From January 25 to 30, some of the world’s best surfers competed in the first edition of the WSL Pro Taghazout Bay, the first QS 5000 in Morocco’s history.
Now that the competition is over, we can officially say it was incredible from start to finish. Conditions were excellent at the backup spot Anza during the first 4 days, and then the world-class spot Anchor Point lit up for the final 2 days.
The event winner, Nat Young (USA), even said it was one of the best QS events he’s ever surfed in!
Nat Young was untouchable during the competition: he defeated Kanoa Igarashi (Japan), ranked 6th in the CT, in the quarterfinal, and then easily beat Vasco Ribeiro (Portugal) in the semifinal.
A Memorable Final
Opposite Nat Young in the final was Alonso Correa from Peru. On his way to the final, he first defeated South African Shane Sykes in the quarters. The semifinals saw him up against Frederico Morais, winner of the Hawaiian Pro in November 2019. Alonso Correa gave Frederico no chance, closing his heat with two nearly perfect waves scoring 9.60 (!) and 8.73!
And then there were two… Alonso Correa opened the final with a bang, scoring 9.10 on his first wave. Conditions were pumping and the sets kept rolling in. From the very start, the tension was high, and everyone wondered how Nat Young would respond to that first Peruvian strike.
He wasted no time and reclaimed the lead with his first wave, scoring a near-perfect 9.67, and backed it up with an 8.67. He never let go of the lead, despite Alonso’s best efforts to catch up.
“Anza and Anchor Point are two magical waves. The locals are very lucky to live here,” said Alonso Correa, who placed second.
European surfers performed well during the competition.
Of the eight surfers who reached the quarterfinals, three were from Europe: Tristan Guilbaud from France, Frederico Morais and Vasco Ribeiro from Portugal. Despite strong performances in Rounds 4 (17.27) and 5 (15.40), the French surfer from Vendée couldn’t get past Frederico Morais in the quarters.
While the waves were perfect during the first quarterfinal heat, a lull was observed during heats 2 and 3: Jake Marshall and Vasco Ribeiro managed only 5 waves in total, while Tristan Guilbaud and Frederico Morais caught only 10.
The two Portuguese surfers didn’t make it to the semifinals, but it was still a strong showing from Europe’s surfing talent.
