Brazil's Alejo Muniz is off to a great start to 2011 after winning the Hang Loose Pro Sunday on the gorgeous island of Fernando De Naronha in a week filled with quality surf.

Muniz started his tear quietly, advancing with 2nd place finishes in the rounds of 96 and 48. But in the man-on-man rounds he caught fire, and his victims came from every corner of the planet.

Tim Boal of France, Glenn Hall of Ireland, Masatoshi Ohno of Japan and South Africa's Travis Logie were all sent packing by Muniz before he took down Australia's Dion Atkinson in the final.

The only nation he didn't get to punish was the USA, because the American contingent was having a shocker. Of the roughly dozen representatives who made the trek to Brazil, only one, Tanner Gudauskas, made it to the Round of 24.

Cory Lopez, Nat Young, Tim Reyes, CJ and Damien Hobgood, Chris Ward and Nate Yeomans were eviscerated in the Round of 48. Most of them left town with about 650 points, while Muniz gobbled up 6500 for his win; the same amount the two surfers who finish 3rd place at Snapper will earn.

In an effort to open the door for fresh new blood on the World Rankings, the ASP has modified their allocation of points in 2011, giving Prime events even more stature than they had last year. The goal is to make it tougher on those who don't perform, regardless of what tier they're on.

While Muniz would have earned the same amount of points last year for his win, Atkinson, Logie and Ohno benefited significantly from the new changes. Atkinson's runner up finish netted him 5200 points, the same as if he finished 5th place in a World Tour event.

Ohno and Logie walked away with 4225 points, nets them 225 points more than a 9th place result on the tour this year. That's 569 more points than last year, when an equal 3rd earned less than a 9th place tour finish. And with 11 Prime events on this year's schedule, the implications of the 3rd in a Prime being worth more than a 9th on tour are massive.

With the new One World rankings locked and loaded, and another mid-season cutoff looming in September, rest assured there will be more power players showing up at Prime events like the Drug Aware Pro in Margaret River, the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro at Lowers and the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach.

I'm not sure how the surfers feel about their busier schedules. But pro surfing fans can't lose.

Resultados of Hang Loose Pro from Fernando De Naronha
1. Alejo Muniz, BRA
2. Dion Atkinson, AUS
3. Travis Logie, ZAF; Heitor Alvez, BRA
5. Masatoshi Ohno, JAP; Jihad Khodr, BRA; Hizunome Bettero, BRA; Shaun Joubert, ZAF
9. Glenn Hall, IRE; Kai Barger, HAW; Gabriel Medina, BRA; Dylan Graves, PRI

Click here to see who was ultimately punished in Brazil.

In the wake of the trumpeted arrival of Zaffa phenom, Jordy Smith, onto the world stage a few short years back, the South African surf scene--one that had been stifled by politics in the past--began taking steps back into the world's vision. We're now looking at two surfers flying the South African flag in the forms of Jordy Smith and Travis Logie on the World Tour, but who, you ask, will carry the Zaffa flag in the coming years? His name is Beyrick De Vries, and he's one hell of a character.

Still in the throngs of being a teenager, De Vries can't go a single minute without a wise crack or an eruption of his infectious laugh. He's currently traveling the pro junior circuit and gaining notoriety in the process. In the past six months, he's dropped mouths at the Cold Water Classic Canada event, had a solid Hawaii performance, and made the finals at the ISA World Junior Games in New Zealand. Couple that with a butter smooth style and competitive grit, and you're looking at a real contender in the making.

Ever honest, through he's completely open about the brutal nature of junior surfing today.

"A lot of people have this image that we're all really carefree but in an important heat, things get pretty rough. For instance, I was in a heat at Worlds and before I paddled out, this guy tells me that he's just gonna sit on me the whole heat, not let me catch a wave," said Beyrick. "So I sort of laughed a bit as we paddled out and I managed to get a wave right off the bat. I think it was a 7-point something or another. So I was laughing at him after that. Then he just paddles as hard as he can right at me and jams the nose of his board into my ribs. We were far out enough where no one could tell what was going on. But I was just like, 'whoa, bru. Calm down.' I think I still one the heat, but that kind of stuff definitely goes down pretty often. Peope take it pretty seriously. "

Still, through the endless jokes, punchlines, and honesty, Beyrick manages to pay a bit of homage to his predecessors.

"I think Jordy opened a lot of the world up to South Africa again. We've got a lot of really hungry surfers down here just jumping to make it. And yeah, I think Jordy helped a lot with that," said De Vries when asked about the sudden upsurge in South African surfing.

As Beyrick continues to break out into the world scene, showcasing how deep the talent pool in South Africa runs, he'll continue to gain recognition as he becomes the next in line to carry the South African flag, and with any luck, a crown.