Taj Burrow today became the first-ever three-time winner of the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy, defeating Mikey February in the Grand Final to cap off three days of intense competition in some of the best waves in the event’s history.
Burrow’s win was hard fought. After finishing runner-up in all three divisions and surfing the maximum ten heats, the 46-year-old Australian did his best to conserve his energy on the final day. It’s a counterintuitive move for a surfer to be cautious with his wave selection when the waves are four feet and perfect, but it was a wise decision. Burrow’s six excellent wave scores on the final day proved that while he may have sacrificed quantity, wave quality hadn’t been compromised one bit.
Gray skies greeted the competitors heading into the Sultans lineup this morning, but when an early morning tropical downpour cleared, they left silky smooth waters in their wake. The wind was light and the waves were steady, perfect conditions for the opening Twin Fin division. Jeremy Flores came out in full force. Unsatisfied with his performances over the first two days and with no hope of winning the overall, Flores was surfing only for pride, and that was enough. His 8.33 and 7.17, both with beautiful tube riding, were a warning to the field and enough for him to take an easy win over Barrow and local wildcard Ahmed “Amadei” Agil.
In the second heat, another passionate surfer, Judson Andre, put in an even more spectacular performance. He rode the wave upside down, backhand as is customary in this event, scoring 8.33 and 7.83 to move on to the next round in first place. Mikey February advanced to second place, eliminating a brave but exhausted Carissa Moore.
After a strong opening round performance, Flores stepped up a level in the semi-finals against February, whose two sixes were no match for Flores’ 8.67 and 9.10. The tide was perfect at this point, the conditions were perfect and the waves were perfect. Flores posted a total of 17.77 and steamrolled his way to the final, beating some of the most well-known twin fin artists in the game.
In the second semi-final, Andre, who had to advance to the twin fin final to advance to the overall final, had no answer for Barrow’s onslaught. Starting off with an incredible 9.67 on a deep tube with a wild foam ball ride, the Western Australian never got a wave. As he’s done all week, Andre was busy riding waves from one end of the point to the other, delivering backhanded blasts on the top peaks and sneaking off to find tubes further down the line.
Andre’s final two waves were his highest scoring, but it was Burrow who had the last laugh, as his deep lightning act near the end earned him the event’s first ever perfect 10, unanimously awarded to the judges.
“It was really quick and a perfect cylinder,” Burrow said. “It had a foam-ball moment so I knew it was good. Then I got a good break and made a nice roundhouse cutback. I’ve had a lot of tubes this week, but I thought that was definitely a 10.”
Burrow earned a near-perfect score of 19.67 out of 20 to advance to his third final of the week with the MR x Mayhem California Twin Pin.
A battle between two of the greatest performers in WSL Championship Tour history is sure to be close, no matter what board they’re on. Five minutes later, Burrow had the right of way at his favorite corner of the reef while Flores chased the bigger top peak up the line. Somehow, the next set brought great waves for both of them, and Flores got into a huge tube first, then pulled out in time to hear the crowd erupt as Burrow paddled into his own amazing wave.
“That was a lot of fun!” Burrow said of the succession of barrels that followed. Flores earned a 9.67 for the first big pit, and Burrow earned a 9.77 for a deep tube behind him. And so the final began, with both surfers scouring the lineup for waves. In the end, Flores found the better second score, earning a 7.27 for his final wave. The tight tube was followed by a long wall, and he unleashed his arsenal of powerful open-face carves and under-the-lip laybacks.
“It was crazy. It seemed like the swell was dying down and then all of a sudden it started up again,” Flores said. “I was a little pissed off today. I started out good and then yesterday was a little disappointing. But today, I really wanted to win something. And I did! I still won!”
The Twin Fin division was decided and the Grand Finalists were decided. Burrow surfed three consecutive 33-minute heats, his fourth of the day, wearing a rash vest. Meanwhile, February had spent the previous hour relaxing in the air-conditioned cabin of the Kuda Princess, the luxury yacht that had served as the surfers’ locker room all week. Fatigue was starting to take its toll, but Burrow had no intention of losing his rhythm. Without any form of rest, he raced straight to the title-deciding match, pausing only for a moment to add a third small trailer to his Twin Fin setup, as any equipment is allowed in the Grand Final.
February stayed on his beloved Channel Island Twin Fin and another frenetic tube duel began. February caught seven waves and Barrow four. They both had three great scores by the end of the final, but it was Barrow who held the lead until the end with 9.10 and 9.03. February kept himself in the lead with 8.67 and 9.10, until with just a few minutes left a storm loomed on the horizon. Suddenly the offshore winds picked up and the waves were suddenly the widest they’d ever seen, even after a week of big barrels.
Burrow’s final pit of the week was impressive, but the 8.00 didn’t help him at all. He kicked out in the channel, leaving February alone in the lineup for a 9.04. As the buzzer sounded, February snuck into the final long wall. The crowd barely seemed to mind as the South African blazed through tube section after tube section. Burrow was worried, but he needn’t have worried. His 8.17 ended up falling just short. The bottle started to open behind Princess, and Burrow’s scoreline of 18.13 just edged out February’s two-wave total of 17.77.
“I feel bad because I won,” Burrow said afterward. “Mikey was the best surfer here this week. He looks beautiful on every board, but especially on the twin. His turns were perfect, he was in great form, he was riding the wave and I thought he was going to win.”
“But I knew how to surf the heat and I knew what to do. I sat still in my spot, put out a couple of drainers and did a few turns of my own. I knew he’d catch me at the end. Then a storm came! The wind was blowing hard offshore, the waves were nice and even and I had probably the roundest tube of the week. I thought I’d done enough at that point, but then Mikey caught another wave at the buzzer and I was in the barrel the whole time. I didn’t think the score mattered but you never know what’s going to happen. And then they read out I’d won.”
“Staring down seconds, I knew I had to give it my all for the final. I was so tired and full of adrenaline, but the way I was and the ocean made it happen. It was probably one of the most fun finals I’ve ever surfed. I don’t know if I’ll ever wear the jersey again… unless I’m invited back! I went tubing, stayed at the Four Seasons with friends, and it just couldn’t get any better than that. It was just an incredible week of moments.”
Twin Fin Results:
- Jeremy Flores (France) 1000 points
- Taj Burrow (Australia) 900 points
- Jadson Andre (Brazil) tied with Mikey February (South Africa) with 800 points.
- Carissa Moore (HAW) matches Ahmed “Amadei” Agil (MDV) with 700 points
2024 Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy Leaderboard:
- Taj Burrow (Australia) 2700 points
- Mikey February (ZAF) 2600 points
- Jadson Andre (Brazil) 2500 points
- Jeremy Flores (France) 2500 points
- Carissa Moore (HAW) 2200 points
- Ahmed “Ammadei” Agil (MDV) 2200pts