Groundswell's Hot Picks For The 2010 Billabong Pro Santa Catarina
(Wednesday, April 21, 2010)
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Just a few days to go until the start of the waiting period for the 2010 Billabong Pro Santa Catarina, so it's time to roll out my picks for the event. This event has been playing much more of a role in title chases since 2009 with its move to earlier in the year, and this week's event is no different. There are certainly a few favorites for this event, but I'm going to try and name a few darkhorse picks along with my favorites - maybe they'll help you out in selecting your teams. Here we go...
UPPER LEVEL:
(Valued at $10 million or more)
Mick Fanning - Mick's won here twice before in 2006 and 2007. Last year's quarterfinal loss to CJ Hobgood took place in some pretty rotten conditions. If the event stays at the main event site - that happens to be a solid righthander - expect him to make up for 2009 with what could possibly be his first win of the year.
Taj Burrow - In 2009, Taj barely lost to an in-form Kelly Slater who went on to win the event. This year, Taj is the surfer to beat, and Kelly is hot on his tail. Burrow has won here a few times, so you can expect a quarterfinal finish if he keeps up his performance standards.
Kelly Slater - How's his foot? Is he shooting for title #10? Is he still planning on starting a rebel tour? What's his favorite breakfast cereal? There are always a ton of questions swirling around Slater year in and year out. Here's the facts; he won here last year, and he just came off a victory at Bells. We've seen this for nearly twenty years now - don't bet against Slater.
DARKHORSE PICK
Bede Durbidge - You could pick almost any event on tour and call Bede the darkhorse to win it. Over the past 5 years, he's polished his game and has become a threat wherever he surfs. Aside from Slater, Fanning, and Burrow do you know who else has won at Brazil before? Bede in 2008. Don't underestimate him. He could be that guy that nabs you a few extra points while everyone else plays it safe with someone else.
MID LEVEL
(Valued Below $10 Million and Above $5 million)
Jordy Smith - Jordy seems to have ignited that competitive warrior that many were just waiting to see shine. He's now a serious threat to the title (currently ranked 3rd), and his small-wave skills will be on full display in Brazil.
Dane Reynolds - Was that result on the Gold Coast a blip on the screen, or a sign of things to come. Brazil will be one of the places where we start to make a true determination on Dane as to whether or not he has the consistency to make himself a title threat. The safe bet is that at his current price, we just can't leave him off our teams.
Fred Patacchia - Fred has been Mr. Consistent as of late, so why not hitch your wagon to his train for this event and earn yourself some solid points? Could be a pretty safe pick actually.
DARKHORSE PICK
Adrian Buchan - 'Ace' has always had some serious small-wave talents. If the surf is small, he should be one of those mid-ranking surfers that you see excel in the slop. If the surf is solid, he's a solid bet there as well.
LOWER LEVEL
(Valued At $5 million and below)
Jeremy Flores - He's had two 17th place finishes so far this year, but he's also starting to look stronger and surf a lot better after his injury last year. He may have needed a few events to get warmed up this year, so Brazil could be coming at just the right time for him. He's a small-wave terror, so seeing Flores take out a few top seeds through the draw shouldn't be surprising.
Jadson Andre - Who IS this kid? He shows up with Adriano de Souza at every event and takes out veterans who have no idea who he is. We should all start getting to know him - especially if he keeps surfing as well as he has this year.
Owen Wright - He's eventually go to get his feet under him and start dominating the way we all expect him to. Brazil could be windy and onshore very easily - perfect conditions for Wright's arial style of surfing.
DARKHORSE PICK
Ben Dunn - Ben landed in Brazil the other day with no boards. Well, they arrived today with all the tails crushed. He's ranked dead-last, jet-lagged, and has been written off as boring and predictable by critics all over the world. Eventually this is all going to fire up the young Aussie and he can blow up and show us all that he's a consistent performer who just needed everything to come together for him.
(Wednesday, April 21, 2010)
Just a few days to go until the start of the waiting period for the 2010 Billabong Pro Santa Catarina, so it's time to roll out my picks for the event. This event has been playing much more of a role in title chases since 2009 with its move to earlier in the year, and this week's event is no different. There are certainly a few favorites for this event, but I'm going to try and name a few darkhorse picks along with my favorites - maybe they'll help you out in selecting your teams. Here we go...
UPPER LEVEL:
(Valued at $10 million or more)
Mick Fanning - Mick's won here twice before in 2006 and 2007. Last year's quarterfinal loss to CJ Hobgood took place in some pretty rotten conditions. If the event stays at the main event site - that happens to be a solid righthander - expect him to make up for 2009 with what could possibly be his first win of the year.
Taj Burrow - In 2009, Taj barely lost to an in-form Kelly Slater who went on to win the event. This year, Taj is the surfer to beat, and Kelly is hot on his tail. Burrow has won here a few times, so you can expect a quarterfinal finish if he keeps up his performance standards.
Kelly Slater - How's his foot? Is he shooting for title #10? Is he still planning on starting a rebel tour? What's his favorite breakfast cereal? There are always a ton of questions swirling around Slater year in and year out. Here's the facts; he won here last year, and he just came off a victory at Bells. We've seen this for nearly twenty years now - don't bet against Slater.
DARKHORSE PICK
Bede Durbidge - You could pick almost any event on tour and call Bede the darkhorse to win it. Over the past 5 years, he's polished his game and has become a threat wherever he surfs. Aside from Slater, Fanning, and Burrow do you know who else has won at Brazil before? Bede in 2008. Don't underestimate him. He could be that guy that nabs you a few extra points while everyone else plays it safe with someone else.
MID LEVEL
(Valued Below $10 Million and Above $5 million)
Jordy Smith - Jordy seems to have ignited that competitive warrior that many were just waiting to see shine. He's now a serious threat to the title (currently ranked 3rd), and his small-wave skills will be on full display in Brazil.
Dane Reynolds - Was that result on the Gold Coast a blip on the screen, or a sign of things to come. Brazil will be one of the places where we start to make a true determination on Dane as to whether or not he has the consistency to make himself a title threat. The safe bet is that at his current price, we just can't leave him off our teams.
Fred Patacchia - Fred has been Mr. Consistent as of late, so why not hitch your wagon to his train for this event and earn yourself some solid points? Could be a pretty safe pick actually.
DARKHORSE PICK
Adrian Buchan - 'Ace' has always had some serious small-wave talents. If the surf is small, he should be one of those mid-ranking surfers that you see excel in the slop. If the surf is solid, he's a solid bet there as well.
LOWER LEVEL
(Valued At $5 million and below)
Jeremy Flores - He's had two 17th place finishes so far this year, but he's also starting to look stronger and surf a lot better after his injury last year. He may have needed a few events to get warmed up this year, so Brazil could be coming at just the right time for him. He's a small-wave terror, so seeing Flores take out a few top seeds through the draw shouldn't be surprising.
Jadson Andre - Who IS this kid? He shows up with Adriano de Souza at every event and takes out veterans who have no idea who he is. We should all start getting to know him - especially if he keeps surfing as well as he has this year.
Owen Wright - He's eventually go to get his feet under him and start dominating the way we all expect him to. Brazil could be windy and onshore very easily - perfect conditions for Wright's arial style of surfing.
DARKHORSE PICK
Ben Dunn - Ben landed in Brazil the other day with no boards. Well, they arrived today with all the tails crushed. He's ranked dead-last, jet-lagged, and has been written off as boring and predictable by critics all over the world. Eventually this is all going to fire up the young Aussie and he can blow up and show us all that he's a consistent performer who just needed everything to come together for him.
