It’s been a tricky window for the inaugural Championship Tour event in New Zealand.
Surfers have been wading through consecutive lay days, competition was called on one day with brothers Griffin and Crosby Colapinto going at it for one heat before it was called off, and the famed lefthander at Raglan has yet to show its full potential.
But that all changed, yesterday, when reigning world champion Yago Dora stepped up to the plate, his back against the wall with Cole Houshmand holding a commanding lead, and he dropped the first perfect 10 of the season. Watch below.
As mentioned, Houshmand had Dora on the ropes with pocket 8.50s. Dora needed a 9.50 to advance from the quarterfinal heat. There was just over three minutes on the clock. A wave approached; the beach, the booth, the viewers at home held their breath.
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The Brazilian set his line, then boom, immediately launched into a massive full rotation aerial, which he quickly and seamlessly followed up with a layback.
Fireworks. Cheers erupted worldwide.
“I’m just thanking God for that opportunity for a moment,” Dora said. “Everything seemed like it was lost. Cole [Houshmand] was surfing the perfect heat, he just picked the right waves. My waves were definitely a little smaller than his waves and not as steep and I was just praying for an opportunity, really. I knew I could get the 9.50 that I needed, I just needed a wave to really go for it. The last wave, when I popped up, I saw that little pocket forming and I was like, ok, this is it, I’m going to throw it. I went all the way to the flats and stuck it perfectly. I knew I just had to finish the wave after that. It feels so good.”
It was enough to overcome Houshmand. Now, Dora is on to the semifinals, where he’ll face fellow countryman Italo Ferreira when competition resumes.
Stay tuned.
Related: From Free Surfer to World Champ: Yago Dora Does it All
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