’s not going to affect us too much stated no heat stroke here all right tried to bait him tried to bait him that was a potential bait there but JN John’s like no I’m not taking that lore I know exactly where I want on a Chomp 1 minute and 45 seconds Yago is going to take this Insider and needs to Surf it to a 6.56 Yago nothing on hand getting nervous here kyes oh Yago Dora I mean got a 9.77 and and I feel like puntera has been doing him kind of no favors in this final 8 minutes because it hasn’t even given Yago an opportunity to back up that 977 so ocean going pretty flat right now the conditions looking good but we’re down to just over a minute I see the buoy moving just a little bit seems like a couple lines might be coming through Kyo hopefully it’s a two-wave set this is what we need Yago going way up the point right now to ensure that he can get on a wave he has to be aware that JN John’s looking down the line and has the ability to block repositioning here yodora John John is well aware of what Yo’s doing let’s see if John John blocks okay John John takes the bait John John Florence skates down the line pops it up and Yago has 30 seconds to respond that’s not going to do it for Yago Dora there isn’t a third wave in the set right here I don’t know if there’s opportunity what do you see wow well John just made an executive decision right there Kyo went on the first one and it was the only wave that broke oh this is a tiny Insider for Yago and even Yago knows that there’s not a 6.56 in that wave at all but great performance by yodora exceptional surfing for John John Florence he’s our champ for the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona give it up for John John Florence yeah yeah finally fourth final this year gets to convert on his first Victory first one since pipe as you said in December 2020 and the two best Surfers they truly matched up in the final here 3 years 5 months and 20 days from his last CT win and this feels good for John John Florence no doubt no doubt he must feel on top of the moon right now stoked to see him not only leading the rankings with this result guess what he does Kaio he clinches his spot in the final five so we’re going to see John John Florence for the first time at lower trestles for the Lexus WSL finals there’s only four more spots left for the men Mitchell that is a huge accomplishment right there for John and look at how stoked he is right there with that result hugging his coach Ross Williams not only have we seen him really put in the time and the effort he’s also had to lose a lot of close finals throughout this year so far congratulations doublej Dad power in effect since his since Darwin his baby boys entered the world he’s got a runner up and a win he’s in the water right now with Strider wooki John John Florence that one’s for Darwin for Darwin yeah oh my God I’m so so well you’re the champion here in El Salvador Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona you’re our men’s Champion you have just solidified your spot into the finals yeah that’s that’s super epic I’m stoked I’m just so stoked to win an event I was like in the end I was like like Not Another Second like I got to get the win on this one oh and then when you got that nine I was like oh no if there’s going to be sets and then it just went flat yeah I can’t believe it three and 1 half years since your last win come on man it got to feel amazing yeah it feels so good it just feels so good where I’m at right now my heads space everything my family back home my wife and my son and my mom my brothers and just everyone my whole family I’m so stoked I just my team here just I could make them enough and I’m just I can’t believe it congratulations my friend I’ll let you go celebrate with them I just want to say amazing performance only 10-point ride of the event you the man so thank you thanks you guys we’re going to throw it back to you and John will be on the beach soon John John Florence the the Journey of John John a disappointing 2023 for John John Florence where he missed out on that final five and a chance for third world title since then he’s regathered himself he started the season with a final at pipeline mhm he rose through into another final at Margaret River he met the heavy Waters of Tahiti again for another final and now here in El Salvador he’s taking out the W Mitch let’s go let’s go I’m excited to see him compete at lowers he’s made the final there before at the regular CT event this time with the World Championship on the long kypo he’s still going to be wearing yellow heading into Rio so it’s just clear air right now for John John Florence I guess the next mission for him Mitchell is really to secure that top seed so he’s going to be the one everyone has to gun to when we talk about the Lexus WSL finals yeah and everybody’s still chasing him as you’re pointing out especially considering he’s one in reel two times before made finals Day last year and especially over in Fiji he has to be one of the fa heading in to the next two