Another packed house filled in at the eastern end of Saquarema's Itauna Beach for Finals Day at the Oi Rio Pro. And the heavily partisan hometown crowd did not go home disappointed. After Owen Wright and Jordy Smith -- two World Title contenders who are tied for No. 2 on the Jeep rankings -- dropped out in the Quarterfinals, the door was thrown wide open for Adriano de Souza, who's now sitting at No. 4, to make his move.
Then, just when the next-level excitement form the beach seemed to have reached a peak during Semifinal 1 (featuring Brazilian De Souza's victory over upstart Yago Dora), the meter was turned past 10 to 11. Green and yellow flags draped a standing-room only crowd for the Final between homegrown legend and 2015 World Champ De Souza and wily Tour vet Ace Buchan. What resulted was an eruption of joy and passion unrivaled anywhere else on the WSL Championship Tour.
Oi Rio Pro Final Results
1 - Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17.63
2 - Adrian Buchan (AUS) 17.23
Oi Rio Pro Men's Semifinal Results:
SF 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17.97 def. Yago Dora (BRA) 11.97
SF 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.97 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.60
Oi Rio Pro Men's Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 18.50 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.00
QF 2: Yago Dora (BRA) 12.44 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.34
QF 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.37 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.47
QF 4: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 17.23 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 14.70
2017 WSL Men's Jeep Leaderboard (After Oi Rio Pro):
1 - John John Florence (HAW) 24,750 points
2 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 24,400 points
2 - Adriano de Souza (BRA) 24,400 points
2 - Owen Wright (AUS) 24,400 points
5 - Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 16,750 points