Local charger Tiago Stock claimed the 10th annual Capítulo Perfeito at Carcavelos Beach, Portugal, by defeating Rob Machado, Dylan Graves, and Balaram Stack in the final.
Carcavelos Beach dished up a day of punchy, barreling waves for all 16 contenders, with the world's best tube specialists and the top Portuguese locals performing a full-day surfing exhibition in the 10-year anniversary of Capítulo Perfeito.
In the end, the 18-year-old Portuguese surfer claimed the top honors, bagging the €20.000 winner's check as the first trialist to ever win the event.
Adding up to local dominance, 16-year-old Salvador Vala won the Next Generation Special Heat, which opposed the young surfers featured in this year's New Generation category (U-18).
An 8.25 ride set Vala apart from his opponents, granting him €1,000 in cash, a €500 travel voucher, and a 7-day double stay at the Hiddenbay Resort in the Mentawai islands.
He also took the Worst Wipeout by Nixon prize (€500).
Despite failing to make the final, former Capítulo Perfeito champion Bruno Santos made it all the way to the semis after an auspicious start that saw him score the best wave (9.90) and the highest heat total (16.90) of the event in the first duel of the day, nabbing the Best Tube (€2,500) and Best Score (€2,000) prizes.
Also, hats off to semi-finalist Lucas "Chumbo" Chianca, who claimed the Ricardo dos Santos Commitment Award (€2,000) by taking on the biggest and most technical waves.
With the swell remaining consistent throughout the day, the elite crew of world-class barrel riders saw powerful eight-foot sets storming across Carcavelos Beach, a playing field of hollow A-frames that is considered one of the best beach breaks in Europe when it turns on.
A crowd of twenty thousand people gathering on the beach, as well as thousands of surf fans watching around the world via live stream on YouTube, were in for an unforgettable surfing day, making their support loudly clear to the local heroes.
Apart from the athletes mentioned above, Anthony Walsh, Aritz Aranburu, Francisca Veselko, João Maria Mendonça, Nathan Hedge, Nic von Rupp, Pedro Boonman, Tiago Pires and William Alliotti also took part in the competition.
Former Capítulo Perfeito champions include Tiago Pires (2012), Nic von Rupp (2013), Nic von Rupp (2014), Bruno Santos (2015), Aritz Aranburu (2016), William Aliotti (2018), Anthony Walsh (2020), Aritz Aranburu (2022), Nic von Rupp (2023).
2023 Capítulo Perfeito | Final
- Tiago Stock (9.75)
- Rob Machado (5.25)
- Dylan Graves (2.60)
- Balaram Stack (1.25)
Awards
- Best Tube: Bruno Santos (BRA) 9.90
- Best Score: Bruno Santos (BRA) 16.90
- Worst Wipeout: Salvador Vala (PRT)
- Ricardo dos Santos Award: Lucas Chianca (BRA)
- New Generation Special Heat Winner: Salvador Vala (PRT)