
The climax of the 2022 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach didn’t occur on finals day, but rather on Saturday, in the quarterfinal between Filipe Toledo and John Florence, the most in-form surfers of the event. The heat would be a rematch of the 2019 final when John narrowly defeated Filipe. The beach, broadcast, and message boards buzzed in anticipation — an immovable object was about to meet an unstoppable force.
Within the first three minutes, Filipe caught a glassy runner and unleashed the fury with four powerful carves on the Bells Bowl. He was awarded a 9.63 and never looked back, defeating JJF 16.4 to 14.76.