It was the wildcards, Manoa Drollet and Bruno Santos, that stole the show today at the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Ultimately it was Bruno Santos who won the event after defeating Teahupoo local Monoa Drollet in a very undramatic final. Big congratulations goes out to the Brazilian, Bruno Santos, as he was an absolute giant slayer defeating Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, CJ Hobgood, and others on his way to winning one of the biggest events on the ASP World Tour.

It was a long-slow day at Teahupoo as one of the most notorious waves in the world failed to deliver any kind of a consistent swell. The heats throughout the day were very slow as the 2-3 ft swell was on the decrease which made for long waits between sets. Unfortunately, that left many of the surfers unable to find any kind of decent waves in their heats, often times seeing competitors catch one or less decent wave in a 30 minute period.

It’s unfortunate that a contest of this caliber at a break this heavy has to be decided in small waves like this. It would’ve been interesting to see what would have happened had mother nature cooperated. We can’t take anything away from Bruno Santos though as he rightfully deserves the victory he earned today. Here’s to hoping Fiji’s pumping!

A lot of big names bowed out early at the Billabong Pro Tahiti today as Kelly Slater, Taj Burrow, Bede Durbidge, and Jordy Smith were all defeated in round 3 action at 4-6 foot Teahupoo.

Kelly Slater wasn’t looking too sharp again and was caught a couple times dropping in too deep, getting drilled in the head by one of the heaviest waves in the world. It didn’t matter though, as he suffered an early interference penalty and was literally surfing a heat he couldn’t possibly win. It seems there’s something about going up against local favorite Manoa Drollet that gets in Slater’s head, as he performed similarly when then two competed against each other in rd. 1 action. “This is just one of many events, you’re going to have throw-aways,” said Slater.

The highly anticipated matchup between Jordy Smith and Dane Reynolds saw Smith go down as Dane was on absolute fire. If he continues to surf like he did in round three, Dane could possibly in serious contention for his first ever ‘CT victory, only three events into his rookie season. He was looking good. CJ Hobgood is another surfer to watch this event. He posted an amazing 19.64 in round three and has been looking awfully good here at ‘Chopes. Seems super-confident as well when you listen to his interviews and he no doubt wants to keep the Billabong Pro Tahiti title in the Hobgood family.

Andy Irons and Joel Parkinson - who are both tied for current world #6 - can definitely smell blood. All five surfers ahead of them exited early from this event and now they’ll definitely be taking advantage and looking to gain as many points as possible. Look to both of these guys to make a run at winning this event.

For the first time in 2 years, reigning world champion and current world no.3 Mick Fanning will finish a WCT event with the dreaded T-33 next to his name. Fanning was upset by Brazilian wildcard surfer Bruno Santos 10.00 to 9.17 in round 2 of a Billabong Pro that is really starting to liven up. “Things could be better,” Fanning said. “Every wave was a battle for fours and fives out there. They weren’t opening up and then I was either too wide or too deep – I couldn’t find the happy medium, but it happens. The waves were good, I wasn’t good.”

Fanning won’t be the only big name making a sooner than expected exit from Teahupoo. Jamie O’Brien had the unexpected misfortune of meeting Kelly Slater in rd. 2 following Slater’s round 1 loss to ‘Chopes-specialist Manoa Drollet. Kelly came out firing in their heat and O’Brien quickly found himself in an a combination hole that would lead him to sharing the same fate as Fanning following an 18.70 to 13.90 loss.

Kelly has now moved into rd. 3 where he will face the man responsible for putting him up against O’Brien in the first place, Manoa Drollet. “It’s excellent to beat Kelly,” Drollet said. “I feel bad, he was a bit pissed, but it’s a contest. I was lucky to get the best two waves of the heat, Kelly got one in the end and he almost came back. In this competition, the guy who gets the good waves is going to win the heat, and that was me today.” Drollet kept Slater out of position for most of their rd. 1 heat, forcing Kelly to take off deeper than he wanted do which resulted in the 8x world-champ getting pitched a time or two. Their rd. 3 match-up will surely see both surfers coming out ready for battle.

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After 5 days of waiting and watching, the 2008 Billabong Pro Tahiti is officially getting underway. The waves are in the 3 foot range and although it’s not the Teahupoo we’ve all come to love seeing, 3 foot swell here is still able to lay down a dirty-licking from time to time.

As the first heats are getting going there is still no sign of Kelly Slater anywhere in Tahiti. It has been assumed that Kelly will show up, but maybe the lack of swell has sent the WCT point leader chasing waves in some other part of the world. He’s scheduled to surf in heat 8 today against C.J. Hobgood and Manoa Drollett so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Looks like just another case of Kelly being Kelly.

Contest Director Luke Egan has been on pins and needles with each passing day of the holding period. The new swell is expected to continue building and has him as well as all of the competitors optimistic. The plan today is to cram in as much surfing as possible and hopefully begin moving into the 2nd round. That should make for one hell of a day and anyone interested in catching the action live can check it out here.

