Frames: Surfers Light Up Ballito

Brian Toth (PRI) marches down the Ballito shore ready for competition.

Filipe Toledo (BRA) put together an aerial performance in the opening round that garnered a near-perfect 19.83 (out of 20) two-wave total.

Caio Ibelli (BRA) found his rhythm early on, flying past WCT competitors into the Round of 24.

Another early standout was Australian Yadin Nicol, who scored the second-highest heat total in the Round of 96 with a 19.10.

Marco Fernandez (BRA) topped former WCT competitor Damien Hobgood (USA) and current WCT surfer Brett Simpson (USA) in the Round of 96.

Fred Patacchia (HAW), chatting with a local grom.

Adrian Buchan (AUS) (pictured) forced WCT injury replacement Glenn Hall (IRL) into a combination situation that saw Buchan come out on top.

WCT No. 25 Tiago Pires (PRT) bettered his performance each round, finishing second in the first three and first thereafter. Despite his steadily improving finishes,he was eventually eliminated by the overall event winner, Tim Reyes, in the Semifinals.

Conditions lent themselves to big airs for most of the event window.

Former WCT surfer Heitor Alves (BRA) launched his own refined aerial game for a 9.50, and a spot in the Round of 24.

Siblings and competitors Patrick and Tanner Gudauskas (USA) eye the lineup from the beachfront.

Torrey Meister (HAW) was part of the most surprising heat of the day that saw event favorite and Durban local Jordy Smith eliminated. Meister followed up with an excellent 17.67 in the Round of 24.

Jordy Smith's (ZAF) elimination in the Round of 48 was the biggest upset of the event.

Krystian Kymerson (BRA) had a breakout performance in Ballito, riding his air game for a ninth place finish.

Jack Freestone (AUS) was impressive throughout the event, matching huge airs with seamless carves.

World No. 23 Adrian Buchan (AUS) put on an in-form performance until Round 5, when he fell to the eventual event runner-up, Matt Wilkinson (AUS).

Torrey Meister (HAW) stuck to his game plan, launching vertical airs to surpass recent Los Cabos Open winner Matt Banting (AUS) in the No-Loser Round of 24.

Tim Reyes (USA) finished second in Round 3 with a 9.67 heat total. It was the only round where he did not finish first in the heat.

Though his air game was stellar from start to finish, Torrey Meister (HAW) came just short of making the Quarterfinals, by 1.50 points.

Filipe Toledo (BRA) scored two Perfect 10s -- the first in Round 2, the second in Round 5 -- for heat totals in the 19-point range (out of a possible 20).

Tim Reyes (USA) continued to charge through the rounds, mixing a polished rail game with his aerials.

WCT surfer Matt Wilkinson (AUS) was relatively quiet for the opening rounds but came alive in Round 5. He took out WCT competitors Adrian Buchan (AUS) and Adam Melling (AUS) in Round 5 and the Semifinals, respectively, and event standout Jack Freestone (AUS) in the Quarterfinals.

Jack Freestone (AUS) found a little cover in Round 5, but lost to Wilkinson by a 2.30 point differential.

Tiago Pires (PRT) was able to take down the on-fire Filipe Toledo (BRA) in the Quarterfinals; Pires had a third place finish.

Tim Reyes (USA) capped off his breakout performance by taking down WCT surfer Matt Wilkinson (AUS) in a hard-fought Final, topping Wilko's 14.70 with a 15.44.

Reyes was carried up the beach, victorious. His win at Ballito was arguably the biggest of his career, and shot him up the QS ranks.