Only 8 surfers remain as the Azores Airlines Pro wraps up the quarterfinals in super fun conditions again and surfers make their way into the Semis.
An all-important fifth consecutive day of competition unfolded at the Men's QS5,000 and Women's QS3,000 Azores Airlines Pro to determine the event's semifinalists in great conditions again.
A pattern emerged early on with surfers wearing the blue jersey racking up the wins and sure enough it turned out to be more of a trend than a coincidence. Every single Quarterfinal matchup was won by the surfer in blue, some of these results being completely unforeseen by most.
The women's first two Quarterfinals were low scoring affairs as surfers struggled to find the right waves in the moving lineup of the incoming tide. Rachel Presti and Teresa Bonvalot took the wins with under 10 point totals and will meet in the Semis.
Mafalda Lopes on the other hand found the right gear in the wedging lefts as she put together great two-turn combos for a solid win over Janire Gonzalez Etxabarri) who opted to surf the rights and couldn't quite match the Portuguese's flair.
"That was a good heat, I got a high score early on and I should have tried to back it up quicker but I really wanted to get some of these little barrels," Lopes said. "I did manage to back it up eventually and I was pretty confident for the rest of the heat."
Mafalda Lopes - WSL / Laurent Masurel
In the last Quarter, Pauline Ado was under the gun with only a couple of minutes on the clock, but Garazi Sanchez-Ortun's lead was precarious with only a small backup. The French surfer drew on a wealth of experience to find the right wave and when it manifested she performed a couple of good turns to post the winning 6.67 into the Semis.
"I started alright but I was struggling to improve on my scores," Ado explained. "So on that last opportunity I really tried to be more aggressive and fortunately it was enough. It's pretty stressful to be in that position in the end of a heat but I tried to keep my mind clear. Waves were quite tough to surf with that strong wind."
The men's Quarters resumed after a couple of hours on hold due to the high tide, and by the time competitors hit the lineup, waves started firing again. Frenchmen Maxime Huscenot and Charly Martin launched the round and it was an-all Huscenot show, the Reunion Island surfer with the best wave selection and an incredibly precise attack of the lefts on his backhand.
"It's good to make the Semis for the first time this year," Huscenot stated. "I just came from a Quarters result in France so hopefully I can go all the way here. We always have really intense battles with Charly, he won the last one we had in Israel at the last second and he's a really great competitor."
Ryan Kainalo - WSL / Laurent Masurel
Timothee Bisso will join Huscenot in Semifinal No.1 after a walk-in-the-park type of performance to dispatch Patrick Langdon-Dark in their Quarter matchup.
The dream run continued for 15 year-old Ryan Kainalo who eliminated one of the form surfers of the event so far, France's Jorgann Couzinet. The surfer from Ubatuba put together a smart heat and built house early on with some action on the insiders, then waited for a set and capitalized to distance himself from the longtime QS campaigner. The young regular foot is guaranteed his best-ever result on the Qualifying Series and could do more damage when the event finishes on Saturday.
"This is definitely the biggest result of my life," Kainalo stated. "I'm going to sleep well tonight and I'll be back on fire tomorrow cause I'm so happy and excited for the finals."
Tristan Guilbaud picked up the last ticket for the Semis after coming out on top of a tense battle with Justin Becret in the final heat of the day.
The final Call will be made at 7:45 a.m on Saturday for a potential finish of the events during the morning.
The Azores Islands Pro will unfold from November 1-6, 2021 and will be webcast LIVE at WorldSurfLeague.com.
Finals Set for Saturday Finish at Azores Airlines Pro
WSL
An all-important fifth consecutive day of competition unfolded at the Men's QS5,000 and Women's QS3,000 Azores Airlines Pro to determine the event's semifinalists in great conditions again.
A pattern emerged early on with surfers wearing the blue jersey racking up the wins and sure enough it turned out to be more of a trend than a coincidence. Every single Quarterfinal matchup was won by the surfer in blue, some of these results being completely unforeseen by most.
