Halfway House

CLASSY AND GLASSY: John John Florence was in a class of his own at Margaret River. Photo WSL

The pumping surf, which saw Matt and Jordy make the Round of 16, will set up an epic finale tomorrow, which is also forecast to host proper surf in favourable offshore winds. So far, eight more surfers have been confirmed above the Mid-season Cut line, with 10 falling below, and two still on the bubble.

CT veteran Owen Wright (AUS) and Matt are the two. McGillivray surded brilliantly against former World #1 Kanoa Igarashi to win his heat to advance. Wright will have to wait to realise his fate after a loss in the Round of 32 today, but McGillivray holds both their fates in his hands after booking a clash with Brazilian Samual Pupo tomorrow. If he makes the quarter-finals, he will be assured of a place in the top 22 and Wright will lose out. If McGillivray loses, Wright wins a place for the remaining events of the tour.

The chop, which has become quite controversial, comes after the first five events of the 2022 CT season. The Margaret River is the fifth event. The Mid-season Cut reduces the smaller female cohort to the top 10 women after the Margie is done. All surfers who make the cut continue on the CT (in their bid to compete in the Rip Curl WSL Finals that comprises the five highest placed surfers). They also requalify for the 2023 CT automatically. Those who do not make the cut will need to compete on the 2022 Challenger Series in order to qualify for the 2023 CT.

BILLY GOAT GRIFFIN: Griffin Colapinto is another who can make the cut tomorrow. Photo WSL

With their heat wins today Kolohe Andino (USA), Samuel Pupo (BRA), Jordy Smith (ZAF), and Nat Young (USA) have guaranteed their spots on tour beyond the Mid-season Cut along with Connor O’Leary (AUS) who hangs on despite being eliminated in the Round of 32.

For a number of competitors, the Mid-season Cut line wasn’t something to worry about in the Round of 32 given their position on the 2022 rankings, and today that was reflected in their performances. Nat Young (USA), Jack Robinson (AUS), Jordy Smith (ZAF) and Ethan Ewing (AUS) all reveled in the chunky conditions, each posting at least one excellent score in their matchups with Ewing posting two, for the highest heat total of the entire event. Ewing’s 17.93 (out of a possible 20) two-wave total came from his incredibly smooth and powerful frontside-rail gauges which was too much for Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA).

Heat 5 was filled with drama and tense moments for Igarashi (JPN) and McGillivray (ZAF). Igarashi took control at the start, leading most of the way until McGillivray charged home with his last wave scoring 6.83 (out of a possible 10) from one massive upwards snap. This performance boosted McGillivray’s ranking from 32 to 25, a much-needed lift ahead of the Mid-season Cut.

CUTTING LOOSE: Assured of a place after the mid year cut, Jordy Smith went ballistic. Photo WSL

The Australian lineup of rookie Callum Robson and Morgan Cibilic took to the water in Heat 3 at the Main Break with offshore winds. Coming off the back of a second place finish at Bells Beach, Robson was early to pick his first waves, leading by 11.50 (out of a possible 20) just five minutes into the heat. Cibilic worked to fight back but was unable to match Robson’s combination score.

“It sucks when you come up against one of your close mates in such a crucial round,” said Robson, “Nut I was stoked to get through. We both had one wave each and it was a battle, just scrapping for both of us to get those backup scores. I was just hunting for a certain type of wave, I knew where I was on the reef and just trying to look for the kind of ingredients that were in the waves I was looking for and then I copped a few in the head for my troubles, so yeah it’s just a bit of cat and mouse.”

Men’s CT: Made the Cut
Kolohe Andino (USA)
Samuel Pupo (BRA)
Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Nat Young (USA)
Connor O’Leary (AUS)
Jake Marshall (USA)
Jackson Baker (AUS)
Jadson Andre (BRA)

After today, the below surfers found themselves under the cut and will now shift their focus to the Challenger Series for the remainder of 2022.

Men’s CT: Missed the Cut
Morgan Cibilic (AUS)
Imaikalani deVault (HAW)
Conner Coffin (USA)
Joao Chianca (BRA)
Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Frederico Morais (PRT)
Ryan Callinan (AUS)
Lucca Mesinas (PER)
Deivid Silva (BRA)

Men’s CT: On the Bubble
Owen Wright (AUS)
Matthew McGillivray (ZAF)

Women’s Semifinal Matchups
HEAT 1: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Courtney Conlogue (USA)
HEAT 2: Bronte Macaulay (AUS) vs Isabella Nichols (AUS)

Men’s Round of 32 Results
HEAT 1: John John Florence (HAW) 12.16 DEF. Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 9.00
HEAT 2: Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.57 DEF. Jackson Baker (AUS) 9.00
HEAT 3: Callum Robson (AUS) 12.00 DEF. Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 10.70
HEAT 4: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 12.60 DEF. Conner Coffin (USA) 11.66
HEAT 5: Matthew McGillivray (ZAF) 14.43 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 13.17
HEAT 6: Samuel Pupo (BRA) 11.73 DEF. Connor O'Leary (AUS) 10.84
HEAT 7: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.53 DEF. Joao Chianca (BRA) 12.84
HEAT 8: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 11.50 DEF. Owen Wright (AUS) 8.93
HEAT 9: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 11.40 DEF. Ryan Callinan (AUS) 9.83
HEAT 10: Nat Young (USA) 16.10 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 10.17
HEAT 11: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 15.00 DEF. Frederico Morais (PRT) 8.50
HEAT 12: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 17.93 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 14.77
HEAT 13: Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.60 DEF. Kelly Slater (USA) 9.24
HEAT 14: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.17 DEF. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 12.67
HEAT 15: Jack Robinson (AUS) 14.83 DEF. Lucca Mesinas (PER) 5.70
HEAT 16: Barron Mamiya (HAW) 11.87 vs. Deivid Silva (BRA) 0.13

Men’s Round of 16 Matchups
HEAT 1: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)
HEAT 2: Callum Robson (AUS) vs. Griffin Colapinto (USA)
HEAT 3: Matthew McGillivray (ZAF) vs. Samuel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 5: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Nat Young (USA)
HEAT 6: Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs. Ethan Ewing (AUS)
HEAT 7: Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
HEAT 8: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. Barron Mamiya (HAW)

The WSL Acknowledges the Wadandi people as the Traditional Owners of the Margaret River region and thank them for welcoming us to their Boodja (Country). We pay our respects to the Wadandi community and their Elders past and present. The WSL is committed to ongoing learning about local history, culture, and language of Wadandi Boodjar (Saltwater People’s Country). They have asked all of us to walk together softly on county and respect the ocean and waterways. We wish to also extend this Acknowledgement and respect to other First Nations Peoples who join us in person and online.

Watch LIVE
Finals Day will be broadcast LIVE tomorrow, starting at 7:05am AWST (11.05pm ZA time today Monday), on WorldSurfLeague.com, WSL’s YouTube channel, and the free WSL app.