HO’OKIPA, MAUI, HAWAII – 27. Oktober 2026 – Vier bis fünf Meter hohe Wellen und leichter Wind erwarteten die Pro Men heute beim Aloha Classic. Das Ergebnis war ein Tag mit spektakulären, risikoreichen Wellenritten, an dem sich drei der vier weltbesten Surfer ihren Platz im entscheidenden Halbfinale sicherten.
With light winds forecast for the rest of the competition period, the pressure was on: anyone who failed to finish in the top two of their four-man heat was out of the competition. This meant do-or-die action all day, with Pro Men completing the last five heats of round one, followed by their quarter-finals.
The first quarter-final quickly became a two-man battle for first place between Morgan Noireaux (USA, JP / NeilPryde) and Marcilio Browne (Brazil), with the lead changing hands several times. Noireaux combined his signature surf-style flow with perfectly timed hits to score a near excellent, 7.82 wave plus a 6.40. But Browne finally overtook him with strong rail work and an incredibly late punch through the lip to finish with a higher heat total of 14.22.
World number two Philip Köster (Germany, Severne Windsurfing) was the first major casualty finishing third, and is likely to slide down the rankings, as several fellow world title contenders progressed.
Thomas Traversa (France) was one of the day’s standouts. He thrived in the heavy conditions and posted the day’s highest heat total of 15.05. His big-wave experience showed from the outset as he rode deep in the pocket and hit the most critical sections with confidence and ease. Despite breaking a mast midway through his quarter-final, he had already banked enough points to hold second place and advance.
“The swell was bigger than expected, some waves were over mast high, peeling and perfect.” – Thomas Traversa
Antoine Martin (Guadeloupe) overtook Traversa in his down time to win quarter-final two, posting the day’s second-best heat total of 14.95. Martin was among the most consistent performers on the water, with several rides accruing more than seven points each. He picked some of the biggest peeling sets and attacked the lip all the way down the line.
2026 Maui Pro winner Bernd Roediger (Hawaii, Flikka) had a nail-biting finish to his first-round heat, climbing from fourth to first in the final five minutes of the 30-minute heat. After some uncharacteristic early errors, he held his nerve on his last counting wave, landing a towering aerial and a series of sharp snaps on a large set. His quarter-final win was far more assured. It produced some of the day’s most thrilling moments, with incredibly late, under-the-lip hits and one of the top single-wave scores, an 8.08.
“I’m not trying to make this into more drama than it already is, but it’s the nature of competing when it’s light and the waves are big and there’s a lot of current and the other sailors are really good. It was very, very challenging and I was super lucky to get that final wave. But then everything started to click and started to feel good.” – Bernd Roediger
In perhaps the biggest upset of the day, a hard-charging Boujmaa Guilloul (Morocco) knocked out former Aloha Classic champion Camille Juban (Guadeloupe, S2Maui) with a heat total of 13.47. Guilloul used his deep knowledge of Ho’okipa to choose waves that offered several scoring opportunities, then made the most of them with beautifully timed airs and powerful snaps. Juban still threw down some huge aerials, but he looked slightly underpowered and couldn’t quite get past the section for a second move.
Compatriots Liam Dunkerbeck (Spain, Duotone Windsurfing) and Marc Paré (Spain, Simmer Windsurfing) fought an exciting tussle for the all-important heat win, with Dunkerbeck edging out the reigning world wave champion by just 0.6 points and a heat total of 13.88. Dunkerbeck applied smart wave selection to perform consistent aerials, surf-style carves and one-handed cutbacks. Paré answered back with tweaked airs, critical hits and a goiter, proving he is a world title threat at every venue.
Several others missed the semi-finals but deserve a mention for their committed performances:
Federico Morisio (Italy, Starboard / Severne sails ) landed some impressively high aerials.
Arthur Arutkin (France, Flikka / GUNSAILS) attacked the lip with power to beat two leading Ho’okipa specialists, Levi Siver (USA) and Graham Ezzy (USA, Ezzy).
Rising talents Ryu Noguchi (Japan, Starboard / Severne Sails) and Gregory Stathopoulos (Greece) both reached the quarter-finals, showing they are fast becoming real contenders in the Pro Men’s fleet.
Takuma Sugi (Japan) was unlucky to have the heat he was leading abandoned as the wind faded. In the re-sail, he couldn’t recapture the same rhythm or find sets of the same quality.
Competition is likely to pause on Wednesday, with heavy rain forecast, before resuming with the Pro Men and Pro Women on Thursday and Friday.
SEMIFINALISTS
SEMI #1
- Boujmaa Guilloul (Morocco, Goya)
- Marc Paré Rico (Spain, Simmer)
- Marcilio Browne (Brazil, Goya)
- Antoine Martin (Guadeloupe, Goya)
SEMI #2
- Morgan Noireaux (USA, NeilPryde)
- Thomas Traversa (France, Gaastra)
- Bernd Roediger (Hawaii, Hot Sails/Flikka)
- Liam Dunkerbeck (Spain, Duotone)