Men's Quarterfinalists Decided in Barrel-Fest at 2024 Siargao International Surfing Cup QS 5000

CLOUD 9, Siargao, Philippines (Wednesday, October 30, 2024) - An all-day barrel-fest saw men's Quarterfinalists decided at the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) Siargao International Surfing Cup QS 5000. Pristine conditions carried through the majority of the day, with Asia Pacific's best male surfers battling it out in super-clean, four-to-six foot swell at Cloud 9's perfect peak.

An extremely restrained judging panel still managed to award 14 excellent scores, though anything over a 5 today would likely make the highlight reel of the majority of events. Despite the fact that six of the eight Quarterfinalists are Australian, many of Asia's best men put on incredible performances, including an 8.50 for a backflip from Bronson Meydi (INA) and a 9.00 earned after a freefall into a deep barrel for Varun Tandjung (INA). Tenshi Iwami (JPN) and John Mark Tokong (PHL), the two Asian surfers who pierced the Australian dominance, both have strong bonds with the wave.

Noah Arkfeld - WSL / Matt Dunbar

Tokong likely has the best track record of any surfer at an individual event. The four-time winner opened his campaign with the highest heat total of the event so far and advanced through three heats today to arrive in the Quarterfinals. The 28-year-old has remained undefeated at Cloud 9 since 2018, when he also made the Final, and he is clearly intent on claiming his third victory in a row. Tokong's 18.26 (out of a possible 20) heat total included a near-perfect 9.43 (out of a possible 10) and an 8.83.

"This event is really, really important, especially for me," Tokong said. "I missed three events already in Japan. So I'm really looking for points to qualify for the Challenger Series for next year. Before the biggest was 3000, now it's 5000, and whoo, everyone is so happy, all the athletes from Siargao."

Iwami found a giant score of his own in the Round of 16, earning a 9.23 after racing at high speed through a long barrel. In 2023, the 19-year-old donated 25 of his own surfboards to the local community, wanting to give back to a location that had provided him with so much joy.

Almost a third of the competitors to progress into the men's Round of 32 were Filipino. The local Cloud 9 crew knocked out many of the top seeds in the Round of 64, including the three highest seeds from the Australia / Oceania region, Dakoda Walters (AUS), Jarvis Earle (AUS) and Alister Reginato (AUS). Six of the 10 Filipinos to make the Round of 32 ended up drawing each other across two heats, however.

Xavier Huxtable - WSL / Matt Dunbar

The final heat of that round featured locals Jayuard Alciso (PHL), Noah Arkfeld (PHL) and Toby Espejon (PHL) taking on Xavier Huxtable (AUS). A mid-heat exchange between Arkfeld and Huxtable started with the Filipino being bucked repeatedly by the foamball and emerging after the spit on a solid wave to earn an 8.67. On the following wave, Huxtable raced through a smaller barrel but launched a giant, seamless straight air, picking up a 9.43. Huxtable led the heat, but Alciso was finding impressive barrels of his own and, with no backup for Arkfeld, was able to take the second advancing position.

"That was amazing," Huxtable said. "I mean, apart from Nias, I reckon that's the second best heat I've ever had. Those waves, they're incredible. So yeah, pretty speechless on the conditions we've got right now. I knew Noah took the one before it and it was an absolute nug, and you could hear everyone screaming, so I was like, I could probably need a bit of a score here. I made the drop and got through the tube and then I kind of just like, I might as well try something here, and it was a bit of a flyway. I kind of just stuck it and luckily the landing was smooth and yeah, rode out. I couldn't really believe it when I rode out, but no, I was stoked."

Progression in the final heat of the day saw Huxtable through to his first-ever Quarterfinal in a QS 5000.

Reef Heazlewood - WSL / Matt Dunbar

Despite the importance of the event for everyone involved, it was impossible to wipe the stoke from the face of most competitors, especially during a stacked, all-Australian heat that saw Joshua Stretton (AUS) and Reef Heazlewood (AUS) sharing back-to-back waves. The pair collected the two highest scores of the match-up, trading high-fives and conversation afterwards, along with their fellow competitors Dylan Moffat (AUS) and Dane Henry (AUS). Heazlewood drove through a cavernous backhand barrel in a huge burst of spit to claim an 8.83 and the heat win ahead of Stretton.

"It was insane," Heazlewood said. "There was a couple things that kind of caught me off guard that made me froth on it. The drop was just beautiful. And then once I was in it, it had a little bit of a foamball come up underneath me and I was thinking I was sweet, but then it made me question it a little bit. I was like, oooh! And then I got over and I was frothing and then it just spat hard as well. It felt so, so incredible."

Surfing in his first heat of the event this morning, Heazlewood advanced through three in total. The 24-year-old saved his best for last, with a 16.10 heat total in the Round of 16, one of just two excellent heat totals today, sending him into the Quarterfinals.

Australian juniors Macklin Flynn (AUS), Kyan Falvey (AUS) and Eden Hasson (AUS) all find themselves in the Quarterfinals, already earning career-best results and points that will see them jump up the Australia / Oceania region QS rankings. They are joined by Oscar Berry (AUS), who has just completed his first full season on the Challenger Series, where each of them are hoping to reach after a good result in the Philippines.

The 2024 Siargao International Surfing Cup QS 5000 will run at Cloud 9 in the Philippines from October 26 to November 4, 2024.