It was a day of surprises at the Margaret River Pro, as wildcard Kael Walsh beat Wilko, Mikey Wright beat Ace Buchan, February beat Morais, and Rodrigues stunned Igarashi.

The expectation that had been built up around the event being held at The Box fell apart once commissioner Renato Hickel made the call: The box was great, but the series were taking a while and luck could have been the determining factor… Everyone wanted the event to be held there, but the decision was made based on the abundant opportunities in the Main Break as opposed to those offered by the square tube that breaks a few hundred meters away.

Even Commissioner Kieren Perrow was left surfing The Box once the tournament had started.

The decisive factor of the day was the surprises; of the 12 round 2 series held, five were won by rookies, five by the favorites and the other two had no clear favorites.

Wilko seems to be afraid of being the favourite, especially if his opponents put pressure on him. This young local named Kael Walsh said he was not afraid of Wilkinson and went into the water and beat him from start to finish. The former leader of the tour in 2016 succumbed in each of his attempts.

Mikey Wright was a clear proof of his solidity and that his mind is elsewhere than tuned cars and leather jackets. He went into the water, won the series and came back with a poker face, Ace Buchan had no chance.

Michael Rodrigues is probably the rookie in whom people had the least faith and he is already showing that he can do things well in waves with weight. No matter how hard Kanoa tried, he couldn't beat the Santa Catarina native.

With these results, a very interesting round 3 has been set up. John John will face Mikey Wright and Gabriel Medina will face Jack Robinson. They will be going head to head.

It looks like tomorrow will be a girls' day, with some swell in the area and good conditions, said Commissioner Jesse Miley Dyer. It could even decide the tournament.

Complete results
Series 1: Owen Wright (AUS) 9.77 beat Dave Delroy-Carr (AUS) 5.43
Series 2: Kael Walsh (AUS) 9.77 beat Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 5.07
Series 3: Mikey Wright (AUS) 14.17 defeated Adrian Buchan (AUS) 9.14
Series 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.67 defeated Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.16
Series 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.16 beat Ian Gouveia (BRA) 9.10
Series 6: Michael February (ZAF) 12.73 defeated Frederico Morais (PRT) 9.17
Series 7: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.76 defeated Griffin Colapinto (USA) 11.93
Series 8: Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 14.34 defeated Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 13.27
Series 9: Conner Coffin (USA) 11.83 defeated Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 9.57
Series 10: Connor O'Leary (AUS) 13.50 defeated Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.50
Series 11: Jesse Mendes (BRA) 9.37 defeated Tomas Hermes (BRA) 9.10
Series 12: Joan Duru (FRA) 14.57 beat Wade Carmichael (AUS) 11.80

Round 2
Series 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Keanu Asing (HAW)
Series 2: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Jesse Mendes (BRA)
Series 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Michael February (ZAF)
Series 4: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Michael Rodrigues (BRA)
Series 5: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Conner Coffin (USA)
Series 6: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Kael Walsh (AUS)
Series 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Jack Robinson (AUS)
Series 8: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Connor O'Leary (AUS)
Series 9: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Series 10: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Yago Dora (BRA)
Series 11: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Joan Duru (FRA)
Series 12: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Mikey Wright (AUS)