New 32: After the completion of the Quik Pro New York last weekend the ASP world rankings were adjusted and the top 32 surfer became the new tour roster for the remainder of the season. Two of the notable additions to the dream tour are the Brazilian duo of Gabriel Medina and Miguel Pupo. The pair of scrawny goofyfoots have wreaked havoc on the WQS this season, taking out several events, including a PRIME victory each. Pupo won the Nike Lowers Pro in May, beating many of the world tour surfers he’ll now be facing in his first event at the very same wave.

After 3 years of falling juuuust short, Yadin Nicol finally made the tour cut this year, only to break his leg in Japan weeks prior. Yadin will be out for 4-6 months, but luckily he’s expected to get an injury wildcard for next season. John John Florence is next in line, so he will be surfing the last 5 events in Yadin’s place. Ironically, the 2 were surfing together in Japan for a new Kai Neville project when the injury happened. “Yadin, uh, you go on this one.”

Title Race: With 2 consecutive finals together, trading wins in Tahiti and New York, Owen Wright and Kelly Slater have laid their title intentions on the table. Kelly is sitting on 34950 points, Owen has 31900. Winning an event gets you 10,000 pts, 2nd gets 8,000. So you can see how important that final in New York was, had Owen lost Kelly would have a 5000 pt lead going into one of his favorite events at Lowers. Either way, the plot will undoubtedly thicken in the next few weeks with back-to-back-to-back events in California, France, and Portugal. The Hurley Pro Trestles starts this sunday.

Hawaii: The schedule for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing has been released by the ASP. In the absence of a women’s triple crown series this year, a wildcard spot has been given to women’s world champ Carissa Moore. She will have a spot in the events and Haleiwa and Sunset, with a conceivable spot in the Pipe masters should she do really really well. Despite her small stature and lack of testosterone, make no mistake, not one surfer in the draw wants to be in a heat with Carissa.

The Reef Hawaiian Pro, Nov.12-23
Haleiwa Ali’i Beach Park
6-star rated event that offers Prime ratings points
Prize purse: $145,000

The Vans World Cup of Surfing, Nov.24-Dec.6
Sunset Beach
Prime rating & points
Prize purse: $250,000 (upgraded from 2010)

The Billabong Pipe Masters, Dec. 8-20
Banzai Pipeline
World Tour rating & points
Prize purse: $425,000