The Corona Cero New Zealand Pro began its endgame at Manu Bay's quarterfinals, and the message from the left-hand point break was direct: world titles are not sufficient currency here.
Four world champions exited the competition across the men's and women's draws. Reigning world champion Molly Picklum, gone to Bettylou Sakura Johnson's backhand masterclass. Two-time champion Tyler Wright, outscored by Sawyer Lindblad's 16.26 heat total. Three-time world champion Gabriel Medina, eliminated in an earlier round by Filipe Toledo. And Toledo himself, a two-time former champion who had been surfing with authority all event — beaten 17.10 to 15.83 by Griffin Colapinto in a quarterfinal that the Brazilian press described as "electrifying."
Men's Quarterfinals: Colapinto's Statement Heat
The headline result on the men's side was Colapinto over Toledo. Toledo had arrived at Raglan in strong form, having beaten Medina in an earlier heat and positioning himself as a genuine finalist. Colapinto dismantled that positioning with a 17.10 total on Manu Bay's left wall — a score built on reading the longer-period waves that have been running since the event's flat spell broke — and left Toledo at 15.83 heading to the exit.
Yago Dora (Brazil) produced the phase's most dominant individual score: a 9.00-point wave, the highest single-wave mark of the competition, as part of a 16.33 heat total against Cole Houshmand. Dora's forehand on the left has been the technical story of the men's bracket — long snapping turns timed to the wave's sections, the kind of surfing that Manu Bay rewards specifically because the wall gives you room to set up for it.
Italo Ferreira advanced through an all-Brazil quarterfinal against Miguel Pupo. The heat produced the competition's most Brazilian moment: two countrymen from the same federation, surfing the same left break, deciding which one goes through to the final stretch of the event.
Women's Quarterfinals: The American Sweep
The numbers were striking before the analysis. Four quarterfinal matchups. Four American women advanced. No world title from either side of any heat was enough to move into the semifinal.
Carissa Moore versus Caroline Marks: Moore's 17.06 total was the highest heat score in the women's competition. The five-time world champion, competing on tour after a break, surfed with the economy of someone who has been on left-hand points all her life. Marks couldn't match the output.
Bettylou Sakura Johnson versus Molly Picklum: Johnson had been building through the event, and the quarterfinal was where that build resolved. The reigning world champion, Picklum, had not found the wave selection on Manu Bay that she needed. Johnson's backhand attack — consistently going hard into the longer-period sections — produced the winning scores across the heat.
Sawyer Lindblad (16.26) versus Tyler Wright: The 2024 rookie of the year has been one of the event's consistent performers. Wright, a two-time world champion and one of the most technically complete surfers on tour, couldn't find a path through Lindblad's scoring in the available conditions.
Alyssa Spencer versus Gabriela Bryan: Spencer advanced, completing an all-American women's semifinal.
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Join ZealZagFollow us on InstagramThe Semifinal Draws
Women's semifinals are set with the draw delivering maximum drama: - Heat 1: Spencer versus Lindblad — an all-American goofy-footer clash - Heat 2: Moore versus Johnson — the Hawaiian showdown, five-time champion against the woman who knocked out the reigning world champion
Men's semifinals are being determined from the remaining quarterfinal bracket, with Colapinto, Dora, and Ferreira already confirmed.
Finals in Sight
The event window closes on May 25. Manu Bay has been delivering — since the flat spell that left the event on standby for several days mid-window, the southwest groundswell has returned with enough period and direction to produce competition-grade waves. The conditions that allowed Dora's 9.00 are the conditions the competition needs to finish.
The final is scheduled for today or tomorrow. The wave chart holds the deciding vote.
For a guide to surfing Manu Bay yourself, see our Manu Bay destination guide. For the earlier standby-day coverage, read our May 22 Raglan report.
