Surfing | Round 2 Winners For Clutch!
Clutch Fuelled by Monster Energy, presented by VANS, is an online campaign celebrating progressive, high-performance surfing.
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The Battle of the Barrels Continues!
That’s a wrap for Round 2, and what a round it was! Like Round 1, it was a true showdown of barrel-riding talent, featuring 23 entries from surfers across the country and beyond. We saw entries from up-and-coming groms, big-wave champions, underground rippers, and ex-pros. With such a high level of talent on display and such a mix of surfers, picking a winner would never be an easy task…
As always, to kick things off, the decision was placed in the hands of the public. For an entire week, surf fans had the chance to vote for their favourite entries on our website. The top three surfers with the most votes then advanced to an Instagram poll, where the final winner of the Public Vote would be decided. The top three for the round were Brad Roberts, Mike Frew, and Samora Chapman. Fans had 24 hours to cast their votes on Instagram, and after thousands of votes rolled in, the results were clear. Samora Chapman claimed the Public Vote victory with that crazy late drop into a thick backside spitter.
With the public vote decided, the stage was now set for the rest of the judges to make their picks.
First up was Monster Energy:
“Another barrel fest for November, with the cream of the entries coming from the opposite sides of the generational pool. Old-gen surfers like Simon Fish and Royden Bryson showed us that the 40s are the new 20s, while Kai Hall and James Ribbink kept the current crop of SA’s professional talent pool on their toes. But Twiggy’s bomb at Backdoor swung the split vote into the ‘experience’ side of the draw. The old dog doing what he does best—finding the best wave of the day and riding it to perfection. You’re keeping us all forever young, Twigg!”
“On the local hero front, it’s hard to look past the throaty drop into a no-hands backside barrel and getting spat out. Our reaction was the same as Samora’s: hand on our heads, wondering, ‘How’d he (or I) make that?’ That’s what clutch is all about.”
“Now that summer is officially here, we’re hoping to see some above-the-lip entries—barrels were so last winter…”
Next up was the Zigzag team:
“We simply go again! The barrels continue to dominate this year’s competition. Some crazy rides from a number of different surfers, but for us, it was pretty clear who won this round. Twiggy’s down-the-line freight train was a notch above the rest and got our vote. He came from so deep, hit a couple of big pumps, and came flying out after the spit. Masterclass from the Big Wave World Champ.”
“When we think of the meaning behind the words ‘Local Hero,’ a guy like Samora Chapman is exactly who comes to mind. He’s an underground charger who’s made his mark surfing up and down KZN’s coast. His tube was a standout wave in the comp and our pick for Local Hero. The sketchy airdrop takeoff, the no-hands in the tube, and getting spat out—something to behold.”
The final vote came from Monster Team Rider Eli Beukes:
“For me, the winner was Twig. Full-tilt barrel, thing went super square and came flying out. Just an overall impressive wave and the biggest, best barrel out of the Round 2 entries, in my opinion.”
“Samora Chapman for Local Hero. Late drop, and the barrel went pretty square, too. Got spat out. Entertaining wave to watch. Oh, and no hands on his backside too—pretty gnarly, haha.”
So there you have it, folks! The votes were unanimous. Twiggy is your Round 2 winner, while Samora takes the Local Hero prize.
Round 3 is underway and still very much up for grabs. Start hitting those summer bowls and send through your entries! Entries close December 31, 2024. Let’s go!
