Australia's Julian Wilson has stormed into round three of the WSL event at Supertubos with two solid opening rides in tough conditions.
Ranked third on the WSL leaderboard, the recent winner in France, posted two of the biggest performances of the day to chalk up a 14.50 total.
Only Japan's Kanoa Igarashi surpassed Wilson's scoreline in the opening round, posting a strong 14.77
The Queenslander started with a deep backhand barrel, which he exited cleanly for a 7.50 and later committed to a high-risk floater re-entry manoeuvre on his backhand once again for a seven-point ride.
"I love the challenge of trying to perform in conditions that are very very tricky, and I'm happy to find a couple of scores then," Wilson said.
"I'm sure I'm going to continue to be tested down here. You only get a couple of heats where it's dreamy, most of the time you're grinding it out."
WSL leader and defending champion in this event Gabriel Medina found his groove right away on familiar territory in Peniche.
The Brazilian threaded some of the cleanest barrels of the morning and also attacked the solid lips on offer to post a 13.17 total (out of a possible 20) and easily advance.
The 2014 champion, Medina, can only earn a second world title early at this event if he wins, and if Filipe Toledo and Wilson get knocked out early from the competition.
Toledo almost suffered another blow in his world title campaign by being relegated to round two by fellow Brazilian Tomas Hermes.
But he later redeemed himself with a critical win over Samuel Pupo, courtesy of a long barrel ride and 8.17 single highest score.
"It was a tough loss this morning and really hard to digest," Toledo said.
"It was still super hard to find a wave out there. It took me more than 15 minutes to find a backup but I'm just glad to make it".
For Medina, Toledo and Wilson the world title scenarios are as follows:
* Only Medina can claim the title in Portugal by winning the event
* If Medina wins the event, Toledo will need a ninth or better and Wilson a third or better to take the world title decision to Hawaii
* If Medina finishes second or worse in Portugal, the WSL title will be decided in Hawaii.
