The Saquerema Prime Event is underway in Brazil with some surprisingly large swell in the water for Round 1. The highest seed in the event was meant to be John John Florence, who pulled out after winning the Billabong Rio Pro last week. No need to be chasing down Prime points when you’ve become a World Title contender.

Gabriel Medina nearly suffered a shock elimination in Round 1, needing a last second left to squeak through in second place behind Jonathan Gonzalez.

For the most part, the top seeds had no trouble advancing through to Round 2, with a couple of exceptions. Tiago Pires, Miguel Pupo, Adam Melling, Brett Simpson, and Yadin Nicol were the only WT surfers to fall on day 1.

The overhead swell, which peaked on day 1 should be on the decline, but not before another day or two of competition is completed.

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