and final events of the calendar year that’s right coming coming into Rio he’s going to be 9,740 points ahead of number two in the rankings Jack Robinson it’s not even close right there anymore so H we’ll see how it goes John John Florence Caroline marks there are Champs we’re going to celebrate our Champs and tell you all of the happenings that’s going to happen in the corona Sero post show right after after this [Music] [Music] for for for e [Music] go [Applause] welcome to the Chronos Sero post show here at the Surf City El Salvador Pro presented by Corona Corona Sero made from all natural ingredients 0% APV pairs well with a lime and the Hawaiian flag pairs well with a victory for John John Florence getting teared up the cobblestones John John with his first championship tour win since pipeline in 2020 John John’s back on the pack and we’re going to celebrate that as well as a back-to-back winner here in El Salvador I’m kaguro along with Felicity paler and Chris Co to break down all the actions Chris I’m going to start with you your thoughts on today was an epic day I’m broken the action broke me that was amazing you know I almost had that Phil Collins In the Air Tonight drum solo ready to go and then Yago dropped that 977 and made it a heat that was just I think that’s kind of everything the surf fans including myself wanted to see those guys going head tohe head out there was just so fun to watch yagor going head-to-head with John John Florence John John comes up on top he’s our winner he’s our champ and he’s with AJ McCord John John you knew that stat as well as I did coming into this final you had made your fourth final of the year but this was the first one you managed to win how did you get it done uh that was yeah that was tough um I got a little bit Lucky in the end that they just went flat I was like oh my gosh how am I going to hold yo off he’s going to go on like a mediumsized close out and get a nine and so I was like I I don’t know it’s really a tough one um but I’m just so stoked I was going to be really bummed if I got another second um yeah no need to be bummed you called El Salvador your low Point here last year and now it is a spot where you get your first event win in years how would you describe your mindset right now yeah I think I just feel light and I feel good and you know like I we me and my wife have our son and it’s just been such a good year like coming into the year there’s so much going on you know we’re having a baby and the Olympics and the tour and everything and it was a it was a lot but it just it’s just been so much fun and better than I could have imagined and you have one more thing on your calendar year to guarantee looking forward to the Lexus WSL finals you have locked in your spot what does it mean to you to have a chance to go for a world title yeah this will be my first time making to the finals so I’m super stoked on that um but I mean there’s still work to be done I want to I want to come into that finals leading it and have the best chance possible um but yeah I’m just having fun competing I just I really just want to serve as many Heats as I can I know Mom and Darwin probably watching at home anything you want to say to your your son after your first victory in his lifetime uh I don’t know I just I miss you guys and I can’t wait to see you and I’ll see you in a couple days thanks John cat thanks that’s right daddy’s coming home with a trophy John John’s bringing home the bread and he’s our champ your your thoughts on just not just John John and the men just your thoughts about this entire event flick wow I mean the surf pumped the whole time right and great calls by our commissioners and ronado and surf line the help of that it was incredible the waves were amazing I’ve just got to take my hat off to Caroline for being able to go back to back I thought that was really impressive not an easy thing to do and then when I look at the men’s final you know it’s actually not that often really that the most two informed Surfers of an event make it all the way through to the final I mean sometimes they end up having a shock or halfway through and you’re like oh this person should have been in the final but really in my eyes John and yo the two most informed Surfers Chris you call skateboarding to to how about Indie fives out there by yod amazing I mean there’s not a lot of other ways that you can describe it other than just pure radical surfing I mean when you mix the tricks like that with the power that we saw the the the the comment boards and message rooms are going to be empty tonight there’s nothing to hate on that was all awesome and you know we we got to see a a real mix of Surfing here and the waves did not disappoint I love the idea that yesterday when we got down here it was so good in the morning and you know we waited all day long they called it off and you you started to get that feeling like oh no what’s going on and then we showed up this morning and it’s been firing all day long nothing not to love about finals Day