Seven Moments That Mattered On Finals Day At The Quik Pro

If someone told you a week ago that we’d see a Matt Wilkinson v Stu Kennedy final at the Quik Pro you would’ve slapped them on the face and told them to wake up. At one point today it looked like that would happen. Kolohe eventually found a way to stop the wrecking ball that had torn through the draw, but in the final it was Wilko who delivered Brother the knockout blow.

Let’s see how it went down…

Toledo was low-balled big time on his opening wave. He only squeezed past Parko on points but was the far better surfer when they went head to head at Joel’s break. ‘I’m so proud of him,” said Ricardinho Toledo when asked about his son’s win. “For Filipe it’s all about strategy and to pick the good waves, the right waves and don’t make mistakes.”

The rail game is new too – up a gear from last year. “He’s working a lot on that,” emphasized Ric’. “Not just the airs but the carves and it’s showing. The results are coming heat by heat.” They were.

With two vertical snaps Wilko turned the heat against de Souza. Earning a 6.83 for his efforts, the World Champ answered back under Wilko’s priority. It was all very nice textbook carves and back foot jams but completely safe surfing. Banking on it to be enough to take the lead and hopefully scramble Wilko’s brain and give him a dose of jitters. Then, with just sixteen seconds on the clock, there’s a bump. Needing a 5.91, Willy drives hard off the bottom and straight into the lip, then jams one more right in the pocket before flowing his red rocket down the line, banks one more in front of the rocks at Little Marley, carves off another piece of glass, finishing with a fist pump, a hair flick and gets the score. Wild scenes. The mad dog is off the chain. “I was just taking off going don’t blow it!” Wilko later explains.

You could have hit snooze on this one. Ace failed miserably against Kolohe. Caught just two waves, waited for gems that didn’t come. Kolohe meanwhile opened the shoulders and drove that cutback hard and fast in front of the judges, threw in a layback for extra jazz. The thing was done with fifteen to go.

“Tired”. That’s how Stu Kennedy described how he felt after he dusted John John Florence. He did it on his last wave. Throwing the kitchen sink, plates, knives and forks at the Hawaiian as he flowed all the way down the line to Rainbow Bay. “That last wave was a dream wave,” he said. “As soon as I got onto the open face I was telling myself, ‘Don’t do weak turns, don’t do weak turns, harden up!’”

No one looked like stopping Filipe at this event. I picked him for the win – easy. Watching him bounce up and down the lineup all week, showing off a souped-up rail attack and his tripped out acrobatics, he seemed like the pace setter. When he fell on an air-reverse it looked bad, real bad. He gingerly picked himself back up, but ultimately took himself out of the event on his next wave. It might have been the spitting precipitation, but dark clouds starting forming for Filipe. “I went for the air on the last maneuver of the wave and when I was landing the wave just came up on my board and put the pressure on my leg, which went up and sideways,” Toledo said. “I kept surfing after that and it was painful. But now I am good. I am not dying at all, I am just feeling a lot of pain. Besides that, I am happy with my result. I was surfing good and the board was good.” Unfortunately at the time of posting, Filipe had officially withdrawn from both Bells and Margarets events. “I’ve pulled a groin muscle doing an air… so I’ll go back home and do some physio and get ready for Rio.”

Brother took the carving knife out and dug it into Stu in their heat. Each searing turn sent a shudder across the Snapper Rocks Surf Club. The Cinderalla story of the toiler from Lennox Head who went from wildcard to finalist wasn’t going to script. Stu hit back with an 8.70 but was still holding on to a 5.50. When he hit the panic button with a couple of minutes to go the crowd lurched forward, wide-eyed, waiting with bated breath. It was close but fair. Brother moved into the final but Stu left Snapper number four in the world.

It was slow and burgery for most of the final, a bit of a let down really. But Wilko opened up with a series of switchblade snaps, smashing fluffy Snapper lips and dropped an 8.6 to get us greased up. Kolohe fired back with his torqued out cutbacks, heavy-footed and precise, like an executioner sharpening his blade chanting, ‘Off with his head’. It was enough for the momentary lead. As it got sleepy and waves started breaking sideways, we were left looking on, willing the ocean to spew waves. Wilko clawed into a mid-ranger; banked it, and took back the lead. Brother had one last throw of the dice but wobbled, got hung up in the foam, it cost him the score. Then the reformed roller bladder was read out the score. Cue scenes of joy.

“Last night I was joking with a friend over text ‘I eat yellow jerseys for breakfast’ then I beat Adriano this morning so it felt like it … I’m so stoked to be wearing it… when it gets to Bells and I put it on it will be a pretty weird feeling but hopefully I can keep getting through heats and keep my surfing really solid and keep that thing on for a while.”

Winners are grinners. Wilko enjoying that winning feeling. Photo: WSL/Kirstin

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Final Results:

Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.20

2 – Kolohe Andino (USA) 13.66

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Semifinal Results:

Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.43 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 13.27

SF 2: Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.23 def. Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 14.20

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Quarterfinal Results:

Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.34 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.16

QF 2: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.16 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.73

QF 3: Kolohe Andino (USA) 16.00 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 4.83

QF 4: Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 15.23 def. John John Florence (HAW) 14.00

Jeep WSL Men’s Leaderboard (after Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast):


1. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 10,000 pts

2. Kolohe Andino (USA) 8,000 pts

3. Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 6,500 pts

4. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 6,500 pts