Ferreira chased aerials for much of the event, but it was a more conservative ride which booked his place through, scores of 6.67 and 6.50 ensuring his 13.17 overall was enough to edge past Wright, who finished with 12.476 overall.

In similar fashion to Gerroa's Sally Fitzgibbons, who bowed out in the quarter-finals, Wright chased a late wave in search of victory, but it proved fruitless.

Culburra Beach Boardrider Wright will now take on Brazil's Gabriel Medina in the bronze medal showdown.

Japan's Kanoa Igarashi made it through to the final on his home surf after producing a stunning 540-spin aerial move to beat Brazil's two-time world champion Gabriel Medina.

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Igarashi's 9.33 pushed his overall score to 17, with Medina on 16.76 in a thrilling semi-final battle.

It came after Fitzgibbons' shock loss to Japan's Amuro Tsuzuki.

Fitzgibbons briefly hit the lead after posting a 6.17 wave, but Tsuzuki responded just moments later, with 6.67.

It was then a frustrating end to Fitzgibbons' debut at the Olympics, as the wave she needed for a winning 7.11 score did not materialise and Tsuzuki prevailed 13.27 to 11.67.

"It' hurt so bad, this one is probably the toughest loss of my career," Fitzgibbons told Olympics broadcaster Seven Network.

"I had the best time out there, I fought my hardest and it just wasn't my day.

"It's so hard and my heart's just shattered."