in El Salvador yeah we paid the toll of time yesterday going on hold I think four times waiting for that opportunity and you know what that opportunity came and we had an epic finals day at John John Florence with the win let’s check out John John’s bracket and his road to the final started this morning in the men’s quarterfinal flick up against Crosby colapinto yeah and you know what just talking about ined surfers Crosby was another informed Surfer in this event so I mean it was stacked but Crosby just I kind of think like you know the presence of John John got to him a bit and he just kind of I mean John went nuts absolutely ballistic in that heat but yeah Crosby kind of sat around and didn’t really get a chance to fully open up his account I mean John John in this heat eight-point ride 7.17 Chris takes out the S Clemy rookie you know there’s a sound garden song called outshine and I feel like that describes John John Florence I to tell you the truth the rest of those names in the quarterfinals I don’t really remember much but I do remember what John John did yeah I was calling it The David versus Goliath and Goliath came down with some big numbers in the quarterfinals then John John went on to the semi-finals where he matched up with Matthew mcil R and and that semifinal flick was a high scoring Affair oh was it ever I mean we had the big double digits thrown out there I mean absolutely incredible stuff by JN he just maintained this excellent form throughout the whole event and I mean he served a lot of Heats today you know three to make it to the final so this is a 7.5 that was the opener then this happened Chris you can appreciate this yeah just a little pause when he first stood up and then just ramps out perect what’s most impressive to me is the landing straight into the bottom turn that is so technical love that the judges saw that and identifi that as excellent surfing that was just another one of the best combinations and of course JN John has been doing it all week long and the rare claim when John John’s claiming things you know things are getting awesome that was a perfect 10 for the alop and then the final John John opens up with an 8.5 flick and didn’t look back no he definitely didn’t and he just kept on improving I mean far out I just I’m kind of Blown Away with this I mean it was absolutely amazing backed it up with a 7.83 however I mean not to be scoffed at yo did make a serious comeback dropped a 977 but just couldn’t find that 6.56 I mean really I mean you’re right Chris it’s hard to remember anyone else when you see John in this amazing for how’s this Chris yodora almost gets a 10 here 9.77 I mean arguably the most entertaining Surfer overall in this event mixing it up bunch of different errors different grabs different rotations and then of course he has the power serpent as well this is going to make Yago a real conversation Topic in terms of looking towards the flexus final five uh Yago has really stamped his place in the upper echelon finally I think that’s where we all thought we know and knew that that’s where he belongs so uh getting a 977 in a final against John is huge and it could have been a whole different story if one more set would have came through in time but it was John John’s day as we look at the number [Music] 16.33% here yodora on the women’s side flick uh we’re in back to back with Caroline marks the goofy footer showed everybody what’s up yeah which is really cool because you know this morning she was the Lone goof left in the drawer and it’s just she’s so technical on her back end the placement of her turns is incredible and we were talking about it in that final but it’s just these little subtleties in her surfing where she just enables herself to get so tight and critical in the pocket and yeah back to back it’s a hard thing to do too you call that final Chris your thoughts so we had a great time I mean Caroline was relentless that just Sledgehammer backside turn over and over and you know you usually think of okay it was it was it was repetitive but when you’re repeating something that is so rad it’s not going to get old and Caroline’s turns will never get old I’ll tell you watching those over and over especially as a goofy foot I’m I’m taking mental notes next time I surf I’m going to try a little bit harder to Surf like Caroline marks because she is just impeccable right now and I’m putting her as the current person to beat in terms of you know the world title race right now cuz her coming off this Victory just like she did last year it’s like yoga Bara said it’s deja vu all over again it’s starting to happen Koo we’re seeing it we’ve seen this before right let’s take a look at Caroline Marx and her road to the final Caroline started out this morning with a challenge and Caroline was able to defeat Joan de flick yeah I mean oh not this morning yeah so this was actually couple of day was it yesterday yeah it was yesterday yday morning yesterday morning so I mean this was a tough tricky Road especially this qu a final