What if the WSL Finals at Lower Trestles decided the 2019 World Title races? That's the question of the day on the "Time Machine" segment of "The Lineup" with Dave Prodan. Diving into the hot topic with Pat O'Connell, the two speculate on how how the Titles would have gone own at the break some some claim to be the most rippable wave in the world.
The format for the WSL Finals goes like this: the top five men and women on the Jeep Leaderboard at the end of the season will battle it out in a one-day, winner-take-all event. Seeding is based on year-end rankings. The five seed will take on four seed. The winner of that will take on the three seed. Then the winner of that takes on the two seed. Finally, the winner of that will meet the number one seed in a best of three series for the World Title.
And this time around on the Time Machine, Dave and Pat dive into the 2019 year-end ratings and breakdown how the Finals could have gone down at 3 to 5 foot Lower Trestles:
2019 Rankings:
Men:
1) Italo Ferreira
2) Gabriel Medina
3) Jordy Smith
4) Filipe Toledo
5) Kolohe Andino
Given the venue, could Kolohe pull off an upset and run the table and win a world title at his home break? He easily put in more time at Lowers than anybody on Tour. Or would Toledo, who also lives in San Clemente, handle the pressure and rain down his ridiculous bag of tricks?
The winner of that heat would then have to take on Jordy, who would brings the question of how the power game plays for the judges at Lowers. He's another guy that's kept a residence in San Clemente and spent ample time training on the cobblestones.
Whoever emerges from the bottle three will have to face Gabriel. He won the Nike Lowers Pro here in 2012 and has been known to dominate the left. Say Gabriel makes it through the heat, then we're looking at a best of three series against him and Italo for the Title.
Women:
1) Carissa Moore
2) Caroline Marks
3) Lakey Peterson
4) Stephanie Gilmore
5) Sally Fitzgibbons
In a battle of Aussies, could Sally upset seven-time World Champ Stephanie Gilmore? Maybe. But when they met at Lowers in 2014 Steph beat Sally to take the crown.
Then that begs the question, if Steph wins, can she withstand the relative local knowledge of Lakey, who's been competing here since her days as an NSSA grom and continues to come down from Ventura during the summer months to train.
The winner of that heat will have to face Caroline, who moved from Florida to San Clemente surf Lowers. She's got her electric bike and is down there on the daily. We've seen what she can do around the world, imagine her destructive force when she's in her own backyard.
A Caroline and Carissa showdown would be really interesting. In 2015, a 13-year-old Caroline surfed her first CT event as a wildcard at Lowers. And in her first heat she faced Carissa. And Carissa waxed her in absolutely firing conditions. Could Caroline have exacted some revenge for the grom hazing back in the day? Hard to say considering Lowers is one of Carissa favorite waves in the world, but it would make for a hell of a show.
For the full episode of The Lineup, watch below. The Time Machine starts at the 14:21 mark.
Pat O Connell goes in deep about what went into making the decision to have the finals at Trestles, plays the Time Machine, and more.
The Lineup: Medina Vs Italo, Who Would Win At Lowers?
Matt Schulman
What if the WSL Finals at Lower Trestles decided the 2019 World Title races? That's the question of the day on the "Time Machine" segment of "The Lineup" with Dave Prodan. Diving into the hot topic with Pat O'Connell, the two speculate on how how the Titles would have gone own at the break some some claim to be the most rippable wave in the world.
The format for the WSL Finals goes like this: the top five men and women on the Jeep Leaderboard at the end of the season will battle it out in a one-day, winner-take-all event. Seeding is based on year-end rankings. The five seed will take on four seed. The winner of that will take on the three seed. Then the winner of that takes on the two seed. Finally, the winner of that will meet the number one seed in a best of three series for the World Title.
And this time around on the Time Machine, Dave and Pat dive into the 2019 year-end ratings and breakdown how the Finals could have gone down at 3 to 5 foot Lower Trestles:
2019 Rankings:
Men:
1) Italo Ferreira
2) Gabriel Medina
3) Jordy Smith
4) Filipe Toledo
5) Kolohe Andino
Given the venue, could Kolohe pull off an upset and run the table and win a world title at his home break? He easily put in more time at Lowers than anybody on Tour. Or would Toledo, who also lives in San Clemente, handle the pressure and rain down his ridiculous bag of tricks?
The winner of that heat would then have to take on Jordy, who would brings the question of how the power game plays for the judges at Lowers. He's another guy that's kept a residence in San Clemente and spent ample time training on the cobblestones.
Whoever emerges from the bottle three will have to face Gabriel. He won the Nike Lowers Pro here in 2012 and has been known to dominate the left. Say Gabriel makes it through the heat, then we're looking at a best of three series against him and Italo for the Title.
Women:
1) Carissa Moore
2) Caroline Marks
3) Lakey Peterson
4) Stephanie Gilmore
5) Sally Fitzgibbons
In a battle of Aussies, could Sally upset seven-time World Champ Stephanie Gilmore? Maybe. But when they met at Lowers in 2014 Steph beat Sally to take the crown.
Then that begs the question, if Steph wins, can she withstand the relative local knowledge of Lakey, who's been competing here since her days as an NSSA grom and continues to come down from Ventura during the summer months to train.
The winner of that heat will have to face Caroline, who moved from Florida to San Clemente surf Lowers. She's got her electric bike and is down there on the daily. We've seen what she can do around the world, imagine her destructive force when she's in her own backyard.
A Caroline and Carissa showdown would be really interesting. In 2015, a 13-year-old Caroline surfed her first CT event as a wildcard at Lowers. And in her first heat she faced Carissa. And Carissa waxed her in absolutely firing conditions. Could Caroline have exacted some revenge for the grom hazing back in the day? Hard to say considering Lowers is one of Carissa favorite waves in the world, but it would make for a hell of a show.
For the full episode of The Lineup, watch below. The Time Machine starts at the 14:21 mark.
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