Go Left: rankings

Showing posts with label rankings. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2016

Preseason Surfer Profile: Gabriel Medina

Gabriel Medina, Brazil

2016 Go Left World Ranking Projection: 1

2015 World Ranking: 2

2015 WCT Wins: 1

It was really a tale of two seasons for Medina in 2015. I have to admit that a 25^th and three 13ths in his first five events last season had me scratching my head. Had he enjoyed the offseason a little too much following his remarkable 2014 World Title season? Was 2014 an aberration? These questions were running through my head, but really I just thought that we had a sleeping giant on our hands with too much talent to continue his struggles. It turns out that Medina was that sleeping giant, and a fifth-place finish at J-Bay seemed to signal his awakening. Medina would make at least the quarterfinals in the final six events of the season, again resembling the wunderkind that we saw dominate in 2014.

Gabriel Medina could be about to embark on a run to his second World Title.
Courtesy of A Scott

You could argue that Medina is the most dangerous surfer currently on tour. He can post 10s in so many different conditions thanks to his versatile game. He’s probably the last guy I would want to draw in a random heat to be surfed at a random WCT location. Medina made a name for himself early on with ridiculous airs that a guy of his size usually can’t pull off with such altitude and style. I think a lot of people started to think of him simply as an aerial guy for a bit, but he’s since proven that he can turn it up in a variety of ways in a plethora of conditions.

Medina has a ridiculous backside rail game that makes him a serious threat in any right-heavy event, such as J-Bay, where he reached the quarters in 2015 and started his run. Some of the backside hacks he puts on rights are insane, and he has a smoothness and rhythm to his transitions that yearn for big scores and are often sated by numbers in the excellent range. Before 2014, Medina’s weakness was supposedly big-wave conditions, but his win that year in Fiji squashed that narrative pretty quickly. Just in case anyone saw that victory as a fluke, Gabby put on a show in Tahiti and took home top honors in some serious barrels there as well.

So to recap, Medina started the 2015 season very slowly, and was still in World Title contention at Pipe. That’s extremely hard to do, but the kid finished the year with a 5^th, 2^nd, 3^rd, 1^st, 5^th and 2^nd. If he surfs anything like that for the duration of 2016 he will win his second World Title and make it three straight for Brazil. I still favored Mick Fanning slightly for the crown this season before he announced his abridged schedule, but I wouldn’t be remotely surprised to see Medina run away with the race in the wake of Mick’s decision. I expect John John Florence to be in the running in 2016, and that he and Medina will be battling it out for the World Title for years to come, but I favor Medina significantly right now due to his strategic nature in the lineup. It’s clear that Medina is a perennial World Title threat, and should be for the next decade or so barring major injury.

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

Monday, February 29, 2016

Preseason Surfer Profile: Joel Parkinson

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.

*With the news that Owen Wright will miss the first half of the season, I have had to make adjustments to the Go Left Projected Top 10 Rankings for the WSL’s 2016 Championship Tour. I originally had Owen fourth in my rankings, and with his participation limited I’ve omitted him entirely from the list. Joel Parkinson, the first man on the outside looking in at the Top 10 following the omission of Mick Fanning, now moves into the Top 10. I will edit previous surfer profiles to reflect these changes as well.

Joel Parkinson, Australia

2016 Go Left World Ranking Projection: 10

2015 World Ranking: 13

2015 WCT Wins: 0

2015 was a down year for Parko; there is no way around that. The oddest thing about last year was that it didn’t really appear as if his surfing had slipped, but he was on the losing end a lot of heats anyway. Perhaps that can be chalked up to bad luck, or the World Tour getting better, but one can’t simply ignore the results that Parko posted. The Aussie vet failed to make a single semifinal in 2015, which was extremely surprising, but he did finish the year with two fifths and a ninth in his last four events. Still, this is a guy that has a World Title to his name and finished just outside the Top 5 in 2014, so we've become accustomed to better results.

Joel Parkinson on the Gold Coast, where he'll look to get off to a good start in 2016.
Courtesy of Michael Dawes

2012’s World Title seems like a long time ago, and there are a lot of young, talented surfers on the rise on the CT. Maybe Parko doesn’t have that fire in his belly anymore, or perhaps he’s just on the downside of his career. He’s one of the smoothest surfers to ever hit the pro tour, and I think we can expect some solid yet unspectacular results from him in 2016. At 34 years old, Parko has had a great career of consistent World Title contention, but perhaps those days are behind him.

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

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

Friday, February 26, 2016

Preseason Surfer Profile: Adriano De Souza

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.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Preseason Surfer Profile: Jordy Smith

*With the news that Mick Fanning will not surf a full season, I have had to make adjustments to my Projected Top 10 Rankings for the WSL’s 2016 Championship Tour. I had Mick atop my rankings, and with his participation too difficult to predict I’ve omitted him entirely from the list. Thus, this news, while huge for the 2016 season, merely bumps everyone up one spot for the purpose of the Go Left rankings. Jordy Smith, who was the first man on the outside looking in at the Top 10, now moves into the Top 10. I will edit previous surfer profiles to reflect these changes as well.

**Owen Wright missing the first half of the 2016 season pushed Smith to ninth in the projected rankings.

Jordy Smith, South Africa

2016 Go Left World Ranking Projection: 9

2015 World Ranking: 28

2015 WCT Wins: 0

Jordy Smith lost most of his 2015 season to an injury, as he only surfed in five events. He started off the season pretty well, posting a ninth at Snapper and a fifth at Bells, and looked on track for a solid season yet again. However, getting hurt cost him any chance to compete for a lofty ranking on the year.

Jordy Smith's dynamism has never been in doubt.
Courtesy of Michael Dawes

Anyone that follows the World Tour knows that Jordy is capable of surfing at an elite level. He surfs with a ton of power, and he’s been one of the best aerial guys on tour since he arrived, despite his size. Smith has finished as high as second in the rankings; in 2010 he ended the year as a distant runner-up to Kelly Slater. In 2014, Smith’s last full season, he finished seventh in the rankings and won at Trestles. That year he made the semis three times and the finals twice. When Jordy first came onto the scene, a lot of people assumed he’d win a World Title. While that window may have closed for him, I wouldn’t be shocked to see a serious rebound season from the South African. This projected ranking could definitely be too low.