because it was like drawing out on that low tide things got really sleepy but Caroline just identified the two best waves in that heat and and did a really good job smooth surfing on the backand for Caroline marks then her next opponent Betty L Sakura Johnson in the semi-finals Chris Caroline got the best of Sakura yeah it’s it’s no surprised that Caroline got the win here I think the big surprise was that Molly and Katie simmers didn’t shine and get as deep into this contest as we all thought they would but when you started to see Caroline’s run develop you knew it was pretty undeniable and full credit though to Gabriel o Bren doing it with power doing it with vanesse as well I mean she’s also got to be a a surfer that’s really achieved so much this year I’m putting her on that list of most improved Surfers over the past 2 years she’s an absolute hammer and she will be in that title conversation as well but right now all eyes are on Caroline Mark she’s got a huge Target on her back going to Brazil yeah that’s right flick her sixth career win Caroline marks and she’s a back-to-back winner out here yeah back toback winner and another big thing jumps to number two in the rankings which is epic for her you know title campaign potentially you know obviously ending up in that finals conversation again but I mean I’m going to also take my hat off to Gabby because obviously she got a m in CT win this year but it just this must feel nice for her confidence to know that she’s cracked another final again yeah I think she’s been underrated for a while and I think people are finally starting to realize that Gabby is the real deal Caroline marks right there literally has been there before in that exact spot on her friend’s shoulders walking up these rocks yeah twin scores 7.4 7.4 14.8 for Caroline marks and she is our champion here in El Salvador let’s hear the posted interview with Caroline with AJ mord Caroline coming in Victorious here up the rocks in Puna once again you told me coming into this final it wasn’t just the way you won the semis but how you did it what are you proud of yourself for in this finals win yeah well I first off I P I thought it was 35 minute final and then um they announced the time I was like oh we have 40 minutes which was great to hear and um the waves got a lot better A lot more consistent and um the wind backed off it was just yeah such a um such an awesome PE with Gabby and um she such an awesome person one of my good friends on tour so it’s really awesome to a final there we were waiting for that to happen we were both like oh this will be fun so she I don’t know it just feels really good and I’m really happy to be to be back um in winning form and I don’t know it just yeah it feels great Caroline you know what this win did for you last year set you up to dominate in the back half of the season on the way to your first world title this year it puts you at number two in the world heading into Brazil what does this wi mean in the context of your 2024 season it means a lot um yeah I want to be in that final five and I I want to back on my world title I want be at lowers and um hopefully win in front of my friends and family again and yeah it means everything I think when you’re in that moment you really got to pounce and um it all came together for me today and I feel like I put in a lot of work behind the scenes and I just it feels really good because it’s all paying off but yeah all the stars line for me today and it just I’m really stoked as you should be celebrate this win Caroline cool thank you wow Caroline marks um she’s the friendliest Little Cobra in the world I mean when she strikes it’s pretty radical it’s it’s like an opposite person in the water than it is on the Glass isn’t it oh the coil of the Cobra I I yeah I I got to agree with you and uh flick you talked about uh Caroline’s Ascent up the rankings and she’s done that in a big way we can take a look at our CT rankings a championship tour and this is post stop number seven Caroline marks up to second in the rankings yeah this is big news for Caroline and uh she’s not too far behind Katie Katie obviously jumped up she’s got the yellow but you know what Joanne trending down and you know what she was absolutely bummed when she lost to Carolina I saw her in the athlete Zone after that and I mean for good reason because you know she started the year off really well and now ever so slightly she’s trending down so yeah big implications here in Sal yeah uh heading over to Brazil watch out for tati on Western web although she’s not down in number eight position Chris she’s uh going to have the crowd behind her there in Rio yeah no doubt and I got my eyes on Betty lucer Johnson 2 moving up the rankings I think she was hovering around fifth or sixth before in and around the semifinals so that’s going to be a fun one to watch I’m expecting a big rise from Betty Lou down in Brazil all right well that’s our women’s rankings we’ll talk about our men’s rankings but we’re going to do that after we hand out