Filipe’s extraordinary round four performance against Parko and Conner earned him an express pass, skipping round five and advancing straight to the quarter finals. Photo: WSL
Among the slew of giants who uncharacteristically took an early bow from Snapper (Slater, Smith, Wilson, Medina, and Fanning, to name a few), there were a few expected heavy-hitting performances to kick off the highly anticipated 2016 season, including that of the defending event champ and contest favorite, Filipe Toledo.
In his round four matchup with Tour veteran Joel Parkinson and lethal ‘CT rookie Conner Coffin, Filipe, without priority, ticked all the vital boxes (speed, power, flow, innovation, variety of maneuvers, etc), pocketing a perfect 10 and then backing it up with an impressive 9.2, a near-perfect heat total of 19.2. Not to mention one of his throwaways was a 9.17. What an animal.
But as remarkable as his results were, I must say that I wasn’t all that surprised. It goes without saying that Filipe is carrying around a level of grit and confidence that is just not seen from anyone else at the moment—at least at Snapper. Perhaps it’s his performance on the Gold Coast last year that is giving him that extra boost of confidence needed to achieve victory. Perhaps it’s his boards. Perhaps it’s something else. Either way, Filipe is looking sharp as a tack, and defending his title at Snapper is not only possible, it’s pretty much expected.
