Merewether's Morgan Cibilic will face clubmate Ryan Callinan in the round of 32 at the Haleiwa Challenger in Hawaii after keeping his Championship Tour hopes alive with an opening heat win on Thursday (AEDT).
Cibilic, the 2021 CT rookie of the year and world No.5, headed into the Challenger Series finale needing a top-two finish to guarantee his spot back on the elite tour next year after falling off in the mid-season cut this year.
Sitting 11th on the second-tier CS, Cibilic has to get through two heats to improve his overall points tally but he likely needs to go further again to push into the top 10 and win a CT return.
He made a solid start in the round of 64 on Thursday, taking the lead after 12 minutes of the 30-minute, four-man heat with scores of 6.1 and 5.5.
In one-to-four foot waves, the pint-sized natural-footer opened with well-timed front-side snaps on a quality wave before wrapping carves on his second ride.
With mate and countryman Liam O'Brien (10) and Hawaiian Eli Hanneman (8.73) within reach, Cibilic extended his advantage with a 6.37 from a two-turn combination with 11 minutes remaining.
Cibilic's 12.47 best two-wave total proved too good for O'Brien (10), who also advanced. Hanneman (9.67) and Brazilian Matheus Navarro (8.83) were eliminated.
The 23-year-old next faces Callinan, who has already secured his CT return, and Hawaiians Barron Mamiya and Shion Crawford for one of two places on offer in the quarter-finals.
"It's definitely been there, pretty nerve-racking, as it always is," Cibilic said of the pressure to requalify.
"I've been in these situations a few times now, so I feel pretty comfortable, but we've got such a great crew of Aussies travelling together and we've got a few of us in the same position.
"We've just been playing ping-pong and having a good time and, I don't know, just having a laugh about it. It's all part of the job and we're just here for a good time."
Callinan (10.2) later finished second in his heat to Frederico Morais (11.47) but ahead of Michel Bourez (8.6) and Luccas Mesinas (5.1) to progress.
The goofy-footer, who also fell off tour in the mid-season cut, has finished runner-up twice on the CS this year and sits third on the rankings.
On Thursday, Moroccan Ramzi Boukhiam became the fourth CS surfer to secure a top 10 season finish and a spot on the 2023 CT, leaving six places to fill on the men's roster.
Newcastle-based South African Sarah Baum, who needs to win the women's event to have any chance to qualify, faces Caitlin Simmers, Zahli Kelly and Brianna Cope in the round of 32.
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