Back-to-Back Challenger Series Victories for Rio Waida
The men’s Final hit the lineup first with Rio Waida (IDN) taking on Gatien Delahaye (FRA) in an exciting matchup where both surfers are highly capable of taking the debate to the air.
Waida pulled the trigger first with a somewhat conservative approach, belting a couple of turns in the opening minute of the Final for a 7.50 (out of a possible 10) and the early upper hand. Waida then found a clean little tube up the beach and added a 5.17 to his total, further applying pressure on the Frenchman whose first few attempts were unsuccessful. While Delahaye seemed affected by the pressure, the Indonesian kept extremely busy trying to up the ante on a succession of rights, well surfed but just below his barrel score.
The Guadeloupe surfer finally found his rhythm at the 15-minute mark with a clean little air for a 5.57 to get right back in the fight. But Waida didn’t back down and threw a crazy reverse over a challenging section to post an excellent 8-point ride and ask a near-perfect requirement (9.93) from his opponent. Eventually, time ran out and Waida claimed his second win of the season on the 2022 Challenger Series.
“It’s crazy to think I just won back-to-back CS events, I’m just speechless,” Waida said. “Ballito is a very beautiful place and people are super nice. Today is crazy with everyone out, it’s actually hard to get to the beach. I’m really grateful for the support of everyone and I hope I get to come back and do this again.”
The dynamic regular foot from Bali has been on an absolute tear lately, winning back-to-back events on the Challenger in Sydney and today in Ballito, as well as claiming wins on the QS in the process and an appearance on the CT at the recent Quiksilver Pro G-Land. He now takes a strong lead on the rankings and with already over 20,000 points is looking like a lock for next year’s elite tour.
“I’m so happy to be representing Indonesia,” Waida added. “We never qualified a surfer for the Championship Tour so it would be good if I made it to show all the groms back there that we can do it. I’ve been working very hard for this and I can’t wait to get back home and see everyone.”
Men’s Challenger Series Top 10:
1 – Rio Waida (IDN)
2 – Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
3 – Callum Robson (AUS) ** Already qualified through CT **
4 – Dylan Moffat (AUS)
5 – Sheldon Simkus (AUS)
6 – Maxime Huscenot (FRA)
7 – Ryan Callinan (AUS)
8 – Michael Rodrigues (BRA)
9 – Gatien Delahaye (FRA)
10 – Mateus Herdy (BRA)
11 – Alejo Muniz (BRA)
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