some hardware for that I’m going to go on to the presentation and make it official Mitchell Salazar take it away welcome to the awards presentation for the 2024 Surf Pro presented by Corona the seventh stop on the 2024 World surf League Championship tour third time gracias thank you very much the local people appreciate all of your support what an amazing event but really the wave showed up today let’s hear it for the local people of El [Music] Salvador yal good morning Ina WL wishes to open the Surf City Pro event presented by Corona in one of the best rightand point breaks in the world pun Roa which is also called La Punta or Punta chilama because it is where the river ends after traveling 43 miles from the summit of the cordier balamo nestled within the territory that was known as senorio de cuscatlan launa is part of the Nawa pip culture with its tunal strength and Yul Pari heart Smiles We Gather to celebrate and honor the culture of el salador past and present and the history identity and Heritage which are key to environmental preservation Sur we’d like to thank our sincere gratitude and extend our sincere gratitude to the local community who was hosted us this past week fans we couldn’t do without you guys thank you so much for showing up in the Third Edition much graas thank you guys very much of course our partners surf C salador and our presenting partner Corona would also like to thank our event partner Cho redible Yeti Eventbrite aanka Bon soy surf line and true surf a big thank you to Morena Valdez and Salvador’s tourism Minister and her whole team for all the hard work that they put into this event and the amazing experience that they have provided for us not only this week every single time we come here also thank you much gracias to Our Community Partners who joined us to lead environmental efforts here in Sal Paso paci and or salv to help us award our trophies today WSL Deputy Commissioner from Brazil henato and once again Minas our minister of Tourism here in at salvad Moren Valdez all right let’s get to work let’s hear it for your runner up the Silent Assassin from floripa brail your man’s runner up Yago [Applause] a quick word with you my friend first of all muchas you’re the first goofy footed male to make the final here in Puna but the fans dude they were on your side all week long how do you feel and I’m really happy this was a great event for me uh I I was feeling like I was going to win it but then Joan came up super strong and uh I was missing another wave in the end and but I’m I’m really proud of myself and the performance I put on I I just want to thank the people that are here with me my girlfriend there Le JV Jack Breza and Katie uh it’s been a great week for all of us we’re having a lot of fun and yeah let’s keep building on this and getting better each event congratulations and now your women’s runner up here at the surf gabri Brian [Applause] all right Gabby congratulations let’s see that sweet smile that you always have not only were the waves firing this week but most importantly The Vibes were high your second final this year not only that you also solidify your placing in the rankings how does it feel going in a Rio with a massive result here in Sal uh it feels super good especially to back it up after Margaret River and I had a great week uh surfing insane waves here with the girls and um yeah thank you everyone for welcoming us it we had a great time and congratulations to Caroline on an awesome final she’s been ripping and it was super fun to share that with her congratulations best of [Applause] luck now is the time put your hands together not only for the rankings leader first win in his fourth final this year Hawaii John John [Applause] [Music] Florence all right Double J there it is let’s get a quick word in first of all congratulations I know you’ve been waiting this moment for a long long time how beautiful and amazing does it feel to not only do it here in salor but do it in perfect waves like we saw not only today but the rest of the week too yeah I it couldn’t have gone any better and I’m so happy to be here and this wave is amazing and everyone here thank you for supporting us it’s uh been really fun to surf in front of you guys and um and to be in the final against Yogo he the whole event he’s been ripping and uh some of the airs he did the semis were so crazy um so yeah I just I got to thank my team you know here they’ve been supporting me this whole event and my family back home and yeah so congratulations on best of luck in the world championship title hunt joh joh [Applause] Florence and now two times in a row Applause big round of applause car [Music] [Applause] all right Caroline hoist Trophy up high my friend congratulations felices why don’t you come here at Center Stage Caroline cuz I hope you practice your Spanish we’re going to do a question in Spanish for you right here I’m just playing felic congratulations first win this year I’m must feel amazing not only defeating Gabby and the Brian who was ripping in