First six surfers eliminated from the Corona Bali Pro

Keramas, Bali/Indonesia (Tuesday, May 14, 2019) - The first six competitors were eliminated from the Corona Bali Protected today in three-to-four foot (1 - 1.2 metre) waves at Keramas. The third stop on the 2019 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) was on hold for half the day until the tides, winds, and swell aligned for the first men’s and women’s Eliminations Rounds.

Silvana Lima (BRA) suffered a sidelining knee injury at the 2018 Corona Open J-Bay, which forced her to withdraw from the 2018 season and the first two events of the 2019 season. With the Corona Bali Protected being her first event back, it was questionable whether Lima would return to form, especially with a loss in her first heat. The Brasilian showed no shortage of power in Elimination Round 2 in her attack of the Keramas walls. Her performance left Courtney Conlogue (USA), the recent winner of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, and rookie Macy Callaghan (AUS) to chase her lead for the entire heat, eventually resulting in Callaghan’s elimination. 

“I feel so good now that heat is done,” Lima said. “I’ve been really nervous because to come 33rd would not have been a good start to my return. Sitting out for almost a season really gave me an appreciation for how lucky I am to do this job that I love and get to be surfing with all of the best surfers. I’m really lucky. It feels really great to be back.” 

Three-time WSL Champion Carissa Moore (HAW) found herself in the rare situation of battling it out in the dreaded Elimination Round against Paige Hareb (NZL) and wildcard Kailani Johnson (IDN). Moore made amends for her Seeding Round slip up, dominating the heat and progressing into the Round of 16, where she will match-up with Hareb, who also progressed. Local surfer Johnson was eliminated from her first ever CT appearance. An interference call on Johnson disqualified a second wave to count in her total score, forcing her to settle for the early exit. 

Carissa Moore

“I feel like I’m still finding my feet out here and learning the lineup, so I’m glad I’ll get some more opportunity out here at Keramas,” Moore said. “That was my first time in the Elimination Round this year which was really nerve-racking. I haven’t really seen Kailani (Johnson) surfing too much, but I’ve heard good things then, of course, Paige (Hareb) as well, so anything could have happened in that heat. Keramas is such a fun wave. It can be a bit shifty with two peaks during different tides but when you get a good one it’ so much fun.”  

Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) earned his first CT heat win in 2019 with a come-from-behind victory over Willian Cardoso (BRA) and Ezekiel Lau (HAW). Fioravanti was on the ropes throughout the heat but battled back in the dying minutes. The Italian’s narrow, 0.24-point lead pushed Lau to third place in the heat, which means he is eliminated from the event in Equal 33rd place. 

Leonardo Fioravanti

“The start of that heat was so crazy,” Fioravanti said. “I felt like I was surfing well but couldn’t score higher than a 4.00. Keramas is a really hard wave to time your turns on when it’s this size, so if you miss one turn you miss the whole wave. I knew it was time to do something big so I went for the air and it worked out. There were some good waves coming through in the heat before mine, so I had pretty high expectations when I paddled out but unfortunately, it slowed right down for our heat and luckily for me the best wave that came through I was on. I’m really stoked to win a heat and hopefully, some rhythm will begin to come my way.” 

After a frustrating heat loss in the Seeding Round, Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) bounced back in the Elimination Round, taking a convincing win over event wildcard Jacob Willcox (AUS) and 2019 CT Rookie Deivid Silva (BRA). Igarashi surfed a patient heat, opting only for set waves, but he seemed in much better rhythm with the ocean as he redeemed himself and progressed into the Round of 32 with Silva, while Willcox is eliminated from his fourth appearance in a CT event. 

Kanoa Igarashi

“That was the first time I’ve been in the Elimination Round this season and it sucked,” Igarashi said. ”Heats without many waves can be tough because you never really know if you’re making the right choice when you go for a wave and after yesterday I had some trust issues with the lineup here. As soon as I got a decent start, I knew I was on and I just had to let the heat happen. I definitely felt like I was building each wave and I could just give it a little bit more and a little bit more. I’m  feeling really good after taking out that heat.” 

Australians Adrian Buchan (AUS) and Ryan Callinan (AUS) were also able to save themselves from early exits with wins in their Round 2 heats (Heats 3 and 4, respectively). Their success, alongside second-place finishers Seth Moniz (HAW) and Jesse Mendes (BRA), resulted in the elimination of rookie Soli Bailey (AUS) and Sebastian Zietz (HAW). 

Surfline Forecast for Corona Bali Protected

Corona Bali Protected Men’s Round 2 (Elimination Round) Results:
Heat 1: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 14.60 DEF. Deivid Silva (BRA) 10.67, Jacob Willcox (AUS) 10.10 
Heat 2: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 10.90 DEF. Willian Cardoso (BRA) 10.66, Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 10.07 
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.00 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 12.50, Soli Bailey (AUS) 11.40 
Heat 4: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 10.50 DEF. Jesse Mendes (BRA) 8.43, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 8.40

Corona Bali Protected Women’s Round 2 (Elimination Round) Results:
Heat 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 10.67 DEF. Paige Hareb (NZL) 8.33, Kailani Johnson (IDN) 2.33 
Heat 2: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.53 DEF. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 12.57, Macy Callaghan (AUS) 10.80

Comments

Billyw's picture
Billyw's picture
Billyw Wednesday, 15 May 2019 at 5:50pm

3 to 4 foot is generous

lost's picture
lost's picture
lost Wednesday, 15 May 2019 at 8:15pm

This “second chance” round to “not come last again” round is just ridiculous. Only 4 men and 2 women eliminated after two rounds ?