On the opening day of the Oi Rio Pro Brazilian wildcard Yago Dora nearly upset World Champion John John Florence in Round One. Dora stuck a massive backside air reverse in the closing moments that earned him a 9.27, which was just shy of what he needed for the win. It was so close that two of the three judges actually had him getting the score, and so did many fans, but Dora had to settle for a trip to Round Two. So on Wednesday morning, in the first heat of the day, we were expecting big things from Dora, who was up against World No. 5 Kolohe Andino, a very viable contender in this year's race. On paper, this match looked good from the start. Both are solid in beachbreaks, have crazy air games, and the X factor.
Yago Dora came up short in his Round One heat against Florence, but he was still a huge hit. On Wednesday he got some payback at the expense of Kolohe Andino. - WSL / Daniel Smorigo
Unfortunately for Andino, the swell dropped overnight, giving the lighter-footed Dora a slight advantage in the smaller surf, and he took advantage of it with a a couple seamless frontside air reverses. The first earned him a 9.10, and a solid lead. But Andino came firing back with a few solid turns and grabbed the lead. But with just under three minutes to go Dora found another little ramp, and turned the heat. Andino scrambled in the closing moments, but to no avail. He ended up being the first surfer to get sent packing at the Oi Rio Pro, suffering his earliest exit of the season.