the final most importantly the waves once again they really set out for you yeah the waves are amazing um since the day I got here the practice days and um yeah it was just awesome the whole time it was really cool to have a final with Gabby we’ve been battling since uh since the amateur division so that was really fun and yeah thanks Surf City for being so welcoming and all the fans and uh thanks ptera for providing fun waves that was awesome and um yeah just a dream week for me it was really cool also number two in the world right now how’s how satisfying does that feel after this victory yeah it feels really good um just feels to feels good to be back in winning form and um sets me up nice for rest of the year and I want to be back in the finals so um yeah it feels damn good that’s for sure congratulations best of luck rest of the year Florence Caroline marks big round of applause to the four people up stage and with let’s send it back to the Corona Post show thank you Mitchell and congratulations again Caroline MOX as well as John John Florence a great happening beautiful crowd here beautiful sight uh for this entire event thank you to all the support that we’ve seen here in El Salvador um with that we we talked about before that presentation we went through the women’s CT rankings after stop number seven let’s take a look at the men’s CT rankings after stop number seven John John Florence with a huge lead in those rankings yeah John and you know what obviously already clinched that spot which is so so cool it’s going to be his first time we’re going to see him surfing on finals day for a world title in that capacity Griff down one I mean Gabby still couldn’t inch up into that final five situation I mean that’s got a sting but he’s getting close yeah and our top 10 uh still open really open what we look at really Chris from three on down we got a couple spots open and it’s going to be fair game in these last two events of the season to get into that final five I haven’t seen a Brazilian flag in the top 10 all year long and now we’ve got three of them guess what that Brazilian storm is starting to whip up a frenzy and guess where we’re going next to Brazil those three flags right there will be moving up yeah let’s take a look at last year at the Vivo real Pro in brail that’s stop number eight on the championship tour few people there best I mean the best crowd for sure most passionate and I know that said a lot about Brazilian surf fans but if you are ever given the opportunity to go down there and be part of this event kypo I know it’s your favorite stop because of the energy you feel on the beach there’s nothing like it yeah there’s nothing like it walking down the catwalk it was yodora literally had to make a bridge over the fans to get to the water right yeah and then he scored a 10-point ride flick in the final against Ethan Ying for his Maiden CT win I mean how cool is that first at win and you’re scoring a 10-point ride in front of you know your home country with so many thousands of people there it’s absolutely incredible I want to see more of that catwalk looking forward to it I’m sure they’re building another city on the beach that starts June 22nd by the way the Vivo real Pro but before we get there we got to update you on on you know the factory teams the pit Crews for all of our Surfer that’s right I’m talking about the Vista CT shaper rankings flick holy doly lost is running away with it well and truly I mean hand this man Matt Bol the world title I mean he’s well and truly got that yellow Jersey and I mean there’s just going to be some serious work done from Shai but yeah you know all those points really coming from Yago in the final you’ve got Caroline Gabby they’re riding for Mayhem I it’s just holy doly he’s going to go two in a row yeah can lost go back to back on shaping World titles that’s what we’re talking about with this 2024 Vista CT shaping shaper rankings hey Chris time for a Corona shower there you go I missed these that’s fun to see that’s okay that’s okay Chris I think there’s still some Corona left so after this does a Corona St work for a shower yeah Corona St post show well we can take we can take our own Corona shower right after the end of this post show but we’re not done yet we are not done on the the uh coronao post show it’s time what our top five moments of the entire event of punting Pink Panther Chris yeah I’m going to put Mitchell Salazar’s uh ceremony at number six cuz that was awesome but this right here was so fun to watch I mean home toown hero now global Superstar The Pink Panther Brian Perez one of the Airs of the event for sure this is a a going to be a classic I mean that right there is a highlight for the year the decade whatever you got clutch surfing in his backyard that right there was a magical moment ah just disappeared from view flick where’d he go whoa there he is the disappearing ptera Rosa and the local crowd absolutely loved that moment giving back to the community number four Gabby Bryan Brian’s back again