When the time comes that World No. 24 Kanoa Igarashi surfs his Championship Tour heats with the same freedom and abandon he finds surfing on the Qualifying Series, we'll all be witnessing the emergence of a top 10 talent. But until that time, we'll have to enjoy those moments at important QS events. As a key member of coach Jake Paterson's Snake Tales stable, there's no doubt that his mentor has emphasized the need to surf radically, as well as in a composed manner, and Igarashi seems to have made the adjustment. His 8.43 in Round Two was the highest single-wave score of the day in Cascais, and his confidence looks sky high. A pair of emphatic heat wins against Mick Fanning at Lowers probably didn't hurt the Californian's self-assurance much, either.
