Jadson Andre

Pumping Barrels Greet World’s Fanciest Surf Contest in the Maldives

Taj Burrow wins the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy, again.
“I didn’t know it got that big. It was like Sunset out the back.”
That’s Taj Burrow, who just won the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy for the third time. These beautiful Indian Ocean atolls are well known for perfect, silky reef surf, but have rarely been compared to Oahu’s North Shore in terms of power. But the swell of the season decided to show up right on cue with the event last week, much to the delight of competitors — Burrow, Michael February, Jadson Andre, Jeremy Flores, Carissa Moore and Ahmed “Ammaday” Agil, all of whom spent hours in the water, trading off aquamarine blue right tubes.
This particular event is unique beyond its sheer opulence, of which there’s no shortage. (Surfers talked as much about brunch as they did conditions, if that’s any indication.) Competitors surfed in three divisions -- singlefins, twinfins and thrusters -- across varying degrees of perfection and size at Sultans, one of the best right reefs in the wave-rich zone. And this year, it was actually big enough that they switched the twinfin and thruster divisions on day two ’cause it was so solid. Burrow ended up beating February in the final, but they both flew home smiling. Actually, we’re pretty sure everyone flew home smiling.
RESULTS
1. Taj Burrow (AUS) 2700pts
2. Mikey February (ZAF) 2600pts
3. Jadson Andre (BRA) 2500pts
4. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 2500pts
5. Carissa Moore (HAW) 2200pts
5. Ahmed “Ammaday” Agil (MDV) 2200pts

Special thanks to Four Seasons Maldives Kuda Huraa, Tropicsurf, and the Surfline Forecast Team.

Filmed by: Sean Gilhooley, Carlo Coral, Marc Beaty, Connor Quinlan, Zach Cole, Jackson Onfray, Local Films

Still photography by: Jon Frank
Cover image: Sultans by Marc Beaty