yeah this was really cool to see she is in absolutely fine form I mean just demonstrating again she obviously got her first CT Victory this year in Margaret River but you know went to Tahiti couldn’t back it up couldn’t find another good result has come here and just found herself again and just you know what just really demonstrating which I think we’ve kind of all known but I feel like she’s been flying under the radar for a while and you know what she even said it uh you know AJ did some reporting and and her have been saying you know what we don’t mind that we’re The Underdogs that people you know the tension isn’t quite on us and Gabby’s been taking that in her stride but I mean look out for her because she’s just outside that final five at the moment number three Chris we enjoyed the Dora Air Show Oh surf skate relate floro rise up I mean there’s a reason why we have so many radical human beings coming out of that part of Brazil the culture there is really all about progression in every way you know there’s on the back street you got skate bows you got a million ramps up and down every beach the beach breaks there textbook Airwaves and Yago shows us exactly why you know his surfing has been so beloved for so long by people who love stuff like that it was awesome all week long rtmf and number two Caroline marks goes back to back winning another Title Here at pun Roa flick yeah this is really cool to see and really hard job to do you know there’s not many people that do that and she has done it and you know we’ve said it already but this was the turning point last year she went on to win her first world title and this her surfing just looks so good at this Wave It’s So reminisent of blowers big backhand hangers I mean perfectly timed great Tempo great Rhythm I mean look out Brazil she’s got definitely got that Target on the back like you said Chris and FG look out for Caroline and going back to back for a world title speaking of world title this guy’s got two he wants three our number one moment our men’s winner John John Florence by the way he got a perfect 10 in the semifinal Chris you know if we were playing Mortal Combat you would have heard Flawless Victory John Unstoppable all week he couldn’t do anything wrong you know like he was winning heats fairly easily it seemed like some of the best combos that we’ve seen of the entire year there was a 13 turn 8.83 that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life and then all the erors that he did it it’s just pure entertainment I mean you’ve got the purists that are going to love the turns he did you got the progressives that are going to love the airs he did John John Florence was uh on top of his game all week long all week long and it’s been a long drink in between CT victories but John John’s back in the driver’s seat yellow Jersey goes on to Brazil and John John takes a CT win in his fourth final of the Year this year click yeah I’m I’m out of breath I’m completely out of breath but thank you so much for all the great energy all week long in the Insight Chris thank you couldn’t do it without you man well you’re not going to take a Corona Sater shower without me either go down in here turn these cameras off we’re going to take a Corona shower thank you all for watching enjoy the end of event highlights and we will see you in Brazil that starts June 22nd tune in World surf league.com for all the updates [Music] Aloha welcome to El Salvador stop number seven the race for the final 5 really starts right here at Puna [Music] [Music] you hear the call you’re IES ready for the [Applause] [Music] fall I see a smile I Feel Complete [Applause] and I can ask him for more noise he’s too beautiful to be here represent my country represent my people people so grateful for this opportunity for [Music] [Music] sure I need you Bab pleas don’t be too long I can’t let go this feeling is too [Music] [Applause] [Music] strong all right the r are pretty pumping um clean 3 foot perfect size I think it’s on no it’s definitely on it’s a final [Music] day I want to stay with you I want to play with you I want to do what you do I want to [Music] go the pr is I’ll follow I I don’t know I don’t want to think too much overthink stuff I just want to go out there and and enjoy the the fun ways we are getting [Music] [Applause] everyone’s so good and the level’s so high that you don’t want to make any mistakes it felt good to put together a whole heat so I’m stoked [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] 4 3 2 1 Caroline marks gets the win she is our backto back Champion here in El Salvador great performance by yodora exceptional surfing for John John Florence these are champ for the Surf City of South Pro presented by Corona give it up from John John Florence this copyrighted event broadcast is produced by the world surf league for broadcasts around the world and may not be retransmitted reproduced rebroadcast or otherwise distributed or used in any form without the written consent of the world surf League for for for