Twiggy's Make or Break

PODIUM PRIDE: Kai Lenny wins the only event on the southern hemisphere tour. Photo WSL / Heff

A giant, brown, murky groundswell angrily converged on the exposed Mexican beachbreak to herald the first of three events on the 2017 WSL Big Wave Tour (BWT). With minutes to go in the Final, and sitting in second place, Lenny miraculously found the exit on a giant barrel for an excellent 8.60 and his first BWT victory in five starts.

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BWT Commissioner Mike Parsons and the judges rated the event a Bronze (faces deemed in the 20-25ft category). This means Lenny banks 10,000 points and secures #1 slot in the rankings.

Twiggy, two-time BWT Champion and defending event winner, was eliminated in the opening heat after Hawaiians Billy Kemper, Trevor Carlson and Nathan Florence took the top three spots. Twiggy will look to the Northern Hemisphere season to regain the points to jumpstart his 2017 title campaign.

BARREL BREAK: Twiggy didn't make the semi after this tube pinched on him. Photo WSL / Heff

“I was actually super relaxed coming here,” said Baker. “We had a couple of warm-up days, the waves are pumping and I thought things felt good. I just got into the heat this morning and it was just such a good heat. "Billy was on fire, Trevor got that bomb and Nathan had a couple of good waves too. It just wasn’t my day, but the most important thing is the contest. The contest has been amazing. The waves have been pumping, the swell bigger than I expected. Everyone is super stoked.”

The hour-long final saw multiple lead changes as Lenny, Jamie Mitchell (AUS), Tom Lowe (GBR), Kemper, Carlson and Alex Botelho (PRT) navigated the heaving beachbreak. Mitchell charged out the gates to lock in two massive waves, but with incomplete rides. Lenny took advantage of a solid set to earn a 6.33 (out of 10) and took the lead heading to the halfway mark.

BEACH BOMBARDMENT: A big A-frame scares the daylights out of the crowd. Photo WSL / Hinckle

Under pressure in 2nd, Mitchell flew into a steep barrel for a 7.22 to surpass Lenny’s score. With 15 minutes remaining, Lowe and Kemper also posted solid scores, but still trailed the two. The dramatic final continued to the dying minutes when Lenny found his massive barrel for the win.

“I remember coming here last year and being super terrified because I had never been here,” said Lenny. “My goal today was to not hold back and -- when a good one came -- go no matter what. It was a pleasure competing with these guys. Any one of them could have won if they got the waves and I was just grateful to get that last one in the end. It was so special.

"It was hard to get waves out there because they were so shifty, but then the one that I had been waiting for finally came. Everyone was a little too far in or too deep. I knew that was it. I did a slow bottom turn and then I knew I had it.”

TUBE TIME: Alex Botelho sets up a ginormous barrel on a righthander. Photo WSL / Morales

In his second time competing on the BWT, Tom Lowe (GBR), who hails from St Ives, Cornwall, was first in Round 1 and won Semifinal 2 for his 3rd place finish, the highest ever by an English surfer.

The Southern Hemisphere window closes after the Puerto Escondido Challenge. The Northern Hemisphere window opens October 15 and runs until January 31, 2018 with two more events. Lenny will look to best his previous 9th in Pe’ahi and 13th in Nazaré.

Event standout Kemper took 4th after sweeping Round 1 and his Semifinal to collect the highest single-wave score, a near-perfect 9.00. The 2015 and 2016 Pe’ahi Challenge winner, Kemper will be looking at an historic 3rd straight win at Jaws.

KEMPER COMETH: Billy Kemper charged through, but ended 4th in the final. Photo WSL / Morales

Jamie Mitchell (AUS) was runner-up and will defend his Nazaré Challenge title. Mitchell charged the three rounds with a fractured sternum suffered here a few weeks before. The Australian will now take time to recover, and return even stronger in the second-half of the year.

“There are so many guys wanting to be where we are right now -- they are animals,” Mitchell said. “You just go into beast mode and try to numb out the pain. All these guys are so talented. I am really stoked for Kai (Lenny). To see him win today is great. It was an amazing final.”

Alex Botelho (PRT) received a last minute call-up to replace two-time BWT Champion Greg Long (USA) due to injury. Botelho made the most of this to earn a finals berth and his best result, 5th, in a BWT event.

BIG ONE: Trevor Carlson tackles one of the biggest set waves of the day. Photo WSL / Morales

Final Results:
1 - Kai Lenny (HAW) 23.53
2 - Jamie Mitchell (AUS) 18.64
3 - Tom Lowe (GBR) 12.23
4 - Billy Kemper (HAW) 8.50
5 - Alex Botelho (PRT)
6 - Trevor Carlson (HAW) 2.46

Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Billy Kemper (HAW) 16.89, Trevor Carlson (HAW) 12.27, Alex Botelho (PRT) 8.07, Makuakai Rothman (HAW) 7.94, Jimel Corzo (MEX) 7.13, Nathan Florence (HAW) 6.73
SF 2: Tom Lowe (GBR) 15.34, Jamie Mitchell (AUS) 12.54, Kai Lenny (HAW) 11.27, Nic Lamb (USA) 10.77, Oscar Moncada (MEX) 6.00, Rogercin Ramirez (MEX) 1.64

Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Billy Kemper (HAW) 24.17, Trevor Carlson (HAW) 17.60, Nathan Florence (HAW) 16.34, Grant Baker (ZAF) 11.53, Angelo Lozano (MEX) 8.64, Cristian Merello (CHL) 2.16
Heat 2: Jimel Corzo (MEX) 12.77, Alex Botelho (PRT) 11.74, Makuakai Rothman (HAW) 10.37, Coco Nogales (MEX) 8.07, Peter Mel (USA) 6.83, Will Skudin (USA) 3.13
Heat 3: Tom Lowe (GBR) 18.06, Kai Lenny (HAW) 16.54, Nic Lamb (USA) 13.97, Rusty Long (USA) 13.51, Pedro Calado (BRA) 10.86, Jose Ramirez (MEX) 7.77
Heat 4: Oscar Moncado (MEX) 12.66, Jamie Mitchell (AUS) 10.31, Rogercin Ramirez (MEX) 8.10, Francisco Porcella (ITA) 7.66, Damien Hobgood (USA) 6.53, João de Macedo (PRT) 5.63

2017 WSL Big Wave Tour Schedule:
Southern Hemisphere: May 1 - August 31, 2017
Puerto Escondido Challenge: Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Northern Hemisphere: October 15, 2017 - January 31, 2018
Nazaré Challenge: Nazaré, Portugal
Pe'ahi Challenge: Haiku, Hawaii

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