Saturday morning at Snapper Rocks saw some heavy drama before conditions shifted. Despite an injured knee, Gabriel Medina turned in one of the highest scores of the event in his Round three heat. He backed it up with a trip straight to the Quarterfinals. Fellow goofyfooters Matt Wilkinson and Connor O'Leary also put their backside attacks to good use, advancing with them.
The morning also saw a huge upset, with Mick Fanning's defeat at the hands of Owen Wright in Round Three. Wright, who's back for his first contest since a suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2015, has been back in fine form, as he showed again in his heat against Fanning.
And despite a solid start from the 2017 rookie class, just one -- Connor O'Leary -- was left by the end of Round Four. He'll compete next in the Quarters, against a to-be-determined opponent.