Local Mexican standout David Rutherford (Puerto Escondido, MEX), charged to victory at his home break of the Mexican Pipeline today to clinch an emphatic win at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Quiksilver Pro Puerto Escondido over international standouts Kevin Sullivan (Lahaina, HAW), 23, Casey Brown (Kona, HI), 22, and Ricardo dos Santos (BRA), 20 in excellent four-to-six foot (2-3 metre) high-performance barrels.

The Quiksilver Pro Puerto Escondido’s unique location of the Mexican Pipeline attracted a big list of up-and-coming competitors, but also included an assemblage of local talent as well as several of the world’s most renowned big-wave surfers.

Firing surf in the six-to-eight foot (3 metre) range at the infamous Mexican Pipeline decided the Quarterfinalists at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Quiksilver Pro Puerto Escondido.

With only 16 surfers remaining in the draw, the Quiksilver Pro Puerto Escondido’s iconic location of Playa Zicatela has not only included some of the globe’s hungriest up-and-coming competitive ASP competitors, but also some of the most talented big-wave riders.

Xcel's Chilean charger Cristian Merello has won the Quiksilver Ceremonial Big Wave Invitational in 30' Punta de Lobos, Chile.

The goofy-foot Merello, 27, took advantage of the heavy lefts with patience and commitment, finding the biggest and best waves as sets built from the early morning and peaked in the 6-man finals.

Dedicating his win to his mother, who is battling cancer, and to the local Pichilemu community, Merello's determination and local knowledge won the day.

With the Copa Quiksilver this weekend in Santa Teresa, the Circuito Nacional de Surf DayStar 2009-2010 (CNS) makes a beeline towards the Gran Finals in Playa Hermosa in June. The surfers who attend this 5th date of the Circuito, will be fighting for a National title that is the most uncertain as it has been for years..

Taking place in front of the Hotel Luz de Vida, the elite of Costa Rica’s surf world will go out in a predicted surf of 2 to 3 meters, great conditions for this 4-star contest that will award 1,500 points in each category.

Taj Burrow (AUS), 31 has taken out the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover over Jordy Smith (ZAF), 22, in rippable two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves at Snapper Rocks.

The opening event of then 2010 ASP World Tour season, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast started the year off with a bang, bringing the greatest assemblage of surfing talent in history to one of the most iconic pointbreaks in the world, and the world's best surfers shattered high-performance barriers once again.

Pumping three-to-five foot (1 – 1.5 metre) pulsed down the point at Snapper Rocks today, setting the stage for the world’s best surfers to unleash upon the warm-water walls at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover and the Roxy Pro Gold Coast.

The opening event of the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast saw Round 4 as well as the Quarterfinals completed today, with some massive upsets as the world’s best surfers.

North Narrabeen surfer Cooper Chapman will represent Australia at the Quiksilver King of the Groms World Final in France after claiming victory in the Australian leg at Snapper Rocks on Friday.

Running in conjunction with the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro Trials, Chapman joined Tyler Wright (Lennox Head) and Blake Ainsworth (Coolangatta) on the winner’s dias, defeating Torquay’s Harry Mann, Margaret River’s Creed McTaggart and Lennox Head’s Mikey Wright.

Post final, Chapman said he was buzzing after taking down some of the country’s best junior sufers.

With pumping three-to-five foot (1 – 2 metre) waves running down the point at Snapper Rocks today, Round 3 of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover went off in front of a capacity crowd on the beach and hundreds of thousands watching online and FUEL TV.

The opening event of the 2010 ASP World Tour season, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast has consolidated the greatest assemblage of surfing talent in history, and with one of the most iconic pointbreaks in the world firing throughout the day, the world’s best put on an incendiary performance.

Bede Durbidge (AUS), 27, current ASP World No. 3, proved the form surfer of the day, posting a near-perfect 19.30 out of a possible 20, to dispatch of Luke Munro (AUS), 27, in their Round 3 bout. Durbidge blended deep tube rides with progressive forehand gaffs en route to his emphatic victory, even posting the day’s highest single wave score of a 9.93 out of a possible 10.

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile early Saturday morning, resulting in a tsunami warning for the East Coast of Australia effective today.

Event organizers, coordinating with the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, were forced to call both the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover and the Roxy Pro Gold Coast events for the day, with the potential tsunami projected to hit at 8:15am.

“We’ve been monitoring the situation with chief meteorologists throughout the night and all projections are indicating the effects to hit the Gold Coast at approximately 8:15am,” Rod Brooks, Quiksilver Pro Contest Director, said. “What those effects will be, we cannot be sure. We’ve been advised that the biggest surge could hit anywhere from six to 12 hours after the initial surge, so we’ve called competition off for the day. The event site is closed for the day, and we’ll check back tomorrow at 6:30am.”

The Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover, Event No. 1 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, is one day from commencing its waiting period, and with swell projected over the next couple days, the world’s best surfers could be doing battle as early as tomorrow.

With the greatest assemblage of surfing talent in history preparing to do battle in some of the best waves on the planet, the ASP Dream Tour’s global audience will enjoy 15 ASP World Titles represented amongst the ASP Top 45 as well as one of the most daunting rookie classes in memory.

Andy Irons (HAW), 31, former three-time ASP World Champion, will return to full-time competition this season, kick-starting his 2010 campaign at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.