At stop number 10 of 11 on the CT and in clean three-to-four foot (1 - 1.2 metre), Wright started the day in comprehensive fashion, by ousting Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi in the quarter-finals. 

The Culburra Beach Boardrider showed no mercy, as he recorded waves of 6.17 and 5.00 , for a total of 11.17, to easily account for Igarashi (4.60).

The South Coast goofy footer than moved onto the semi-finals, where he was pitted against fellow another goofy footer, France’s Joan Duru.

Both surfers attacked the rights on their backhand, but the best wave of the heat came to the Frenchman and he posted a 7.83 to distance himself from Wright and take the spot for the final – winning the showdown 13.60 to 12.00.

Duru would go on to lose the decider to Brazil’s Italo Ferreira 15.93 to 10.77.

With an equal third place, Wright posted his second-best result of the season and moved up ahead of Jordy Smith (South Africa) to number five on the rankings before the Billabong Pipe Masters.