THE Margaret River Pro, stop number three of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), completed men’s elimination round three on Sunday, in six-to-eight foot (1.8 - 2.4 metre) conditions at Main Break, the event’s primary location.
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Event wildcards Mikey Wright (Culburra Beach) and Kael Walsh (Australia) upset the early elimination round with their wins over top seeds Adrian Buchan (Australia) and Matt Wilkinson (Australia), respectively.
The early wins by underdogs Wright and Walsh put them in a unique position to take down surfing’s biggest names as they advance to round three.
In a rematch of their Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast heat, Wright will fight to again knock out reigning, two-time WSL Champion John John Florence (Hawaii).
Wright eliminated an in-form Buchan in the third heat of the day.
Wright perfectly matched the open-ocean power of Main Break with his trademark turns and sent a shot across to all competitors that, once again, he is one to watch out for.
“The waves are really fun out there this morning,” Wright said.
“It’s been a great experience to have surfed two heats at two separate locations in such great waves.
“I had a couple of falls at the end of my waves in round one so a big focus for me was to finish my waves and it seemed to pay off.”
The first heat of the day saw Mikey’s brother Owen Wright take a comfortable win over Drag Aware WA trials winner Dave Delroy-Carr (Australia), who bowed out in equal 25th in his first CT appearance.
Margaret River Men’s Pro round two results:
Heat one: Owen Wright (AUS) 9.77 def. Dave Delroy-Carr (AUS) 5.43
Heat two: Kael Walsh (AUS) 9.77 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 5.07
Heat three: Mikey Wright (AUS) 14.17 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 9.14
Heat four: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.67 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.16
Heat five: Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.16 def. Ian Gouveia (BRA) 9.10
Heat six: Michael February (ZAF) 12.73 def. Frederico Morais (PRT) 9.17
Heat seven: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.76 def. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 11.93
Heat eight: Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 14.34 def. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 13.27
Heat nine: Conner Coffin (USA) 11.83 def. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 9.57
Heat 10: Connor O’Leary (AUS) 13.50 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.50
Heat 11: Jesse Mendes (BRA) 9.37 def. Tomas Hermes (BRA) 9.10
Heat 12: Joan Duru (FRA) 14.57 def. Wade Carmichael (AUS) 11.80
Margaret River Men’s Pro round three matchups:
Heat one: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Keanu Asing (HAW)
Heat two: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Jesse Mendes (BRA)
Heat three: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Michael February (ZAF)
Heat four: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Michael Rodrigues (BRA)
Heat five: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Conner Coffin (USA)
Heat six: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Kael Walsh (AUS)
Heat seven: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Jack Robinson (AUS)
Heat eight: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Connor O’Leary (AUS)
Heat nine: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Heat 10: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Yago Dora (BRA)
Heat 11: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Mikey Wright (AUS)
Margaret River Women’s pro round two matchups:
Heat one: Sage Erickson (USA) vs. Coco Ho (HAW)
Heat two: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs. Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
Heat three: Lakey Peterson (USA) vs. Mikaela Greene (AUS)
Heat four: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Paige Hareb (NZL)
Heat five: Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) vs. Macy Callaghan (AUS)
Heat six: Keely Andrew (AUS) vs. Malia Manuel (HAW)
