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Australia's Julian Wilson has survived a scare but surfing great Kelly Slater is an early casualty at the world tour opener on the Gold Coast.
Australia's Julian Wilson survived a second-round scare but surfing legend Kelly Slater has been eliminated from the world tour opener on the Gold Coast.
Wilson, last year's championship runner-up, finished second in an elimination heat on Thursday to sneak into the third round.
The Sunshine Coast surfer's two wave total of 11.23 out of 20, enabled him to pip Italy's Leonardo Fioravanti (10.66) with Brazilian wildcard Mateus Herdy (12.77) winning the three-man heat.
Small swell at the traditional venue at Snapper Rocks forced the event to be moved to nearby Duranbah for the second day in a row.
A relieved Wilson is now hoping to replicate his 2018 efforts at the event where he survived a second-round heat before charging through the field to win.
"The most important thing is just to still be in the event, obviously," Wilson told AAP.
"I feel like I can only improve off my first two heats.
"My equipment and everything feels really good, I've just got to put myself on some better waves and I'll get some better scores."
Wilson next faces fellow Sunshine Coast product Reef Heazlewood in the third round.
Under a revamped format for 2019, last-placed surfers from the opening round compete a three-person second-round heat with the first and second-placed competitors progressing to the third round.
The new format claimed its first big scalp on Thursday with 11-time world champion Kelly Slater eliminated in the second round on the Gold Coast for just the second time in his illustrious career.
The 47-year-old could only manage a score of 10.63 with Owen Wright (13.73) and Brazil's Peterson Crisanto (13.50) progressing.
Wright matches up with American Ezekiel Lau in the third round.
World champion Gabriel Medina will take on compatriot Herdy for a place in the fourth round while Australia's Adrian Buchan has been matched with former world champion John John Florence.
