Wildcard Brett Simpson wins.
It’s not impossible. He knows how to win and is in good form after recently smashing his way to victory at the Hurley Pro Trails to earn that wildcard. You might think that a trials event is not comparable to a CT event. Well, Simpo was up against Pat and Tanner Gudauskas, Griffin Colapinto, Nate Yeomans, Evan Geiselman, Ian Crane, Rob Machado, Jake Marshall and Yadin Nicol. That’s a fairly stacked field. He also loves it when the crowds are big, and his BMT comes into play, as can be seen by his double US Open victories back in 2009 and 2010. Six years later and he is surfing as good as ever, is limber and does not have any qualification stress on him. Expect explosions!
Kelly Slater wins.
Hoo boy. This is not even a stretch for the imagination. What boggles the mind is just how many people really want this to happen. Everyone loves a happy ending, and if KS goes out and wins this after his recent Tahiti win https://tracksmag.com.au/news/the-kelly-we-wanted-to-see–434877 then the game is well and truly back on. He is coming in with fire in his belly, and ranked at 8 on the Jeep Leaderboard, could place himself in legitimate world-title contention with a win here. Slater is that dude who could pull it off, go on to win that 12th world title and put the whole sport of professional surfing in a spin. An excellent performance at Trestles is already in the bag, he loves the European leg, and then he gets a chance to show the world his stuff at Pipe. Then he could retire, but that is just too massive a stretch for the imagination. Check some vintage KS at Trestles from his Black and White movie below:
Adrian Buchan wins.
Currently rated 4th on the Jeep Leaderboard, a win for Ace here will put him into contention and would most likely see him in the best ranking place ever in his career. When you think of Ace you don’t really think new school and big air reverses and / or slob grabs, but Ace is brimming with momentum and good luck right now, the polar opposite of Wilko, and those two factors could see him lurch all the way to a final. Trestles does favour an air game, but Ace’s power surfing and high risk moves are going to be worthy of heat wins when that forecast run of solid surf comes through at the skate park of the world tour. If Ace sticks to the rights and goes to town with his tight backhand attack he could, well, ace it. That would be one big reshuffle on the ratings, and could see some wailing and gnashing of teeth from those supposed Fantasy Surfer aficionados the world over.
Jeremy Flores Wins.
The most determined surfer on tour deserves a break, and this could just be it. Jeremy also prefers a bit of size to the surf, often losing to lesser surfers when the waves get tiny. He might not have the best air game but he does have determination and fire in truckloads, and is never shy of trying a few Club Sandwiches and Kerrupt flips when the situation calls for it. His rail work and face turns are what could get him a big result here though, and although he is deft in the tube, there are not going to be a gamut of barrels presenting themselves at Trestles during this event or ever. Jeremy is a major battler, and every heat is a do-or-die for him. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is often quizzical of the judges’ decisions, but if he holds steady and works on his two good waves per heat, he could surprise. He is currently ranked 30th on the Jeep leaderboard and needs a massive result here either way. This could be a make or break event for the kid, and he’ll need to have some oomph from the get-go, coming up against Slater and Toledo in the first round.
California Days with Jeremy Flores from JS INDUSTRIES on Vimeo.
The Hurley Pro at Trestles starts on the 7th
