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Wright to compete in surf-off for wildcard

3 minute read

Aussie surfer Mikey Wright must compete in a surf-off to be named as the World Surf League's men's wildcard for the 2020 season.

Australian surfer Mikey Wright will have to beat Italian Leonardo Fioravanti in a surf-off to become a World Surf League wildcard for 2020.

The WSL have confirmed Wright and Fioravanti will battle it out for one men's wildcard place over the first three Championship Tour events of the 2020 season in Australia.

Brazilian Adriano de Souza has been awarded one of the wildcard places, with Wright and Fioravanti battling for the other.

The surfer who finishes highest in the rankings after the Australian events at Gold Coast, Bells Beach and Margaret River will receive the second wildcard.

Wright, 23, missed a significant part of the 2019 season through injury.

"We have a unique situation with the WSL men's wildcards for the 2020 season," said Pat O'Connell, SVP of Tours and Competition.

"After reviewing our criteria, as well as the independent medical board assessments, we believe both Leonardo Fioravanti and Mikey Wright have equitable cases for the second 2020 wildcard."

Mikey's sister Tyler has been named as the women's WSL wildcard.

The 2020 men's Championship Tour class will be contested by the WSL Top 34, made up of the Top 22 finishers on the 2019 CT Jeep Leaderboard, the Top 10 finishers on the 2019 Qualifying Series (QS), and two WSL wildcards.

Aussie surfers Owen Wright, Julian Wilson, Ryan Callinan, Jack Freestone, Wade Carmichael, Adrian Buchan, Jack Robinson, Ethan Ewing, Connor O'Leary and Morgan Cibilic have all qualified for the men's tour, which starts in late March and runs until December.

Stephanie Gilmore, Sall Fitzgibbons, Nikki Van Dijk, Isabella Nichols, Bronte Macaulay, Macy Callaghan, Keely Andrew and Tyler Wright will compete on the women's tour.

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