ON Saturday, a new pulse sent solid waves in the six-foot range (two meters) barreling down the line at El Gringo for day five of the WSL Men’s QS 3,000 Maui and Sons Arica Pro Tour.
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Pristine swell conditions and little to no wind kept the waves glassy all morning with loads of spray coming out of the bombs at the Chilean Pipeline.
Rounds four and five were completed on Saturday, establishing which athletes will make their final push for the winner’s podium on Sunday.
The ‘go big or go home’ motto proved to be a blueprint for success as the largest, deepest tuberides scored well into the excellent range (8-10 points).
No one fared better than last year’s event winner, Tomas Tudela (PER), who earned a 9.00 and a 9.33 on two heaving lefthand barrels.
On both rides, the Peruvian came pumping from behind the peak and got cleanly spat out for an 18.33 total.
Advancing in second place behind Tudela was last year’s runner-up, Dean Bowen, from Gerroa, who earned the days second-highest heat wave total of 16.24.
The Australian will now face Vitor Mendes (Brazil), who scored a 15.10 in his round five victory and moved into the quarter-finals with Jacob Wilcox (Australia) that received a 14.20 from the judges.
The other quarter-finals will see Australia’s Jacob Willcox face Peru’s Tomas Tudela, Costa Rica’s Carlos Munoz take on Brazil’s Weslley Dantas and Brazil’s Jeronimo Vargas battle Argentina’s Leandro Usuna.
