Despite a dropping swell at Sunset, high-stakes action started early during Round Three of the Vans World Cup. A handful of Qualifying Series warriors stepped up against Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour (CT) stars to keep their CT dreams alive. Ryan Callinan, Deivid Silva, and Ian Gouveia all broke though with solid performances. Unfortunately, Australian CT upstart Davey Cathels went down against an on-fire Ricardo Christie, who threaded one of the barrels of the morning to take a commanding lead. Siting at No. 18 on the QS ranks, Cathels needed at least a Quarterfinal finish to crack the top 10, and requalify for the 2017 CT. Now his destiny will come down to the Pipe Masters.
