Round Two is pure evil. For pros, there's nothing more painful than traveling across the world only to be sent home early with nothing to show for it. Yet for an unlucky dozen, that's exactly what happens on day two at each Championship Tour event, and that number grows even larger when both men's and women's events run, as they did Friday. Here's a rundown of the notable early exits at the Oi Rio Pro.
Kolohe Andino - WSL / Daniel Smorigo
Kolohe Andino: Upset by wildcard Yago Dora in the first heat of the shortened day of competition, the World No. 5 suffered his earliest loss of the season, damaging his chances to keep pace with the front of the pack.
Leonardo Fioravanti - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Leonardo Fioravanti: The Italian's 2017 woes continued with a close loss to Matt Wilkinson on Wednesday. The rookie is still looking for his first heat win of the year on the Championship Tour (CT), which is why he's ranked No. 36.
Ethan Ewing - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Ethan Ewing: Like Fioravanti, this high-profile rookie is winless this season, and struggling to find momentum. While he had a few moments of brilliance in Australia, there was no sign of it in Rio. During his Friday loss to Sebastian Zietz he earned just 5.07 points total.
Conner Coffin - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Conner Coffin: After a solid start to the season at Snapper and Margaret River, the Californian has suffered two 25th-place finishes in a row. He was undone in Rio by a resurgent Bede Durbidge in Round Two. His No. 15 on the Jeep Leaderboard is vulnerable.
Jack Freestone - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Jack Freestone: After finishing runner-up in Brazil last year many thought Jack was a safe bet in Rio, but they were wrong. Jack suffered his third 25th-place result on the season, this one at the hands of rookie Frederico Morais. Fortunately for Freestone, his 3rd-place finish in Margaret River may keep him in the Top 20.
Stu Kennedy - WSL / Poullenot
Stu Kennedy: On Friday the speedy Australian was paired against his good friend and travel buddy, Connor O'Leary, and they turned in the highest-scoring heat of the morning. Unfortunately, somebody had to lose. Kennedy's total heat score of 15.16 would have won nearly every other heat, but not this one. O'Leary bagged a pair of 9s, racking up the high score of the round.
Ezekiel Lau - WSL / WSL/POULLENOT
Ezekiel Lau: The Hawaiian was hoping to build on his Bells Beach momentum, but the always-dangerous Wiggolly Dantas did him in Friday with a razor-thin win.
Carissa Moore - WSL / Damien Poullenot
Carissa Moore: The 3x World Champion suffered her first Round Two loss since 2010 during her match against injury replacement Bianca Buitendag -- an astounding thought. Unfortunately for Carissa, the last place result only compounds her 2017 problems on the Jeep Leaderboard. She hasn't made it past the Quarterfinals yet this season.
Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) - WSL / WSL/Smorigo
Tatiana Weston-Webb: The Brazilian-born goofyfooter looked like a serious threat heading into this event, but struggled to find her rhythm against Laura Enever. The Australian edged out Webb in one of the first upsets of the day, putting another huge dent in Webb's hopes of being a viable 2017 World Title contender. After finishing No. 4 on the Jeep Leaderboard in 2016, Webb has plummeted to No. 12, and that was before this loss.
Heavy Round Two Casualties Pile Up at Oi Rio Pro
Chris Mauro
Round Two is pure evil. For pros, there's nothing more painful than traveling across the world only to be sent home early with nothing to show for it. Yet for an unlucky dozen, that's exactly what happens on day two at each Championship Tour event, and that number grows even larger when both men's and women's events run, as they did Friday. Here's a rundown of the notable early exits at the Oi Rio Pro.
Kolohe Andino: Upset by wildcard Yago Dora in the first heat of the shortened day of competition, the World No. 5 suffered his earliest loss of the season, damaging his chances to keep pace with the front of the pack.
Leonardo Fioravanti: The Italian's 2017 woes continued with a close loss to Matt Wilkinson on Wednesday. The rookie is still looking for his first heat win of the year on the Championship Tour (CT), which is why he's ranked No. 36.
Ethan Ewing: Like Fioravanti, this high-profile rookie is winless this season, and struggling to find momentum. While he had a few moments of brilliance in Australia, there was no sign of it in Rio. During his Friday loss to Sebastian Zietz he earned just 5.07 points total.
Conner Coffin: After a solid start to the season at Snapper and Margaret River, the Californian has suffered two 25th-place finishes in a row. He was undone in Rio by a resurgent Bede Durbidge in Round Two. His No. 15 on the Jeep Leaderboard is vulnerable.
Jack Freestone: After finishing runner-up in Brazil last year many thought Jack was a safe bet in Rio, but they were wrong. Jack suffered his third 25th-place result on the season, this one at the hands of rookie Frederico Morais. Fortunately for Freestone, his 3rd-place finish in Margaret River may keep him in the Top 20.
Stu Kennedy: On Friday the speedy Australian was paired against his good friend and travel buddy, Connor O'Leary, and they turned in the highest-scoring heat of the morning. Unfortunately, somebody had to lose. Kennedy's total heat score of 15.16 would have won nearly every other heat, but not this one. O'Leary bagged a pair of 9s, racking up the high score of the round.
Ezekiel Lau: The Hawaiian was hoping to build on his Bells Beach momentum, but the always-dangerous Wiggolly Dantas did him in Friday with a razor-thin win.
Carissa Moore: The 3x World Champion suffered her first Round Two loss since 2010 during her match against injury replacement Bianca Buitendag -- an astounding thought. Unfortunately for Carissa, the last place result only compounds her 2017 problems on the Jeep Leaderboard. She hasn't made it past the Quarterfinals yet this season.
Tatiana Weston-Webb: The Brazilian-born goofyfooter looked like a serious threat heading into this event, but struggled to find her rhythm against Laura Enever. The Australian edged out Webb in one of the first upsets of the day, putting another huge dent in Webb's hopes of being a viable 2017 World Title contender. After finishing No. 4 on the Jeep Leaderboard in 2016, Webb has plummeted to No. 12, and that was before this loss.
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