The Men’s Rip Curl Boardmasters 5 star World Qualifying Series (WQS) surfing contest came to a close this afternoon, with former Foster’s ASP World Tour surfer Ben Bourgeois (USA) defeating Brazilian excitement machine Heitor Alves in tricky, 2-3ft (1m) surf.
The Rip Curl Boardmasters started one week ago with 168 surfers, but at 4pm today there were only two competitors left standing on the winner’s podium. For Bourgeois, the win launches him to second on the WQS Ratings, just 24 points behind WQS Tour leader Tiago Pires (PRT).