2024 HURLEY PRO SUNSET BEACH
It's been a right old hum-dinger start to the season with some audacious waves for the Lexus Pipe Pro, but Sunset Beach is a different beast. It has the power and the force to rattle even the most accomplished and experienced surfers. Still, it doesn't have the geography for a surfer to hit the bottom, the thing that Filipe is so fearful of. Unless you decide to go left off a north peak and get caught inside paddling back out, no one should do that.
Whereas Pipe is all about technique, timing, and the take-off, Sunset is more of a hard-grunt physical wave that requires fitness, raw strength and grit, physical strength, and the ability to adjust to longer, thicker equipment. Sunset calls for a bigger board due to all the moving water and thickness of the waves combined with Hawaiian power.
The person who will win this year at Sunset will be a surfer who heads out to the backline, hooks into two of those big outside west peaks, and charges through the bowl. Last year saw a crew of surfers just sitting around the inside bowl and trying for big moves over a shorter distance of wave riding, but that's not how you win at Sunset. You win by clawing into a big one out back and carving some man-sized hacks before setting up the inside section in front of the judges.
FAVORITES
John John Florence
Odds:
TBD
It's always quite a challenge to understand where John John is and what his program is because when he is on, he is unbeatable. Still, when he's off the program, then he might as well not compete. The Sunset event would be a reasonably straightforward win if John were focused on a world title. He knows the wave better than everyone in the field, has more water time out there than most, and has the skill set to clinch a win with ease. With John, however, it's in his head. He's either winning or bored, and from his performance at Pipe, he looks like he wants to win.
Jordy Smith
Odds:
TBD
The perennial South African has got everything needed to win at Sunset Beach. Let's unpack.
Since becoming a father, Jordy's training took a bit of a back seat, except for the last few months, when he was hard at it, training ferociously, knowing that this year must be a huge one for him. He is a previous winner at Sunset Beach and loves the wave. It might have been back in 2016 when he won the Vans World Cup Of Surfing, but it was typical Sunset conditions. Big, windy, powerful, and unpredictable, he owned it all the way to the final. With an approach akin to Gary Elkerton, Jordy stroked into big sets, did some man-hacks on the giant open faces, and weaved his way through some inside barrels for the win. He totally understands the wave. He totally gets it. He has the size. While being small isn't a disadvantage – Michael Ho and Tom Carroll were two absolute Sunset competitive legends under 5'4 - being big is definitely a bonus. Jordy can stretch his legs at Sunset and get going, which will help his cause.
Jack Robinson
Odds:
TBD
Another natural-footed powerhouse surfer who thrives when it gets gnarly, Robinson is also hell-bent on winning. Having won at Sunset before (and at Pipe), he has already proven that he has the nous for another victory. His early-ish round defeat at Pipe will also see him desperate to make up lost ground. When Jack is hungry, it's all over for any other competitor. He'll take the win, and easily. Jack has also been on the world title path for a few years, and there is no reason why 2024 can't be his year. He is fit, ready, and focused.
SLEEPERS
Ethan Ewing
Odds:
TBD
The high-speed surfer has plenty in the bag at Sunset, and his performances last year were impressive. He beat Slater (who doesn't really enjoy Sunset). He was eventually eliminated by Griffen Colapinto, but his surfing along the way was what turned heads. His rail mastery on the big open faces showed genuine commitment, and there was no holding back or pausing for anything. Ewing also showed that he was open for a few big drops and hammer hits but needed a big scoring second wave when he needed it. A bit more board length and one or two more sets, and he will be heading for the finals.
Griffin Colapinto
Odds:
TBD
His runner-up position at last year's Sunset event surprised many but not Griff himself, who has been working hard on his Hawaiian game and his general bigger wave performances. He obviously has his small wave game dialed like a few others, but he proved to be plucky and determined, and he also looks like he is ready for a full-on world title run. Part of the new crew that is making pro surfing look exciting again, Griffin is one of those surfers that you can't leave the beach when he is surfing because he might just do something totally outrageous in any arbitrary heat. He is a pleasure to watch, though.
LONGSHOT
Filipe Toledo
Odds:
TBD
Dear old Pip. What are you going to do at Sunset this year? His disastrous performance at Pipe will either destroy his fortitude or make him stronger, but he has a few things going for him.
He has a point to prove to the harsh surfing critics that have eaten him alive recently about his fear of big waves. He is a world champion, and he doesn't want to be a world champ with an asterisk next to his name (although he probably is already)
He won the event last year. It wasn't the biggest by any means, and everyone knows that Sunset on a small day is a very soft, playful wave, but he did have the confidence to take the win. If it is small again, then he is in the game.
If it is big, macking, proper Sunset, then he will be nowhere. Sunset Beach at size is another of the world's most terrifying waves, and it is known as the cleanuppiest wave in the world. If it is 12 feet and there are wash-throughs, he will probably get food poisoning.
