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Preview: Tahiti Pro

"(at Teahupo'o) There is nowhere to hide and nowhere to run" - Joel Parkinson Event and Forecast If J-Bay is one of the most respected waves in the world, then Teahupo'o has to be the most feared. Surfline's slightly dated but incredibly detailed 'Mechanics of Teahupo'o' gives an insightful overview as to the background and physics of this incredible break. Kelly also weighs in on the analysis with his latest 'vision' series video. As usual, we have a tl;dr overview: Teahupo'o's unique very-deep-to-super-shallow bathymetry makes for... Read more

Last updated August 4, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Preview: J-Bay Pro 2018

For this year's J-Bay event, we're trying a new format of delivery. The hope is to make your contest preparations a little more streamlined by putting everything in one place. Sure, it means that the full preview will be have to be completed in stages as the information becomes available, but it also means that you won't have to jump between tabs to get what you need. We think it will be better for fantasy players, but please feel free to let us know what you think in the comments... Read more

Last updated June 21, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Wash-Up - Bali Pro(tected)

Contest Wash-Up The Bali Pro was a bit of a slow-burner; it started off with maxed-out morning sessions followed by onshore breezes and delayed rounds. Meanwhile, Cloudbreak was gaining the surfing world's full and undivided attention while crazy people rode liquid death-traps. To be honest, it was hard to get excited. Even guys like Albee and Dorian were giving it to the WSL and asking why they were scared to let the air guys perform their onshore-wind magic in a contest jersey, rather than Read more

Last updated June 5, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Preview - MR Pro Uluwatu

Is this a proper preview? Hell no; everybody's teams are already locked in. This is more of a basic overview from a stats persepctive, and maybe some insights for those who don't mind a little bit of casual betting here and there. Join us while we join the dots on this Frankenstein's Monster of a contest. For those unsure, here's a reminder of why we're here and what we are doing. Fantasy Details If you picked a team for the Margaret River contest in either the Fantasy... Read more

Last updated June 4, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Preview - Bali Pro(tected)

The Oakley Pro at Keramas was debuted on tour in 2013. We'd seen video footage and heard plenty of stories, but nobody really knew what to expect. It was like a search event, and most were psyched. Once it started, the waves and surfing both fired, and surf fans seemed stoked with the tour's new addition. Except, that was it. Parko looked like being the first and last winner of a CT event at Keramas due to funding, or insurance or something (it certainly wasn't the waves or event's success).... Read more

Last updated May 26, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Metrics - Bali Pro 2018

Bali is back, baby! Sure, it's been 5 years, and sure, most of the tour wasn't around back then, but we've still got enough relevant data on reefs, rights and wave heights to help whittle down the best of the fantasy lot. All of our 'career' average heat score and win % statistics are taken from 2013-2018 WSL contest seasons*. They do not reflect the entire careers of surfers who have been on tour longer than that. ... Read more

Last updated May 22, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Injuries/Wildcards - Bali Pro

'Ocean surfing' is so hot right now, and Keramas is a marine playground. Let's see who's in and out... ************************UPDATED**************************** Surfers Out: Caio Ibelli - looking at the WSL rankings page, Caio had already logged an injured for this event before the draw was up. While it's bad news for Caio, it virtually guarantees him an injury wildcard for 2019. Kelly Slater - Kelly has surfed at three events since fracturing his foot at J-Bay last year: the Future Classic (briefly), Pipe and the Founders Cup. He... Read more

Last updated May 21, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Wash-Up - Rio Pro 2018

Contest Wash-Up The lead-up to Rio was a little undercooked, to put it mildly. The Founders Cup had just finished, and the surfing world was almost universally under-whelmed with pool wave contests. It turns out that most surfers actually wanted the unpredictable imperfection of the contests about which we so often complained. We were happy to trade machine perfection for last-minute buzzer-beaters, end-sections and contest results that actually meant something. So, we moved our attention back to the tour, hoping for some of that unpredictable magic. We... Read more

Last updated May 20, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Full Preview - Oi Rio Pro 2018

The cancellation of the Margaret River contest left many surf fans with a bad taste in their mouths. We lost all narrative tension regarding the contest rounds and emerging champion, we were starved of any real title race variation, our fantasy teams were all shot to pieces, the potential for a Mikey vs. Jesse heat was lost, and the surf media talked of little else but sharks and wave pools. Then the Founders Cup came and went, leaving behind the kind of empty amusement that arises when we watch more... Read more

Last updated May 10, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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Oi Rio Pro - Metrics 2018

I have waited long enough for the WSL to move on from their wave machine experiment and get back to the core business of managing the world tour. There is still no heat draw or mention of wildcards (as of publishing), so I'll offer what I have for now. I'll try to update in time, but I have also included a few 'unannounced' surfers in the hope that their stats are useful when the full draw is released. All of our 'career' average heat score and win % statistics are... Read more

Last updated May 7, 2018 by Balyn McDonald

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