Connor O’Leary is in Hawaii but he's not on holiday – he’s surfing for his World Championship Tour life.
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O’Leary needs a massive result in the final contest of the season at the Billabong Pipe Masters.
Like so many a world title race, it will all come down to Pipeline in 2018.
World No.1 Gabriel Medina will barrel into Hawaii with a head full of steam, while Australian Julian Wilson and Filipe Toledo, locked in a tie for second, are in control of their own destinies.
O’Leary is at the other end of the spectrum and he too is in control of his destiny but he is sitting in 26th position in the World Tour, four spots below the cut off.
With his best result a ninth, O’Leary has too many 25th placings to be in contention and needs to make the quarter-finals to have a significant impact on his 2019 plans.
O’Leary made the fourth round of the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa and still has the Vans World Cup to surf at Sunset. But his immediate future will all come down to Pipeline.
Super strong Nor Easters have been the story of this week with yesterday's early blow really making conditions hard to surf.
The forecast for the next few days is looking pretty good with the wind coming from the West with Friday having strong offshores-until Sunday when it will swing to the South and bring with it a bit of size.
There are some small waves today and the swell is due to kick this afternoon from the Sou-East peaking around 4/5ft into Thursday when it will back off on Friday before the Southerly hits on Saturday.
There are a couple of banks on the beach but they are very tide dependant with high tide today at 7.30am and low at 1.50pm.
The Beachwaver Maui Pro, the final stop on the 2018 World Surf League Women’s Championship Tour, will host the highly-anticipated World Title showdown and the last opportunity for CT requalification later this week.
Held at Honolua Bay in Maui, Hawaii, the waiting period opens on Sunday, November 25 and runs through Wednesday, December 5, 2018.
In the 2018 World Title Race, only Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Lakey Peterson (USA) are mathematically in contention to win the prestigious World Championship and await the Beachwaver Maui Pro.
The World Title scenarios going into the Beachwaver Maui Pro are as follows:
- Gilmore will win the World Title with a 3rd or better at the Beachwaver Maui Pro.
- If Gilmore finishes 5th or worse, Peterson must win the event to force a surf-off* for the World Title
Two-time Big Wave Tour Champion Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker (ZAF) won the World Surf League Big Wave Tour Nazaré Challenge in incredible 25-to-40-foot surf at the infamous Portuguese big-wave venue of Praia do Norte, Nazaré.
The event launched in glassy conditions with 25-foot-plus wave-faces around the high tide mark and as the tide dropped conditions got heavier and heavier to culminate with large surf in the 35-to-40-foot range, with occasional larger sets.
Ulladulla’s Russell Bierke finished in 6th spot in the final on 18.89 points-a good result for his first big hit out.
