Photo: Heff//WSL
After a dramatic finale to the Pipe Pro, the second stop on the Championship Tour is right around the corner. The WSL has announced the beginning of the waiting period for the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach, along with event wildcards and injury replacements.
Just down the beach from Pipe, Sunset Beach will hold the second event of the Championship Tour season. The competition window starts today, and goes through Thursday, February 22.
The event wildcards will go to Zoe McDougall, Keanu Asing and Kai Lenny. All three hail from Hawaii, With McDougall and Asing surfing out of Oahu, and Lenny coming from Maui. McDougall and Asing were selected based on their Hawaii/Tahiti Nui region CS rankings, while Lenny was selected based on his reputation as a big-wave surfer.
In addition to the three wildcards, there will be one injury substitution. Brodi Sale will take the place of João Chianca, who is still recovering from an injury he sustained at Pipeline in December. This will be the 2020 Sunset Pro Junior champion’s very first CT event. He was selected as a result of his ranking in the Hawaii/Tahiti Nui region.
The two final substitutions are a result of Carissa Moore’s retirement and Filipe Toledo’s recent announcement that he will be stepping away from the CT for a year. In their place, Ramzi Boukhiam and Sophie McCulloch will compete.
Hurley Pro Sunset Beach Women’s Opening Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Molly Picklum (AUS), Gabriela Bryan (HAW), Isabella Nichols (AUS)
HEAT 2: Caitlin Simmers (USA), Luana Silva (BRA), Sophie McCulloch (AUS)
HEAT 3: Caroline Marks (USA), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Zoe McDougall (HAW)
HEAT 4: Tyler Wright (AUS), Brisa Hennessy (CRC), Alyssa Spencer (USA)
HEAT 5: Johanne Defay (FRA), Lakey Peterson (USA), Sawyer Lindblad (USA)
HEAT 6: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW), India Robinson (AUS)
Hurley Pro Sunset Beach Men’s Opening Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Connor O’Leary (JPN), Imaikalani deVault (HAW), Kade Matson (USA)
HEAT 2: Jack Robinson (AUS), Crosby Colapinto (USA), Deivid Silva (BRA)
HEAT 3: Barron Mamiya (HAW), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Kelly Slater (USA)
HEAT 4: John John Florence (HAW), Jake Marshall (USA), Keanu Asing (HAW)
HEAT 5: Griffin Colapinto (USA), Seth Moniz (HAW), Brodi Sale (HAW)
HEAT 6: Ethan Ewing (AUS), Rio Waida (INA), Kai Lenny (HAW)
HEAT 7: Yago Dora (BRA), Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Frederico Morais (POR)
HEAT 8: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), Callum Robson (AUS), Cole Houshmand (USA)
HEAT 9: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Matthew McGillivray (RSA), Eli Hanneman (HAW)
HEAT 10: Ian Gentil (HAW), Italo Ferreira (BRA), Jacob Willcox (AUS)
HEAT 11: Jordy Smith (RSA), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Samuel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 12: Ryan Callinan (AUS), Liam O’Brien (AUS), Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR)
