Tuach Wins Pantin Classic Galicia Pro

Pantin Day 5

2:10

Barbados' Chelsea Tuach solidifies a spot on the 2016 Championship Tour, while Thiago Camarao takes win at men's QS 1,500.

Chelsea Tuach (BRB) has won the women's QS6,000 Pantin Classic Galicia Pro over Leticia Canales Bilbao (EUK) in a low-scoring Final disputed in the early evening Pantin sun.

Tuach and Bilbao exchanged the lead over each wave caught for the first half of the 30-minute bout, with Tuach earning a slight edge. With only 10 minutes on the clock, Tuach solidified her position with a 6.50 to put her opponent in a difficult situation.

Bilbao quickly followed and found a clean little lefthander of her own, but the wave didn't stand up enough for the young Basque to perform her signature sharp forehand hacks, and she had to settle for an average score.

Tuach controlled the rest of the Final, sitting with priority to keep her opponent off of the best waves.

Tuach carried up victorious to the podium - WSL

"It was definitely tough the whole event, the waves have been kind of on and off," Tuach admitted. "I've had a lot of heartbreakers this year and what happened was I would panic and go for bad waves. So I took all of my knowledge from all those bad heats and tried to play a perfect heat. I'm so stoked to end the year on a win, it feels amazing."

With her result in Pantin, and the allocated 6,000 ranking points, Tuach has climbed to No. 4 on the QS rankings and has earned a spot on the 2016 Samsung Galaxy Women's Championship Tour.

"It's been my dream for so long and I've been working so hard for it," Tuach said. "It's definitely a weight off my shoulders. To be competing against the very best surfers in the world next year is so exciting, I'm going to work hard with my coach to get strong and try to come out guns blazing when the season starts. I've had my first taste of the CT at the US Open and it's a different ball game. You can't hold anything back and I think that's what I learned this year."

One of the in-form surfers all week, eliminating current CT Hawaiians Alessa Quizon and Malia Manuel on her way to the Final, Canales Bilbao couldn't maintain her excellent rhythm through the last heat and placed runner-up, a career-best for the Basque junior.

Canales stepped up to the plate against some of the world's best. - WSL

"I'll probably be feeling a lot better in a couple of hours, but right now I'm mostly frustrated cause I really wanted to find a good wave and win that Final," an emotional Canales said. "I won really good heats this week and that was a dream come true, but that Final was special and I really wanted it. My twin sister surprised me and rode the bus for 10 hours to come see me here and I wish I could have won for her and everyone in my support team."

The men's QS 1,500 event also ran through three rounds to decide the Quarterfinalists and set the action for an exciting finals day.

Ethan Egiguren (EUK) capitalized on the formidable enthusiasm of the Basque crew to win his Round 5 matchup and advance into the Quarterfinals, a first in his young career. The San Sebastian local surfed a solid heat to overcome strong competitors including in-form surfer Thiago Camarao (BRA) and current QS No. 8 Joan Duru (FRA).

"I just tried to be patient and take the bigger waves," Eguiguren said. "I'm feeling really good surfing right now. Everybody is supportive here and it's great to have them by my side."

Deivid Silva (BRA) continued his assault in Pantin, scoring an impressive 9.33 on his way to the Quarters where he'll face off with yet another Basque surfer in form at the event, Jatyr Berasaluce (EUK).

"The conditions were super hard but I'm stoked I got that really fun wave and I'm very happy to advance into the Quarters," Silva said. "It's a big event for me, there are a lot of good surfers here and winning heats will definitely help boost my confidence before I go home to compete in Brazil."