Gallery: Wildcard Upsets, Matchups Set at Surf City El Salvador Pro

You wouldn’t have known it by watching him, but Levi Slawson is in serious pain. Slawson, the third Enicinas pro in El Salvador, looked impressive during his elimination heat at the Surf City El Salvador Pro. Looking to continue his first Championship Tour appearance against Alejo Muniz and Liam O’Brien, Slawson hacked his way to the top. But not without some agony. He said afterward that the day he found out he got the wildcard entry, he tore his left ankle apart during a freesurf. But he summed his Challenger Series grit and got through.

“Surfing alongside Jake [Marshall] and Alyssa [Spencer] here is pretty special," said Slawson. "I don’t think there’s ever really been three Encinitas people at a CT before. I’m just trying to soak in all of this. The day they told me that I had the wildcard, I went out for a free surf and tore the ligaments in my ankle. I actually almost broke my ankle and so every wave I catch is excruciating.”

A bit of a shocker for O'Brien, who has all the skills needed to excel at wave like Punta Roca. But hey, that's life on the tour. Slawson was one of four wildcards who advanced through the Elimination Round. Bryan Perez, Alyssa Spencer and Kirra Pinkerton also survived their Round 3 matchups and moved on to the one-on-one bracket.

Perez finally unleashed his big frame on his home break against Miguel Pupo and Edgard Groggia. It was clean, fundamental bashing punctuated with a punchy air. His reward? A rematch of last year’s bout with world No. 1 Italo Ferreira.

“I just wanna have fun in the water. Just enjoy my time, catch the wave, and have fun, just letting go of everything, and enjoy that,” said Perez. “I'm here with my family, with my coach, with the people that come to the city to support me. It's beautiful to see.”

Over the past few days, contest organizers have stuck to a trend. With a dropping tide and rising onshores, only a few heats have been run each morning before conditions deteriorate before siesta time.

During the women’s ER run this morning, Spencer and season wildcard Luana Silva sent CT veteran Sally Fitzgibbons packing. Kirra Pinkerton finished second in her round three heat behind Sawyer Lindblad and replacement wildcard Nadia Erostarbe. Lindblad, the 2024 Rookie of the Year, looked solid, blasting her backhand repeatedly for an 8.17, the highest score from the women’s event so far.

“I was the last heat of the day yesterday and then the first heat today, so I was pretty crushed after losing yesterday and needing only a 1.00,” said Lindblad. “So I had to regroup, and it was honestly pretty hard. But I'm happy I did it, and I'm happy I made it through.”