2018 VANS TRIPLE CROWN OF SURFING LAUNCHES AT HAWAIIAN PRO, MIXES LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL TALENT

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Mason Ho of Hawaii places fourth of round 1 heat four of the WSL Hawaiian Pro 2018 at Haleiwa Alii Beach park

Surfers gather for the pule or blessing during the opening ceremony of the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii, USA.
(Monday, November 12, 2018) – The 36th Annual Vans Triple Crown of Surfing fired into action on opening day of the holding window, as Round 1 of the Hawaiian Pro saw North Shore standouts like Kiron Jabour (HAW), Finn McGill (HAW) and Mason Ho (HAW) claim their stake in Round 2 alongside international Qualifying Series (QS) hopefuls Victor Bernardo (BRA), Noe Mar McGonagle (CRI) and Adin Masencamp (ZAF). The Hawaiian Pro is a World Surf League (WSL) Men’s QS 10,000 event and will count toward 2019 Championship Tour (CT) qualification, plus an early lead on the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing (VTCS) Champion title.

Brazil’s Victor Bernardo posted the day’s highest single wave score, an 8.33 for excellent power surfing in Round One Heat 9. Bernardo attacked his final wave of the heat with a solid snap off the top and then flowed into a big, wrapping turn and completed the ride with a committed closing maneuver. He and fellow advancing competitor David Van Zyl (ZAF) eliminated two local athletes – Noah Hill (HAW) and Sheldon Paishon (HAW) – on their hunt for points and prestige.

Freshly crowned 2018 WSL Hawaii/Tahiti Nui Regional QS Winner, O’Neill Massin (PYF), moved onto the next round after advancing behind Jack Robinson (AUS) in an internationally mixed, competitive heat. Robinson was able to secure two mid-range scores – a 5.17 and 6.33 – while Massin earned second after scoring a 6.07 on his final ride. Massin won the regional QS circuit at the HIC Pro after a runner-up finish to Jabour, which was his goal for 2018, and now looks forward to enjoying his time competing in the VTCS.

“That’s the whole goal is to get to the tour,” said Robinson. “When I come here and see these two events, get to the end of the year, I can’t do anything else other than just go out and surf, and that’s when I do my best. Just go out and try to find the best waves and let it all go from there. Whoever gets the best waves gets to show what they’ve got and that’s who you’re sparring against. Can’t do much else other than just surf, that’s what it’s all about in these events for me.”

Many athletes took to the air in the ramp-like waves today, but the flying standout was Tahiti’s Mihimana Braye (PYF) who earned a 7.00 on a tail-high air reverse – his highest and cleanest aerial maneuver of Heat 4.

“I’ve been training at my home break of Papara and the left is kind of similar to this,” said Braye. “I’m feeling confident, I have some good boards, my DHD works good. I’m feeling good and can’t wait for the next one.” Braye went against a stacked heat that included Hawaiian phenom Mason Ho (HAW), Maui’s upstart Cody Young (HAW) and Gatien Delahaye (FRA).

Surfline, the official forecast partner of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, is predicting a mix of old/fading shorter period NNW swell and new/building longer period NNW swell peaking Tuesday night. The remainder of the week has plenty of solid surf on offer and contest organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning to make a call by 7:00 a.m. HST.

Each event of the 2018 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing will run on the four best days of surf within the event’s holding window. LIVE streaming is available on WorldSurfLeague.com, VansTripleCrownOfSurfing.com, Facebook.com/wsllive and the WSL and Facebook apps (Facebook login required for mobile viewing). Or tune into Spectrum SURF Channel, which will televise the action LIVE and in replay on digital channels 20 and 1020HD, across the state of Hawaii.
 

Athletes listed in 1st through 4th

Round 1 (1st and 2nd advance, 3rd = 97th place, 4th = 113th place)
H1: Jeronimo Vargas (BRA), Mateus Herdy (BRA), Lahiki Minamishin (HAW), Leandro Usuna (ARG)
H2: Liam O’Brien (AUS), Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR), Luel Felipe (BRA), Eala Stewart (HAW)
H3: Finn McGill (HAW), Lucas Silveira (BRA), Flavio Nakagima (BRA), Ocean Macedo (HAW)
H4: Mihimana Braye (PYF), Mason Ho (HAW), Cody Young (HAW), Gatien Delahaye (FRA)
H5: Elijah Gates (HAW), Kei Kobayashi (USA), Imaikalani deVault (HAW), Koa Smith (HAW)
H6: Jacob Willcox (AUS), Benji Brand (HAW), Joh Azuchi (JPN), Kainehe Hunt (HAW)
H7: Santiago Muniz (ARG), Noe Mar McGonagle (CRI), Kekoa Cazimero (HAW), Ragael Teixeira (BRA)
H8: Adin Masencamp (ZAF), Aritz Aranburu (ESP), Ulualoha Napeahi (HAW), Ian Gentil (HAW)
H9: Victor Bernardo (BRA), David Van Zyl (ZAF), Noah Hill (HAW), Sheldon Paishon (HAW)
H10: Joshua Burke (BRB), Oney Anwar (IDN), Beyrick De Vries (ZAF), Vehiatua Prunier (PYF)
H11: Kiron Jabour (HAW), Torrey Meister (HAW), Logan Bediamol (HAW), Tomas Tudela (PER)
H12: Skip McCullough (USA), Jackson Baker (AUS), Cole Alves (HAW), Jamie O’Brien (HAW)
H13: Jack Robinson (AUS), O’Neill Massin (PYF), Marco Fernandez (BRA), Michael O’Shaughnessy (HAW)
H14: Makai McNamara (HAW), Shayden Pacarro (HAW), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA), Reo Inaba (JPN)
H15: Cooper Chapman (AUS), Tereva David (PYF), Kalani Ball (AUS), Dylan Lightfoot (HAW)
H16: Ian Crane (USA), Noa Mizuno (HAW), Evan Valiere (HAW), Davey Cathels (AUS)