Australian teenager Tyler Wright has produced a sensational upset at the Beachley Classic, knocking out defending champion Stephanie Gilmore in the third round at Manly Beach on Saturday.
The 14-year-old demonstrated maturity and patience beyond her years, waiting several minutes before collecting two solid scoring rides that put Gilmore on the back foot as the clock ticked down.
Wright will now face tour veteran Brazilian Jacqueline Silva in her opening quarter-final heat.
"I'm super stoked about taking Steph (Gilmore) down," Wright said. "It's very exciting and I never thought it would happen."
"I just did my best to be patient and pick off the best waves and that seemed to work."
"Steph is a hero to pretty much every grommet in Australia so to be beat her is just unbelievable."
While Gilmore looked in form early in the heat, the phenomenal natural-footer was unable to find solid enough scores to overtake the younger challenger, and will take her ASP Women's World Title defence to the next stop in Peru.
"I struggled to produce any decent scores out there in those conditions," Gilmore said.
"Tyler (Wright) is a very patient and mature competitor who deserved the win and I'm sure will keep causing upsets throughout the remainder of the event."
"This will obviously lower my place on the ratings, but I'll throw this one away and start fresh in Peru."
Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich overtook Gilmore in the ratings lead through her Round three victory over American Karina Petroni.
Prior to the Beachley Classic, Mulanovich was just a scant 12 points behind Gilmore in the race for the ASP Women’s World Title, and with her quarterfinals berth, the Peruvian now sits atop the ratings.
Australian Rebecca Woods also caused another major upset today, defeating the winner of the last ASP Women's World Tour event in Brazil, Melanie Bartels in stunning fashion.