CLOUD 9, Siargao, Philippines (Thursday, October 31, 2024) - Semifinalists were decided on day six of the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) Siargao International Surfing Cup QS 5000. Cloud 9 continued to deliver three-to-four-foot waves, with occasional bigger sets. A light onshore breeze changed the dynamics of the wave from previous days, but still offered ample opportunity for barrels.
All four Semifinal slots for the women were claimed by Australians, despite strong challenges from surfers representing the Asia region. On the men's side, it was an even split, with Tenshi Iwami (JPN) and John Mark Tokong (PHL) carrying the hopes of the home region, ready to meet the challenge of Oscar Berry (AUS) and Xavier Huxtable (AUS) when competition resumes.
Tenshi Iwami - WSL / Matt Dunbar
The action intensified quickly in the final heat of the day as it headed down to its final minutes. Defending event winner Anon Matsuoka (JPN) and Australian junior Milla Brown (AUS) locked into a tight battle that saw constant lead changes all the way to the buzzer. After a relatively slow start to the heat, Matsuoka and Brown traded 6-point rides (out of a possible 10) inside the last 10 minutes, with the razor sharp backhand attack of the Japanese meeting the barrel-riding prowess of the Australian. A long wait for scores on a wave Matsuoka caught with 15 seconds on the clock saw the number arrive just 0.08 short of the requirement. Brown's 12.40 (out of a possible 20) heat total beating Matsuoka's 12.33 by the narrowest of margins.
"It was pretty fun out there," Brown said. "We had a slow start to the heat, but then at the halfway mark we were just going back-to-back-to-back-to-back. We were going first to second. We were just swapping the whole time, which was pretty nerve-wracking. And then Anon got one on the buzzer, so we were just waiting on the inside for like five minutes, which is the craziest adrenaline, and then she only just didn't get the score. Anon's the defending champion, she's such a good competitor, and yeah it was really fun to surf a heat against her, her backhand is so good. So stoked to get the win."
Earlier in the day, Matsuoka had managed to turn a stacked Round of 16 heat, featuring Sierra Kerr (AUS), Nanaho Tsuzuki (JPN) and Olympian Shino Matsuda (JPN). After sitting on a single small score for almost the entire 35-minute heat, Matsuoka delivered a massive backhand two-turn combo in the final five minutes that earned her a 6.03 and advancement over Matsuda and Tsuzuki.
Kerr had two strong showings of her own today, progressing through the Quarterfinals ahead of Sumomo Sato (JPN) off the back of an 8.17 and a 7.17 for a mix of turns and barrels.
Holly Williams - WSL / Matt Dunbar
It was Charli Hately (AUS) who topped the day's numbers for the women. The 15-year-old, who is fresh from her first QS win, found three of the day's best scores across her two heats. The strength of Hately's aggressive backhand attack earned her a two-wave heat total of 15.64 in the Quarterfinals, a total which held Freya Prumm (AUS) in combination with two thirds of the heat gone. But Prumm didn't count herself out. Knifing straight into a super-clean barrel, the 33-year-old QS veteran claimed a 9.50, the equal highest score of the event. Hately played the remainder of the heat smart though, and, without a backup score, Prumm was eliminated.
"I'm pretty stoked, it was such a good heat with Freya, she had that crazy 9," Hately said. "I'm just happy that my turns got me through again. Some of the sets were kind of going into nothing, and some of the inside ones, the deep ones, are just too fast, and I wasn't really trying to get barreled. I was just looking for those medium ones that looked like they had a wall so I could actually do some turns. I saw Freya's wave from the side, and I was kind of frothing, it looked so sick. But I was like, alright, she's still going to need a score, so I was going to have to start to play tactics in the heat."
Holly Williams (AUS) and Sara Wakita (JPN) surfed a very evenly matched Quarterfinal. Both surfers relied on huge opening hooks, with Williams getting the better of the exchanges to move onto the Semifinals. It is the second QS 5000 Finals Day for the 22-year-old, whose last similar result saw her graduate to the 2023 Challenger Series. As the highest-ranked woman from the Australia / Oceania region remaining in the event, Williams has a big opportunity ahead.
John Mark Tokong - WSL / Matt Dunbar
Once again proving his dominance of the location, John Mark Tokong (PHL) earned the highest numbers of the men's Quarterfinals to defeat event standout Eden Hasson (AUS). The local Siargao Islander, a four-time event winner, backdoored a long, chandeliering section to pick up a 9.00, before backing it up with an 8.70 for a fast, driving barrel. His 17.70 heat total is only bettered in the event by his own 18.26 total from the Round of 64.
"It was crazy," Tokong said. "It's kind of shifty, like it's moving a lot and it's not really barreling. Most of the waves are not really barrels, so I was just waiting for the right waves, the double-ups and nice and clean. Thankfully I really know how to read the waves. I was like okay I'm just gonna go for it and get another score. My first wave was the one to get 9 points. It was really, really nice because I thought I'm not gonna come out on that. I was just closing my eyes while I was in the barrel and when I opened up it was just like, whoa! It opened up clean and I came out. So happy for that."
Tokong moves into his sixth Semifinal out of eight QS events entered at Cloud 9. In his third event, Tenshi Iwami (JPN) has guaranteed his best result so far in the Philippines and highest yet in a QS 5000, as has Xavier Huxtable (AUS). Huxtable collected his first excellent heat total of the event, earning two 8-point rides for a 16.17 total in defeating Reef Heazlewood (AUS).
Competition will be off on Friday, November 1 due to the All Saints Public Holiday. The next call will be at 6:30 a.m. PHT on Saturday, November 2.
The 2024 Siargao International Surfing Cup QS 5000 will run at Cloud 9 in the Philippines from October 26 to November 4, 2024.
