Wildcards Brett Simpson and Tanner Gudauskas continue to taunt some of the world's best. They eliminated the rating frontrunners John John Florence and Gabriel Medina in back-to-back heats during Round Three, sending shock waves through the rest of the tour ranks.
Simpson took an early command of his heat against Florence, and never really looked back. His versatile surfing and wave selection earned him a solid win over Florence, who never really found his rhythm.
The match between Gudauskas and Medina was a much closer and ultimately more controversial affair. Both were aggressively attacking, making life difficult for the judges, who had their hands full dissecting the technical merits of each ride. In the end, they awarded Gudauskas the victory, 17.34 to 17.13, even after a valiant last gasp from Medina that many felt was enough to get the job done. Naturally, as it goes with any close heat, the fan debate is still going.