Qualification Update: Who Needs What at Sunset Beach?

When it comes to making or breaking careers, no event has the same gut-wrenching impact of the Vans World Cup at Sunset Beach, the final stop of Qualifying Series (QS). After a year of grinding and groveling around the world for precious QS points, it all comes down to Sunset's shifty peaks. While several QS slots have already been locked up, more than 45 surfers are vying for the slots still in play.

Sunset Beach may not get the photographic love of its North Shore neighbors, but it's still one of surfing's ultimate proving grounds. - WSL / Kirstin Scholtz

Heading into Sunset, Portugal's Frederico Morais is the sitting at No. 10 on the QS with 16,010 points. As the last guy in the cut, he's got a target on his back. But No. 9 Ryan Callinan, No. 8 Bino Lopes and No. 7 Ian Gouveia are far from safe if they lose early. The following list illustrates the minimum result each surfer needs at Sunset to stay in contention, should Morais falter.

Frederico Morais' huge second-place result at Haleiwa placed him at No. 10 on the QS ranks, but he can't risk bowing out early at Sunset. - WSL / Kelly Cestari

The interesting wrinkle here is some CT surfers who've already qualified through the Championship Tour could make the QS Top 10 and Double Qualify (DQ), which means the next QS surfer on the list would get in.

Needs a 25th place finish or better

Jadson Andre

CT veteran Jadson Andre will be fighting for his CT job and his livelihood at Sunset, where he'll need at least a Round Four finish. - WSL / Kelly Cestari

Need a 17th place finish or better

Evan Geiselman, Jesse Mendes

Evan Geiselman didn't budge from his No. 14 rank during the Hawaiian Pro, so he's still got work to do at Sunset. - WSL / Kelly Cestari

Need a 13th place finish or better

Ezekiel Lau, Tomas Hermes, Deivid Silva, Jack Freestone, Davey Cathels

Ezekiel Lau can always rely on his powerful rail game at Sunset. - WSL / Ed Sloane

Need a 9th place finish or better

Tanner Gudauskas, Marc Lacomare, Brett Simpson.

Marc Lacomare's third-place finish at Haleiwa rocketed him to No. 21 on the QS, but he'll need another solid finish to make it onto the elite stage. - WSL / Kelly Cestari

Needs a 7th place finish or better

John John Florence (Double Qualify).

The 2016 World Champ doesn't have to worry about requalification, but after winning the Hawaiian Pro he has another Triple Crown title in his sights, and won't mind crushing CT dreams along the way. - WSL / Laurent Masurel

Need a 4th place finish or better

Griffin Colapinto, Mitch Crews, Soli Bailey, Michael Rodrigues, Filipe Toledo (DQ).

After his breakout performance at Haleiwa, 18-year-old Griffin Colapinto could snag a last-minute CT spot if he cracks the Final at Sunset. - WSL / Kelly Cestari

Need a 3rd place finish or better

Cooper Chapman, Maxime Huscenot

Qualification or not, Cooper Chapman is looking to keep his momentum up the QS ladder going. - WSL / Kelly Cestari

Need a 2nd place finish or better

Pat Gudauskas, Stu Kennedy (DQ), Victor Bernardo, Dion Atkinson, Gony Zubizarreta, Mitch Coleborn, Seabass (DQ), Yago Dora, Adriano de Souza (DQ) Krystian Kymerson, Matt Wilkinson (DQ).

Pat Gudauskas passed on the Big Wave Tour this year to pursue his QS mission. Now he's hoping his big-wave skills will see him through at Sunset. - WSL / Kelly Cestari

Need to win

Keanu Asing, Ramzi Boukhiam, Matt Banting, Santiago Muniz, Hizunome Bettero, Beyrick De Vries, Ace Buchan (DQ), Mihimana Braye, Billy Stairmand, Torrey Meister, Nate Yeomans, Michael February, Jordy Smith (DQ), Kelly Slater (DQ), Miguel Pupo, Nathan Hedge.

Keanu Asing will need another massive win if he's to qualify through the QS. If not, he'll have one more crack at Pipe. - WSL / tony heff