Why Marzo Won Padang Padang 2022 Crown

For the first time in almost three years, the long-awaited Padang Padang 2022 Rip Curl Cup was finally a go on Thursday, August 4th. Surfers came from all over to experience the world-class waves on Bali’s southern coast during the most prestigious tube-riding contest in Southeast Asia.

A total of sixteen of the world’s best barrel riders were waiting for sets, pumped to paddle out and compete for the title. And these were some of the biggest waves Indonesia had seen so far this season.

Round 1 started at 6:45 a.m. (local Bali time), and the tournament kept going until the last competitor was eliminated at sunset. This was the heat draw for the first round and second round of the 2022 Rip Curl Cup.

Note that this year’s tournament was different from previous years in that there was no elimination in any round. This brought more heat amongst the top eight surfers from Rounds 1 and 2 as they battled it out for a chance to compete for the Rip Curl Cup crown in 2022.

There was also a Women’s Super Heat at the 2022 Rip Curl Cup for the first time ever, adding a whole new level of intensity!

Want to know what happened next at PADANG PADANG 2022 ?

• Clay Marzo (HAW) 18.73
• Mega Semadhi (IDN) 15.23
• Mega Artana (IDN) 12.53
• Erin Brooks (HAW) 11.57

After Benji Brand’s injury, Marzo seizes the chance to establish his flow and sweep the final.

Erin Brooks, a Hawaiian prodigy and the first woman to compete in the event, finished fourth overall and won the women’s super heat.

Surfers from Indonesia stoke the locals: Mega Semadhi, a two-time winner, comes in second, with Mega Artana taking third.

Here’s How Hawaii’s Clay Marzo, takes the win.

Marzo didn’t make it to the semi-finals at first, but he got lucky when the defending champion, Benji Brand, got hurt and had to drop out.

Marzo was next in line to move on, and he got a second chance. After coming in second place at the 2019 event and coming close to winning the title, Marzo made the most of his second chance and led the way to redemption in the semi-finals and final.

“It was epic out there,” said Marzo. “I am stoked to get those barrels, some of the best waves ever.”

Marzo added, “The lightbulb went on when I found out I was still in the event. The pressure was off [after I thought I was out] and I found my groove. Benji told me to go get it!”.

Erin Brooks, a 15-year-old from Hawaii, won a gold medal at the ISA World Juniors and went on a dream vacation to the Mentawai islands. She continued to shake up the surf world and made history in more than one way.

Brooks was the event’s youngest competitor, at the age of 21. She made it all the way to the finals, finishing fourth overall and securing her status as one of the world’s top tube riders.

She also won the first women’s super heat, which brought four of the best female surfers to Padang Padang to show how much women’s surfing has grown.

“All the guys and girls were doing so great,” said Brooks. “It was cool to compete against both. The waves were firing today and I am so happy with how I performed. The local girls have been so nice to me and they’ve been charging out here too.”

Brooks continued, “I am going to keep doing my best and keep pushing women’s surfing.”

Mega Semadhi and Mega Artana, both from Indonesia, did their country proud by coming in second and third in the final. Both showed how well they knew and could ride the wave, giving Marzo, the leader of the heat, earn his crown the hard way.

Artana beamed with emotions as he talked about how well he had done.

“It’s amazing to surf on this platform,” said Artana. “This event is big-time, especially for Indonesians. Padang is like the Indonesian version of Pipe. If you want to be big with media and sponsors, you have to do it at Padang.” 

“I want to say from the bottom of my heart a massive thanks to the local community, to all the local surfers that let us do this each year and share the beach,” said President Director of Rip Curl Indonesia James Hendy.

“I think for the local community, as well as traveling surfers, just to have this event run again is so special,” Hendy continued. “It’s such a great chance for the world and local surf community to see the best tube riders in the world surf against their local hometown heroes. It’s truly something unique and that’s why we do the event.”