The women's first two Quarterfinals were low scoring affairs as surfers struggled to find the right waves in the moving lineup of the incoming tide. Rachel Presti and Teresa Bonvalot took the wins with under 10 point totals and will meet in the Semis.
Mafalda Lopes on the other hand found the right gear in the wedging lefts as she put together great two-turn combos for a solid win over Janire Gonzalez Etxabarri) who opted to surf the rights and couldn't quite match the Portuguese's flair.
"That was a good heat, I got a high score early on and I should have tried to back it up quicker but I really wanted to get some of these little barrels," Lopes said. "I did manage to back it up eventually and I was pretty confident for the rest of the heat."
In the last Quarter, Pauline Ado was under the gun with only a couple of minutes on the clock, but Garazi Sanchez-Ortun's lead was precarious with only a small backup. The French surfer drew on a wealth of experience to find the right wave and when it manifested she performed a couple of good turns to post the winning 6.67 into the Semis.
"I started alright but I was struggling to improve on my scores," Ado explained. "So on that last opportunity I really tried to be more aggressive and fortunately it was enough. It's pretty stressful to be in that position in the end of a heat but I tried to keep my mind clear. Waves were quite tough to surf with that strong wind."
The men's Quarters resumed after a couple of hours on hold due to the high tide, and by the time competitors hit the lineup, waves started firing again. Frenchmen Maxime Huscenot and Charly Martin launched the round and it was an-all Huscenot show, the Reunion Island surfer with the best wave selection and an incredibly precise attack of the lefts on his backhand.
"It's good to make the Semis for the first time this year," Huscenot stated. "I just came from a Quarters result in France so hopefully I can go all the way here. We always have really intense battles with Charly, he won the last one we had in Israel at the last second and he's a really great competitor."
Timothee Bisso will join Huscenot in Semifinal No.1 after a walk-in-the-park type of performance to dispatch Patrick Langdon-Dark in their Quarter matchup.
The dream run continued for 15 year-old Ryan Kainalo who eliminated one of the form surfers of the event so far, France's Jorgann Couzinet. The surfer from Ubatuba put together a smart heat and built house early on with some action on the insiders, then waited for a set and capitalized to distance himself from the longtime QS campaigner. The young regular foot is guaranteed his best-ever result on the Qualifying Series and could do more damage when the event finishes on Saturday.
"This is definitely the biggest result of my life," Kainalo stated. "I'm going to sleep well tonight and I'll be back on fire tomorrow cause I'm so happy and excited for the finals."
Tristan Guilbaud picked up the last ticket for the Semis after coming out on top of a tense battle with Justin Becret in the final heat of the day.
The final Call will be made at 7:45 a.m on Saturday for a potential finish of the events during the morning.
The Azores Islands Pro will unfold from November 1-6, 2021 and will be webcast LIVE at WorldSurfLeague.com.
Tristan Guilbaud
The 9th edition of the Caparica Surf Fest will close out the 2023/24 European QS season in style.
The QS3,000 Pro Santa Cruz pres. by Noah Surf House continues in Portugal and Frederico Morais leads a talented field into the
The top seeded men's Round of 64 hits the lineup and provides a full day of epic entertainment as some of the best surfers in Europe
The men and women's Round of 64 are surfed over two days in fun conditions at the iconic Chambre d'Amour in Anglet.
The world-famous Caraïbos Lacanau Pro, one of the oldest event on tour, continues to add to its legacy as it returns this summer in
Azores Airlines Pro
The surfer from Cascais continues to build on an already impressive surfing resume.
Maxime Huscenot and Teresa Bonvalot come out on top of a stacked finals day to claim their second tour win.
Only 8 surfers remain as the Azores Airlines Pro wraps up the quarterfinals in super fun conditions again and surfers make their way into
Pressure builds as we approach the final rounds of the Men's QS5,000 and Women's QS3,000 Azores Airlines Pro.
Competition continues in the tropical paradise of Sao Miguel, Azores.