It didn't take long to witness the biggest upset of the Oi Rio Pro go down. In the first heat of the morning, wildcard Yago Dora took out World Champ John John Florence with tactical savy and a wicked air game. Florence's Round Three loss cracks the men's Title race wide open, and with JJF's closest persuers -- Jordy Smith and Owen Wright -- both moving through their Round Three heats, the chase is now truly on. If Smith or Wright advance into the Semifinal round in Saquarema, they'll be pulling on the Yellow Jersey in Fiji. Lurking in the shadows are Gabriel Medina and Adriano de Souza, who must be licking their chops at a chance to win on home-soil and jump back into the Title race mix.
Over on the women's side of the event, things got equally interesting. With Carissa Moore, Stephanie Gilmore and Courtney Conlogue now out of the event (only Gilmore reached the Quarterfinals), the Semifinals are now set for the ladies. World No. 2 Sally Fitzgibbons faces off against No. 3 Tyler Wright in Semifinal #2. If Fitzgibbons reaches the Final, she'll be wearing the Yellow Jersey out at Cloudbreak. Wright's road is slightly tougher, she'll need to win the event to claim the same prize. Meanwhile, on the undercard, Nikki Van Dijk and Johanne Defay will be fighting to make the Final.
Check back in tomorrow at 7am BRT to catch all the action.