Amid small waves and a massive crowd on the beach, Johanne Defay (FRA) swept the field and won the Championship Tour (CT) Vans US Open of Surfing.

In the men’s Qualifying Series (QS) contest, Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) was the king of the beachbreak, bringing a mix of hacks, airs and small-wave maneuvers. With his win, he earns the best competitive result ever from a Japanese surfer. Defay‘s win was her first-ever on the elite Championship Tour, and comes during a sophomore season in which she has been steadily climbing up the Jeep rankings. She defeated CT veteran Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) in a tense Final at Huntington Beach Pier. The win earns her 10,000 points and a boost up the Jeep Leaderboard. Among the men, Ohhara earned the biggest result of his career after defeating Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) in a hard-fought Final. The 10,000 points Ohhara earned catapults him up the QS rankings, from No. 81 to No. 13, putting him within reach of qualifying for the elite CT in 2016.
Pic courtesy of World Surf League

The 2015 Van Doren Invitational ignited the Vans Pro Bowl on the sand in Huntington Beach today, as thousands of fans witnessed the world’s best park riders go head to head in the all-cement gauntlet. Following an explosive semi-finals round and a mind-blowing combination run in the finals, Ben Hatchell is crowned champion for his second Van Doren Invitational title since winning the inaugural Van Doren Invitational in 2013. Joining him on the podium, Vans’ own Pedro Barros claims second followed closely by the unrelenting Chris Russell who placed third.

1st Place: Ben Hatchell – $25,000
2nd Place: Pedro Barros – $15,000
3rd Place: Chris Russell – $10,000

Photo courtesy of Michael Burnett