Although competitors awoke to smaller swell this morning at Sunset, the stakes were even higher as many Qualifying Series warriors faced do-or-die heats in Round Three. Advancing proved to be a tall order as elite Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour surfers took a number of valuable QS scalps. When the dust settled on Day 3, only four of the top 10 QS surfers were still standing. Ethan Ewing (No. 4), Jeremy Flores (No. 6), Ian Gouveia (No. 7) and Frederico Morais (No. 10) were the four survivors.
Other critical performances came from Brazilian storm surfers Jadson Andre (No. 12) Jesse Mendes (No. 13), and Deivid Silva (No. 16), who advanced in tight battles. Australian CT rookie Jack Freestone (No. 17) and San Clemente standout Tanner Gudauskas (No. 19) also did well to break through. With so many top seeds like Ryan Callinan (No. 9) and Bino Lopes (No. 8) out of the picture, guys on the bubble stand to make a serious CT push if they keep advancing at the Vans World Cup.
Tune in tomorrow for a possible early start to finals day at Sunset.