Stage Set for Finals Day at 2024 Siargao International Surfing Cup QS 5000
WSL
CLOUD 9, Siargao, Philippines (Thursday, October 31, 2024) - Semifinalists were decided on day six of the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) Siargao International Surfing Cup QS 5000. Cloud 9 continued to deliver three-to-four-foot waves, with occasional bigger sets. A light onshore breeze changed the dynamics of the wave from previous days, but still offered ample opportunity for barrels.
All four Semifinal slots for the women were claimed by Australians, despite strong challenges from surfers representing the Asia region. On the men's side, it was an even split, with Tenshi Iwami (JPN) and John Mark Tokong (PHL) carrying the hopes of the home region, ready to meet the challenge of Oscar Berry (AUS) and Xavier Huxtable (AUS) when competition resumes.
The action intensified quickly in the final heat of the day as it headed down to its final minutes. Defending event winner Anon Matsuoka (JPN) and Australian junior Milla Brown (AUS) locked into a tight battle that saw constant lead changes all the way to the buzzer. After a relatively slow start to the heat, Matsuoka and Brown traded 6-point rides (out of a possible 10) inside the last 10 minutes, with the razor sharp backhand attack of the Japanese meeting the barrel-riding prowess of the Australian. A long wait for scores on a wave Matsuoka caught with 15 seconds on the clock saw the number arrive just 0.08 short of the requirement. Brown's 12.40 (out of a possible 20) heat total beating Matsuoka's 12.33 by the narrowest of margins.
"It was pretty fun out there," Brown said. "We had a slow start to the heat, but then at the halfway mark we were just going back-to-back-to-back-to-back. We were going first to second. We were just swapping the whole time, which was pretty nerve-wracking. And then Anon got one on the buzzer, so we were just waiting on the inside for like five minutes, which is the craziest adrenaline, and then she only just didn't get the score. Anon's the defending champion, she's such a good competitor, and yeah it was really fun to surf a heat against her, her backhand is so good. So stoked to get the win."
Earlier in the day, Matsuoka had managed to turn a stacked Round of 16 heat, featuring Sierra Kerr (AUS), Nanaho Tsuzuki (JPN) and Olympian Shino Matsuda (JPN). After sitting on a single small score for almost the entire 35-minute heat, Matsuoka delivered a massive backhand two-turn combo in the final five minutes that earned her a 6.03 and advancement over Matsuda and Tsuzuki.
Kerr had two strong showings of her own today, progressing through the Quarterfinals ahead of Sumomo Sato (JPN) off the back of an 8.17 and a 7.17 for a mix of turns and barrels.
It was Charli Hately (AUS) who topped the day's numbers for the women. The 15-year-old, who is fresh from her first QS win, found three of the day's best scores across her two heats. The strength of Hately's aggressive backhand attack earned her a two-wave heat total of 15.64 in the Quarterfinals, a total which held Freya Prumm (AUS) in combination with two thirds of the heat gone. But Prumm didn't count herself out. Knifing straight into a super-clean barrel, the 33-year-old QS veteran claimed a 9.50, the equal highest score of the event. Hately played the remainder of the heat smart though, and, without a backup score, Prumm was eliminated.
"I'm pretty stoked, it was such a good heat with Freya, she had that crazy 9," Hately said. "I'm just happy that my turns got me through again. Some of the sets were kind of going into nothing, and some of the inside ones, the deep ones, are just too fast, and I wasn't really trying to get barreled. I was just looking for those medium ones that looked like they had a wall so I could actually do some turns. I saw Freya's wave from the side, and I was kind of frothing, it looked so sick. But I was like, alright, she's still going to need a score, so I was going to have to start to play tactics in the heat."
Holly Williams (AUS) and Sara Wakita (JPN) surfed a very evenly matched Quarterfinal. Both surfers relied on huge opening hooks, with Williams getting the better of the exchanges to move onto the Semifinals. It is the second QS 5000 Finals Day for the 22-year-old, whose last similar result saw her graduate to the 2023 Challenger Series. As the highest-ranked woman from the Australia / Oceania region remaining in the event, Williams has a big opportunity ahead.
Once again proving his dominance of the location, John Mark Tokong (PHL) earned the highest numbers of the men's Quarterfinals to defeat event standout Eden Hasson (AUS). The local Siargao Islander, a four-time event winner, backdoored a long, chandeliering section to pick up a 9.00, before backing it up with an 8.70 for a fast, driving barrel. His 17.70 heat total is only bettered in the event by his own 18.26 total from the Round of 64.
"It was crazy," Tokong said. "It's kind of shifty, like it's moving a lot and it's not really barreling. Most of the waves are not really barrels, so I was just waiting for the right waves, the double-ups and nice and clean. Thankfully I really know how to read the waves. I was like okay I'm just gonna go for it and get another score. My first wave was the one to get 9 points. It was really, really nice because I thought I'm not gonna come out on that. I was just closing my eyes while I was in the barrel and when I opened up it was just like, whoa! It opened up clean and I came out. So happy for that."
Tokong moves into his sixth Semifinal out of eight QS events entered at Cloud 9. In his third event, Tenshi Iwami (JPN) has guaranteed his best result so far in the Philippines and highest yet in a QS 5000, as has Xavier Huxtable (AUS). Huxtable collected his first excellent heat total of the event, earning two 8-point rides for a 16.17 total in defeating Reef Heazlewood (AUS).
Competition will be off on Friday, November 1 due to the All Saints Public Holiday. The next call will be at 6:30 a.m. PHT on Saturday, November 2.
The 2024 Siargao International Surfing Cup QS 5000 will run at Cloud 9 in the Philippines from October 26 to November 4, 2024.
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