Worthy Watch: The High Five

A blast from the past, and one of the best moments in competitive surfing history.

Owen Wright Out For First Half of 2016 Season

Owen Wright has announced that he’ll miss the first half ofthe 2016 WSL Championship Tour season due to injury. Wright suffered a head injury while warming up for the Pipe Masters in December, causing him to miss the final event of the 2015 season. It was a big blow at the time, as Wright was technically in contention for the World Title heading into Pipe, not to mention that he’s one of the best left-handed tube riders on tour and very well could have won arguably the most prestigious surf contest in the world. It’s an even bigger blow now that we know it will affect his status in 2016 as well.

Owen Wright will miss a large chunk of the 2016 CT season.
Courtesy of surfglassy

I had Owen fourth in the Go Left 2016 Projected World Rankings before Mick Fanning’s decision bumped him up to third. Obviously now I must drop Owen from the Top 10 completely, and adjustments to everyone’s ranking will be made accordingly. It’s a shame that Wright’s injury in lingering, especially considering how much it took for him to come back from his last ailment. Hopefully he’ll be back in the water for Fiji and Tahiti, where he has been an absolute standout over the last two years thanks death-defying drops and cavernous barrels that make surf fans weak in the knees. Here’s to getting healthy, Owen. 

Follow Morgan, founder of Go Left, on Twitter @ GoLeftSurf

Preseason Surfer Profile: Adriano De Souza

Leading up to the 2016 World Surf League Championship Tour season, I will be counting down my projected Top 10 surfers for the highest level of men's competitive surfing. A preview of the women's 2016 season is also to come.

Adriano De Souza, Brazil

2016 Go Left World Ranking Projection: 5

2015 World Ranking: 1

2015 WCT Wins: 2

Adriano De Souza is the reigning WCT Champion, so some people may see my projected 2016 rank for him and think I’m disrespecting the Brazilian. It’s not disrespect; I simply think that everything came together at the right time for De Souza in 2015, and I have a hard time seeing it all shake out the same way in 2016. De Souza has quietly been one of the better surfers on tour for probably half a decade now, and he certainly deserved everything he received last season. Consistency was huge for Adriano in 2015, as he never posted a result worse than a 13^th. That’s extremely difficult to do on today’s World Tour, as the competition from top to bottom is better than it has ever been. De Souza avoiding a second-round exit in every event in 2015 is quite the accomplishment in itself.

Adriano De Souza taking flight.
Courtesy of Steven Tyler PJs

To be honest, I was not a huge fan of Adriano for quite some time. His attitude in the water and frequent claims soured me on him a while back, but every time I see an on-camera interview with him he seems like the opposite of the surfer we see in the water. I think it comes to down De Souza being a passionate person and a fiery competitor, not a guy to dislike. 2015 made me come around on him, and now I like to see him do well in events. I also have a lot of respect for the commitment he puts into his craft. The guy basically stalked Jamie O’Brien last year in order to learn the nuances at Pipe, and it paid off big-time.

I would not be surprised to see that I’d underestimated De Souza come season’s end, but I think each of the five surfers I ranked ahead of him have more upside. Adriano could very well place himself in the title race early on yet again and make me look stupid, but I have to go with my gut and rank him sixth. It could be a mistake.

Rob on the North Shore

Local legend and Pipe Master Rob Machado talks about his relationship with the North Shore: