WILLIAN CARDOSO & JOHANNE DEFAY WIN ULUWATU CT

You hear the term “underdog” a lot, but where the hell does that actually come from?

In case you’re wondering, the phrase comes from the 19th century British dog fights. In those particular fights, two dogs attacked each other and the loser was deemed the “underdog,” while the winner was called “top dog.” While the expression is originally American, the first recorded use of “underdog” was seen in descriptions of people by British newspapers.

Panda hungry… for a win. Willian Cardoso chows down. Photo: Sloane/WSL; Vid: WSL

Which brings us to today, Finals Day of the Uluwatu CT, a continuation of the Margaret River Pro. At the start of the day, with 12 guys in Round 4, who did you have your money on winning the event? Medina was a good call. Julian Wilson, Filipe Toledo and Jordy Smith were all looking on point, too.

But how about rookie Willian Cardoso? Do you even know what that main sponsor sticker is on his surfboard? I don’t, but it looks like a mermaid, yet I refuse to believe that he is sponsored by “Mermaid.” Regardless, that’s precisely what an underdog is in 2018: a heavy-footed, wide-necked, thick-thighed, ultra-powerful Brazilian regularfooter that won’t say, “Die.”

And by god, Willian won the comp today.

For a minute there, Filipe Toledo had the yellow jersey, but he never got to wear it. Photo: Sloane/WSL

He won it beating Filipe Toledo in the Quarters, by just plain pushing more water than the boy. He won it with his coiled, compact, powerhouse backhand hacks and re-entries. He won it beating a nothing-to-lose Mikey Wright who’d just come off a 3rd-place at Keramas. He won it by giving his 110%, every single friggin’ heat, until that last bitter second, digging hard off the bottom on every neon-blue left and twisting his solid frame in the pocket with a ferociousness rarely seen this year.

He won it beating Julian Wilson, the 2nd most in-form surfer of the day after Medina. Julian’s now World #1 (top dog), by the way, again.

Kolohe Andino left the Bukit with an equal-3rd-place result. Photo: Sloane/WSL; Vid: WSL

“I feel like my heart is going to explode,” said Willian. “I saw Julian get a sick wave in the end and I knew he needed a big score and he’s such an amazing surfer and he can do everything, but I needed a big score and I got it. I was crying a lot and all my friends were all here [laughs]. It’s unbelievable. Tomorrow, I go to the Mentawais. I think after beating Filipe in the Quarters I knew I could keep going, so… yeah, I did it.”

“I just had to be at my best today, and I can’t believe I won!” he continued. “Today I beat Julian Wilson, Mikey Wright and Filipe Toledo, who are all amazing surfers. This is the best day of my life, I have waited so long for this moment.”

Cardoso actually climbed 20 places in the last two events to # 5 in the world. See: Underdog.

Julian’s back, too. Photo: Sloane/WSL; Vid: WSL

“You, know, it’s been a long day, and I’m pretty burnt out right now,” said Julian. “I didn’t get the result I wanted at Keramas last week, so to be able to get a runner-up finish here at Uluwatu feels really good. I’m not thinking too much about being back on top, but it’s nice. It’s only halfway through the season and there’s a lot of heats still to come. I’m excited to get home to my wife and daughter and reset for the Corona J-Bay Open.”

Lest we forget the other underdog story of the day… Okay, so Johanne Defay doesn’t really qualify as one (she’d already won two CT events before today), but she might not have been the one you’d have put your money on at the start of the day. That bet would’ve probably gone to Tatiana Weston-Webb, who was looking like THE woman to beat all day. Tatiana even comboed Steph Gilmore in their Semifinal heat with nimble, light-footed, explosive surfing at Racetracks. And while Weston-Webb did have control for much of the Final with Defay, there’s always that last pesky minute. And it was in that 60 seconds that Defay got the backup she was searching for (6.63) to overtake Tatiana.

Johanne Defay, trimming en route to her third CT victory. Photo: Sloane/WSL; Vid: WSL

“It’s just so crazy,” said Johanne, out of breath. “Everyone on Tour surfs so good and deserves to win, but I’m glad it was my turn today. It’s been a strange year for me. I haven’t gotten the results I want, but I feel like I’ve been surfing good. To win in perfect surf in Bali is a dream come true. Tatiana was surfing so good today and I was expecting her to get 8-point-rides on every wave. But in the end I needed a 6, and it came down to my last wave, so I knew it would be close. It was a great wave, but it had some bumps on it and I wobbled through some turns. Luckily for me, it was enough.”

Johanne Defay is now #5 on the Jeep Leaderboard. So yeah, here’s to underdogs that end up on top. They sure have earned it.

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Yeah. Ulus is a beautiful place to go surfing. Photo: Sloan/WSL

Uluwatu CT Men’s Final Results:
1 – Willian Cardoso (BRA) 15.57
2 – Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.43

Uluwatu CT Women’s Final Results:
1 – Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.13
2 – Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 12.67

Uluwatu CT Men’s Semifinal Results:
SF1: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.83 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.53
SF2: Willian Cardoso (BRA) 13.77 def. Mikey Wright (AUS) 13.16

Uluwatu CT Women’s Semifinal Results:
SF1: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 14.50 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 2.50
SF2: Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.77 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 13.73

Uluwatu CT Men’s Quarterfinal Results:
QF 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.33 def. Conner Coffin (USA) 11.83
QF 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 16.20 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.50
QF 3: Mikey Wright (AUS) 11.13 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 10.90
QF 4: Willian Cardoso (BRA) 14.24 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 11.67

Uluwatu CT Women’s Quarterfinal Results:
QF1: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 13.10 def. Carissa Moore (HAW) 12.66
QF2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.83 def. Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 7.64
QF3: Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.00 def. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 6.97
QF4: Tyler Wright (AUS) 10.50 def. Lakey Peterson (USA) 9.84

Uluwatu CT Men’s Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) 9.34 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 9.10, Owen Wright (AUS) 8.47
Heat 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.13 def. Conner Coffin (USA) 13.04, Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 11.50
Heat 3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.07 def. Willian Cardoso (BRA) 14.66, Connor O’Leary (AUS) 14.63
Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 10.50 def. Mikey Wright (AUS) 8.83, Joan Duru (FRA) 7.44

Uluwatu CT Men’s Remaining Round 3 Results:
Heat 10: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.54 def. Yago Dora (BRA) 11.83
Heat 11: Joan Duru (FRA) 12.67 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.70
Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Mikey Wright (AUS)* (Wright progresses as Florence out injured)