The first set of Round Four heats at the Vans World Cup of Surfing provided plenty of last minute drama for three surfers still in the hunt to qualify for the 2017 Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour. Brazilian Deivid Silva (QS No. 16) took the win in Heat One, while a last minute use of priority by Aussie Jack Freestone (QS No. 17) on Ian Gouveia (QS No 7) earned the other advancing spot. Silva and Freestone moved on to the Quarterfinals, leaving Gouveia's CT chances outside of his control.
Local Hawaiian Ezekiel Lau (QS No. 15) inched closer to his first appearance on the CT by virtue of a clutch tube ride that propelled him to the win in Heat Two. More last minute heroics capped Heat Three, as No. 10 ranked Frederico Morais used a high-speed close out snap to beat Filipe Toledo by a fraction of a point. His advancement into the Quarterfinals makes his jump to the CT next year a virtual lock.