Jeremy Flores has been Europe's biggest surfing star for going on a decade now, but the Championship Tour (CT) veteran is struggling this year, sitting well below the CT's Top 22 cutoff, at No. 31.
So in order to secure his CT future he's turned to the Qualifying Series (QS) for insurance. The move paid off this week in Cascais, Portugal, home of the QS10000 Billabong Pro, the third of just five large QS10000 events on the schedule this season.
When Flores arrived, his QS ranking was No. 18, so his job there was daunting. But he was only 2000 points behind guys making the grade, and a big result here would propel him well into QS qualifying contention. And sure enough, after some incredible performances and with a steely mental game, he's put himself well within reach of job security, jumping up to No. 6 on the QS.
Flores overtook Qualifying Series ripper Ian Gouveia for a huge Semifinal win at the Billabong Pro Cascais. Just by making the final he earned 8000 points, which gives him a little breathing room as the CT heads to Hossegor.