This one’s for all of my degenerate gambling friends out there… you know who you are! Upon learning that bookmakers in the U.S. would be opening up their books and fielding bets on the 2008 WCT I decided to sign up for Surfing-Odds.com e-mail alerts which notify me of the listed odds in the days leading up to each event. My interest in the alerts wasn’t so much for the gambling aspect. In my very limited gambling experience, I’ve quickly realized I am a casino’s best friend and unofficially the worst gambler on the planet. What caught my attention though was seeing how and where they decided to place the odds as each particular event approached.

With the Billabong Pro Tahiti fast approaching, Surfing-Odds was right on cue with the odds for this event. After checking out the Teahupoo odds I thought I would pass on a couple of interesting bets for those who may be looking to lay some cash down on the upcoming event. They’ve even decided to get crazy on us and add a “to make the semi’s market.”

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By pulling off a dramatic perfect 10 point ride in the closing seconds of the final heat at the Air Tahiti Nui – Von Zipper Trials, Jamie O’Brien earned a spot in the main event of next weeks Billabong Pro. Make no doubt about it, O’Brien is the trialist that no one on the WCT is looking forward to matching up against, especially if swell charts stay true and Teahupoo keeps pumping out monster barrels the way it has been as of late.

His dramatic victory over Brazilian Bruno Santos was the stuff legends are made of and even O’Brien had to admit it was a bit ‘Slater-esque.’ “I’ve never came from behind the eight ball like that in the last minute,” said O’Brien. “I figured it’s the kind of stuff Kelly does, so I thought I would give it a try.”

O’Brien, the 2006 Pipeline Masters Champion and in my eyes one of the top all-around surfers in the world, has been taking a break from being on tour full-time to focus more on just surfing progressively. While doing so, he has pulled off impressive victories in several big contests, the likes of which include this years Da Hui Backdoor Shootout as well as Billabong’s inaugural Freewave Challenge.

A typical trialist might be intimidated knowing he will be opening up action in the main event against Pancho Sullivan and reigning world-champion Mick Fanning. Jamie O’Brien is anything but your typical trialist and he has let it be known that he’s coming after those guys - “I’m not worried about it, barrel riding is what I do, I travel the world so I can go and surf barrels. I’m down for the main event, I’ll take them down.”

Looks like the WCT regulars have officially been put on notice- Jamie O’Brien is coming for you.

When you’re a wave like Teahupoo, you don’t really need any hype thrown your way. With that being said, I’m throwing hype anyway. We’re just about two weeks out from the 2008 Billabong Pro Tahiti. And if the swell trends continue this could possibly be one of the all-time events at the bone-crushing left.

Teahupoo has made quite a name for itself in not much more than a decades time. The break that was once thought to be unsurfable, will be on display for it’s 10th WCT event From May 8-18 and as we covered previously, it has taken it upon itself to remind all surfers that it’s right around the corner with its thrashing of last years champ Damien Hobgood.

Those hoping to catch Kelly Slater in the ‘CT standings know how crucial it is do well at this event. If Slater locks this up, or even finishes in the top 5, his 9th world championship may be all but locked up. Mick Fanning knows this and is once again arriving early to get some practice time in. “Kelly had an amazing start and I had a lot of things happening,” Fanning said. “Really good things, but I have finally had some time to myself and I feel really excited about competing again. I’m looking forward to Tahiti. It is always a great event.”

Yep, we’re only two weeks away from the 2008 Billabong Pro Tahiti….

Past Billabong Pro Tahiti Champions:
2007: Damien Hobgood (USA)
2006: Bobby Martinez (USA)
2005: Kelly Slater (USA)
2004: CJ Hobgood (USA)
2003: Kelly Slater (USA)
2002: Andy Irons (HAW)
2001: Cory Lopez (USA)
2000: Kelly Slater (USA)
1999: Mark Occhilupo (AUS)

Looks like Teahupoo strikes again, and this time it laid a licking on one of the Dream Tour’s finest.

According to Transworld SURF’s Senior Photographer, Tim Jones, Damien Hobgood got sucked backwards over the falls on an eight-footer at Teahupoo. Apparently someone had called him off the wave, so Hobgood pulled back, but still got slammed onto the reef. Though he is in stable condition, he did sustain a serious concussion, along with a chewed up shoulder and back. Initial guesses have him out of the water at least six-eight weeks.

This will more than likely keep him out of next months Billabong Pro, which of course will be held at ‘Chopes. This is doubly sad considering he won the event last year and we’d all love to see him defend his title. After taking a pounding like that at a break that is as heavy and deadly as any in the world, I’m guessing that is the least of Damien’s concerns right now. The fact that more guys aren’t laid up by this Tahitian fire-breather is a testament to the talent and skill possessed by those who are constantly charging such an unbelievable wave.

We wish Damien Hobgood all the best and look forward to seeing him back in the water once he is recovered.

The epic swell that set off an all-time Teahupoo on November 1 of last year ended up providing more than just breathtaking waves and jaw-dropping images. Following the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards, it also sent surfers Shane Dorian and Manoa Drollet, as well as photographers Gustavo Camarao and Jeff Flindt home with much deserved awards that altogether totaled $62,000.

The Big Island native and big-wave pioneer Dorian took home the highest honor of the evening when he was awarded Ride of the Year. He somehow pulled into a section of Teahupoo that few live to tell and was spit out into a full cart-wheel. It was an unbelievable ride, and one that sent one of surfing’s legends and all-around good guys home $50,000 richer.

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