Another event, another WSL Fantasy Surfer Guide.
You’ve heard every cliche about Bells under the sun by now. No kook has ever won Bells. Natural amphitheatre. World Surfing Reserve draped in history. 1981. Remember? Big. Thruster. 1981. It’s all about the rail here. Long cold walls. 1981. Remember?
Well, this is 2019. People have gotten 10s doing wild airs. There are some kooks on tour, so you never know, one of them could win. It’s probably going to be small, maybe even at (gasp) Winki. Forget the cliches and focus on the now. This WSL Fantasy Surfer Guide is the best advice you’re going to read all year about your picks for the Rip Curl Pro Bells. Here’s the form…
TIER A - A BIG LION AND A MOUNTAIN GOAT
There are few surfers who are incredible in all conditions at Bells. Some are going to flare at high tide Rincon, some will rise up in bigger Bowl. There are, however, a few crew who blast anything the Southern Ocean throws up at them. The first is Jordy. The guy has to be the best Bowl surfer in the field, especially now Mick and Parko are retired. When it’s small he blazes at Rincon, and if it moves to poor-man’s J-Bay he’ll be all over it like a lion on a wounded zebra. Italo is another past winner here who’s shredding in anything and is sure-footed doing pocket stabs or full rotes. Considering his form at Snapper he has to be a walk up start. The other guy who you’ve got to consider here is Gabriel. He looked incredible on the Goldy and has a great history at Bells as well.
You’re probably not going to pick Kolohe at Bells, because of his hot to cold past form. He was hot on the Goldy, which makes me think that helicopter is going to come crashing onto the pad at Winki. Seth Moniz is hard to include at top tier because as a rookie he has no past glory to draw on. That leaves John John, Conner and Wade. John John could be an option but I’d seriously consider Avoca Jesus. He was whipping his holy locks around to full effect at D’Bah and those power hacks and underdog spirit are always appreciated at The Rip Curl Pro. Remember too, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, so the Avoca Saviour could be ascending to podium heaven and have his disciples in raptures.
In short
Jordy and Italo
Possible alternatives
Gabby and Wade
Leave out
Kolohe and Seth Moniz
TIER B - THE FLYING WRIGHT BROTHERS & CO
The Australian leg traditionally sees a few Aussies lift their form for the crowd and put on a show in home waters. On the Goldy that kinda didn’t happen, with the Brazilians, Hawaiians and Americans stealing the show. The few exceptions were Avoca Jesus and the Wright Brothers. Considering AJ is in Tier A, that leaves the Wright Brothers as two fellas who will be fired up to bring home the hot crossed buns this Easter. Both tear at Bells, but with the smaller forecast on the cards, it could have the wind under their wings deflated just a little. One who will be looking at the forecast and rubbing his hands together is Filipe Toledo. He is utterly insane in walling rights from 1ft-6ft, so will for sure to be one to watch.
Finally, Julian Wilson has to be a consideration for your top four in this squad. He’s up and down in form, so you’d think after a shite start to the season he should be bouncing back up. Julian also had his best Bells result when the comp mostly ran at Winki, so the forecast should fall into his hands as well. If you’re not digging that option, then guys like Jeremy Flores or Zeke Lau could be powerhouse picks you’d think about. Kanoa Igarashi could use his brains to rule the tricky conditions. Or, Ryan Callinan with Luke Egan style in his corner could potentially surprise a few crew and hit the finals series.
Ones you’re going to leave out are Ace Buchan, who simply has a long and shitty history of results at Bells, plus Yago Dora, Joan Duru or Willian Cardoso. All could do well, but I reckon there are better odds that Kolohe will invite the WSL judges to his birthday party this year.
In Short
Owen, Mikey, Julian and Filipe
Possible Alts
Kanoa and Jeremy
Leave out
Ace and Joan
TIER C - DRACULA AND THE BLOOD SUCKERS
Imagine being the greatest of all times and getting a dirty turd result to start your last ever season on tour. Kelly will have his blood boiling and will be pulling out all kinds of dark wizardry to make sure he doesn’t end with a similar result at Bells. While I didn’t pick him for the Goldy, I reckon he’ll use his experience to resurrect himself here and puncture the necks of a few competitors. Caio Ibelli is another who got off to a terrible start and is hence sitting at the bottom of the ladder. Caio has his best ever result in a WT at Bells, finishing 2nd a few years back. So, if he’s going to show he belongs on tour as an injury wildcard, then this is his chance to get some runs on the board.
Other options to consider are Ricardo Christy, who has a good power game and is used to surfing in steamers pretty much 99% of the time he’s in the water, and also Leonardo Fioravanti because he’s simply too good a tactician to lose at a wave that normally favours smart heads.
Crew I’d leave out are Deivid Silva, mostly because he can’t even spell David properly, and Jesse Mendes whose style just doesn’t feel conducive to good results at Bells.
In Short
Kelly and Caio
Possible Alts
Ricardo and Leo
Leave out
Deivid and Mendes
If you’re still chasing more WSL Fantasy Surfer Guide related news/content, then hit below on the latest episode from Lipped where Ryan Callinan joins Jimmy & Cahill as special co-host for the episode.
The boys look through all the highlights and lowlights of an incredible event from Duranbah. From the level of surfing to the fanatic Brazilian fans to who really won the final. They also look forward to the Rip Curl Pro from Bells Beach including their fantasy picks and what are the best waves Ryan & Cahill have ever seen at the Bowl.
And it’s fantasy time as the boys make their picks for the Dragon x Lipped Podcast WSL Fantasy League – use the code lipped and get involved.
An extra bonus around your WSL Fantasy Surfer Guide is the below clip. A solid 15min clip of most of the CT surfers out of Bells during the most recent swell out there. Given the forecast is horse sh** you can take it with a grain of salt, but still, it shows who sucks out there and who doesn’t. Enjoy 🙂
