On Tuesday, as a towering swell groomed by the Roaring Forties across the Indian Ocean reached its explosive final destination on the Western Australian coast, two surfers battled for their careers. Australian-Japanese surfer Connor O’Leary and Queenslander Liam O’Brien took on each other and Margaret River’s pumping conditions to retain a spot on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour.
With O’Leary just above and O’Brien just below the dreaded cut-line, victory would be a major step towards safety; defeat would likely consign the loser to a re-qualification slog on the second-tier Challenger Series.
The round of 32 heat seesawed and the lead changed – O’Leary scored the wave of the heat, while O’Brien nailed one of the best turns of the entire day with a stabbing hook.