By the end of round two, Floridans Ryan Helm, Jody Davis and Sean Tubby, the latter surfing his local break, had benefitted from their experience in the small wave conditions where patience definitely seemed a virtue.
Other third round (last 96) qualifiers included Chilean Danny Estes and Mexican Pipeline star Angelo Lozano.
Lozano, holder of the PXM International Vans Pro in Mexico, scored the highest heat total of that round (15.17).
But it was Dream Tour rookie Nathaniel Curran who claimed victory, last years WQS winner defeating Floridan Aaron Cormican with a score of 15.43.
Just back from the World Junior Championships, Blake Jones, who had already despatched Gabe Kling (Quarter-Finals) and Brett Simpson (Semi-Finals) took third place.