Cover photo: John John by ISA/Franco

John John Florence is, in my humble opinion, the best surfer of today. Not only of today with 11.000 points of distance from the second in the CT ranking but of the last 10 years.

Find a surfer out there who has won the Eddie, the Triple Crown, two world titles and a few Volcom Pipe Pros, all the while making some of the best surfing clips of recent times.

In other words: John has the best of all worlds, free surfing, competition, big waves, small waves, medium waves and barrels, innovation and classic surfing; he is a top 5 aerialist at the same time as he is a top 5 power surfer (or top 1 if we consider those giant arcs he achieves at Margaret).

Having said that, I have to point out: John John's Achilles heel is pressure. The damn pressure is what fucks him up the most and has fucked him up in his career along with injuries.

I can remember two moments that paint a good picture: Series against Ezekiel Lau in Bells, at a time when John was 10 times more than the young and vibrant Hawaiian. He does a couple of circles, yells at him, takes him off his center and Zeke Lau wins the series, unknown JJF fails to complete the maneuvers.

Another: With another neighbor, Barron Mamiya in El Salvador. They paddle together on a wave without a priority set, Mamiya with priority position does not go and John complains that they give him priority. They give it to him but the series falls apart for him.

He had been the best in free surfing with Punta Roca working in all colors, but it was no use. He fell on the first wave doing a carving that he does with his eyes closed, he fell on the second in another and he fell on the third doing a fairly basic aerial for his standards. It was not until the fourth wave that he did a timid 6,5 to lose the series and then lose the event in the elimination round.

Other arguments: This is a surfer who made it to four finals this year and only won one. So, you put him in four finals at Lowers and he loses three out of four? In the finals format you are not the world champion with those numbers.

And if we talk about surfing against surfers where John John's shirt is too heavy, like Medina or Italo, it's going to be more complicated.

If the final is with all the good boys of the tour: Robbo, Ewing, Jordy and Griffin, then the shirt will be lighter.

And this is where the injustice of the finals format comes in again. With a difference of 11.000 points and two stages remaining, it will be difficult for John John not to finish first in the rankings. That is, to be crowned world champion if the Tour were the same as four years ago.

It is a fact that he will have to compete in Lowers to win that third title. There is no doubt that he has everything to win and that he deserves it, he was the best surfer throughout the year, the key is whether he can handle the pressure. Can he?