Hendy concluded, “Having a women’s heat at a wave of consequence like this, a serious wave, is huge for the sport. There are so many women pushing the boundaries of comfort now – charging in heavy waves. It’s empowering for girls to see that they can do it in these types of conditions.”

The 16th Rip Curl Cup started Thursday morning on the Bukit peninsula of Bali under clear skies and perfect conditions. It was a big deal for the surfing community in Indonesia because it was the first time the event had been held since 2019 because of the global pandemic.

The competition had a new round-robin format. A round-robin tournament (or all-play-all tournament) is kind of a competition where each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn. A round-robin differs from an elimination tournament, in that competitors are eliminated after a certain number of losses.

Each of the 16 surfers competed in two heats and earned points based on where they finished in those heats. These points determined which 8 surfers would move on to the single-elimination semi-finals.

Even though Luke Swanson of the USA didn’t make it past the first two rounds, he put on a show in an exciting heat and got the highest single wave score of the round-robin stage with a 9.7. Swanson set up a technical double tube, which got the crowd buzzing.

“I didn’t want to snake Nic Von Rupp the first time I’ve ever surfed against him, so I let him take the first wave of the set,” said Swanson. “I heard them screaming [for Nic] while I was on my wave behind him, and sure enough, he got a 9.33 and I got a 9.7.”

The women’s super heat came next. This was a new part of the event that gave some of the best young and up-and-coming female surfers a chance to show off their skills on a global stage at a world-class wave.

Two surfers from the U.S. and two from other countries competed in the super heat. Brooks won, followed by Indonesia’s Kailani Johnson, Australia’s Ziggy Mackenzie, and Indonesia’s Taina Izquierdo. The conditions were hard because of the high tide.

Marzo and Brooks had no trouble getting past the first semifinal. Brooks wasn’t happy with finishing in eighth place, so she continued her historic run by riding the best wave in her heat. Brooks made it to the final by doing a great 8-point grinding tube ride.

Brooks and Marzo both made the most of a mistake made by Nic von Rupp of Portugal. Von Rupp, who had the lead and only needed a 2.56 to move on, let a wave with scoring potential go by in the last few minutes. Marzo scored a 5.17 on that wave to improve his heat total.

There were barrels for days in the second semifinal. Everyone had great rides including Samadhi and Artana who surfed slightly better than Ian Crane of the United States.

The final was between Hawaii and Indonesia. Marzo and Brooks from Hawaii played against Semadhi and Artana from Indonesia.

Marzo stayed Zen, and in the end, his patience paid off. When he saw a wave he liked, he put himself in an impossible-to-finish tube ride to get the first and only perfect 10-point ride of the event. Marzo didn’t stop after a perfect ride; he kept making it look easy with two more great rides of 8.87 and 8.33 to win his first title at the event.

As Marzo put the field in a combo position, the other three competitors packed impressive tubes of their own to try to break the combo. Semadhi got two 7s, and Artana got a 9 for his ride. Brooks kept surfing long after she was old enough to do so, and she packed tubes to top off her historic performance. Still, none of them were as smart as Marzo.

Rip Curl remains a company built by surfers for surfers, and they’ve been market leaders in surfing for over 50 years now.

Rip Curl was created in Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia, Their first location was on Boston Road in Torquay in 1969. In 1976, they moved to Geelong Road, and in 1980, they moved to their current location at 101 Surf Coast Hwy, Torquay.

Since 1989, Rip Curl has owned and run Onsmooth Thai Co., Ltd., a large, state-of-the-art wetsuit factory at 143 Moo 7 Thawangtarn, Saraphee, Chaingmai, Thailand. The factory has about 650 employees and is one of the biggest places of work in the area.

Rip Curl goods are now manufactured and sold by nine corporate licensees in the United States, France, South Africa, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Rip Curl gear has been spotted on surfers in the most remote parts of the world where they may have never heard of Torquay, or even Bells, but they share the Search’s spirit, which knows no borders and does not require translation.

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