Jordy Wins in Rio

Jordy Smith has come into this season more mature and more focused after an offseason spent working on his repertoire, and the fruits of his labor are starting to show. The 25-year-old took down Brazil's own Adriano De Souza in the finals of the Billabong Pro Rio on Saturday to take home his first event of the tour season. The win, which followed up a third at Bells, puts Jordy in second place in the world tour standings right now, behind only De Souza, who leads Smith by a measly 250 points.

Adriano came out typically aggressive in the final heat, nabbing some early waves, but Jordy's patience eventually paid off. Smith's exuberance was on display after an 8.50 ride in which he linked together an aerial maneuver and a carving turn in one of the most seamless manners I've ever seen, as the South African was putting on an uncharacteristically big claim. But it may be Ariano's personality in the water that brings out the claims in his competitors. Personally, I'm not of fan of De Souza's attitude out there, but he certainly makes for fiery heats. Jordy put Adirano away for good when he busted a huge air with a grab that netted him a score of better than nine, and that was all she wrote.

One must remember that Smith was a legitimate world title contender in 2010 before struggling a bit the last two seasons. As one of the bigger surfers on tour, his power is unmatched in the water, something that puts him in elite company even among the best in the world. Could this be the year that Jordy breaks through and wins it all?

It's worth noting that Mick Fanning is right behind Adriano and Jordy in the season standings right now, as he's been the Peter Townend of the season through three events, not winning any contests but consistently contending and racking up points.  Thus far in 2013, Fanning has posted finishes of third, fifth and third, so he's in the hunt, as usual. Kelly is currently slated fourth, so as long as he's in striking distance everyone above him will be looking over their shoulders. Rounding out the Top Five is Taj Burrow, who is always near the top of the standings but never actually at the top despite his talent level.

A few other notes include the fact that Gabriel Medina finally had a strong showing this season, posting a third-place finish and showing that he's damn close to healthy if not fully there. He should be back in the title hunt within a few events; he posted a perfect 10 in the quarters that was downright naughty. Nat Young has been surfing really well this season, and he's currently ranked sixth. Reigning champion Joel Parkinson posted his second straight 13th, but it's too early to panic about Parko. Also Ace Buchan has surfed really well the last two events.

Here are highlights from the quarters on:

Billabong Rio Pro Completes Second Round

Finally, some surfing! The second round of the Rio Pro kicked off and was complected today in some stormy-looking surf at Barra da Tijuca. There weren't any real upsets in the round to speak of, so no surprises there.  Josh Kerr had the highest heat score of the day with a 17.94, and while the pros made the best of the conditions, only Kerr and Brett Simpson were able to crack a total of 15 in a heat.  For me, the most anticipated Round Three heats will be Taj vs. Kolohe (this could be a breakout year) and Julian Wilson vs. Sebastian Zietz.  Hopefully that will be tomorrow.

Last Lay Day?

Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day?  Well, rise and shine campers, because it's another lay day in Rio today. However, today's announcement does come with some hope.

“Only small surf on offer this morning so we’ve called a lay day for competition today,” Rich Porta, ASP International Head Judge said. “We anticipate swell to begin filling in by tomorrow afternoon and will definitely recommence competition in the coming days. We’ll return in the morning to make another assessment.”

Hopefully we'll get the second round underway tomorrow or the next day. This is day eight of the 12-day waiting period, so it's got to happen soon.

Lay Day For Rio Pro

A lay day has been called for the Billabong Rio Pro today with just one to two-foot surf on the docket. Next call will be tomorrow morning, when perhaps we'll kick off the second round of the event. Round One highlights include Pat Gudauskas upsetting Josh Kerr, rookie Sebastian Zietz dominating a heat than included Taj Burrow, Kelly and Jordy looking very strong and Gabriel Medina posting the highest heat score of the round (18.00).