Kanoa Igarashi's 2017 season hasn't been nearly as smooth as his rookie one. Last year he set a remarkable record by not losing once in Round Two, which means he survived his entire rookie season without a 25th place finish. Unfortunately, this season has been a different story; he's suffered through five Round Two losses. Not surprisingly, he's hit the Qualifying Series (QS) hard to back up his cause, which has paid off. His win at the Vans US Open of Surfing - Men's QS helped propel him into the Top 10 on the QS.
Igarashi may not need his QS ranking though. For the second time this season he's now into the Quarterfinals thanks to his blistering performance in Round Four at the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal. Though he entered the event ranked No. 24 on the Jeep Leaderboard, one spot shy of the cutoff, he's sure to jump a few after this one.