Growing up on Kauai's north shore, Sebastian Zietz had plenty of opportunities to fine-tune his backhand tuberiding technique. One wave in particular (which will go nameless) served as the perfect stand-in for a trio of ultra-talented regularfoots -- Zietz and the Irons Brothers, Andy and Bruce. It's the ideal training ground for waves like Pipe, Teahupo'o and Cloudbreak -- shallow, sucky and scary.
Seabass applied what he's learned over the years to great effect against injury wildcard Bino Lopes, earning a 9.43 on a deep, chunky double barrel to take control of their matchup. But he wasn't quite done yet, capping the heat with another 9-point ride to put Lopes into combo-land. He sent the Brazilian back to the Qualifying Series with a glimpse of what it takes to make a mark on the big Tour.