In a post-heat interview with ASP commentator Rosy Hodge, World Tour rankings leader Gabriel Medina (BRA) comments on his Round 3 loss at the Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal. The narrow defeat to Brett Simpson (USA), World No. 32, was one of the two major upsets of the day.
The second was World No. 2 Kelly Slater's loss to Aritz Aranburu (ESP) in the very next heat. Both these early-round exits had huge World Title implications and mean the race now culminates at the Billabong Pipe Masters, slated to run December 8-20.