STAGE SET FOR EXCITING FINALS AT JUNIOR PRO ESPINHO 
- MEN'S EUROPEAN NO.1&2 ELIMINATED, MIGNOT HITS THE QUARTERS
- LACOME & TURNER FOLLOW TOP SEEDS LEAD INTO FINALS DAY
- MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT WORLDSURFLEAGUE.COM

Caption: Vahine Fierro (PYF) could upset Bonvalot's dominancy on home soil tomorrow.
Credit: © WSL / Lodin

PRAIA DE BAIA, Espinho - Portugal (Saturday, June 24, 2017) — Action continued on the third day of the Junior Pro Espinho with several rounds of the men and women’s events to set the stage for an exciting finals day on Sunday. Conditions remained pretty small and slow, but Europe’s best juniors delivered great surfing once again.

The current European No. 3 Marco Mignot (FRA), 16, seized the opportunity to make up ground as he witnessed the two surfers above him in the rankings (Kauli Vaast and Theo Julitte) getting eliminated from competition today. The powerful surfer who calls idyllic Sayulita - Mexico home, claimed a fourth place and a runner-up already this season, and looks deadly set on clinching a win this week in Espinho.

“I free surfed on both peaks before the event started so I knew what to expect and I went out there confident,” Mignot stated. “With another event after this one, the rankings are far from over. Of course I’m going to try to go for the title, but I’m quite focused on making each heat first and not thinking long term. I have great people around me here that help me stay grounded and make smart choices and we’re having a good time in Espinho.”

The biggest surprise in the men’s draw today came from 13 year-old Basque surfer Adur Amatriain (EUK), who eliminated his older brother and current No. 4 Iker Amatriain, winning his Round Four heat ahead of Justin Becret (FRA). Amatriain, who’s never been that far into an event, surfed a long right with style and power and was awarded an impressive 7.43 and a spot into the quarterfinals.

“I’m so happy, I was alone on that peak and got a couple of sick rights!” Amatriain said. “It always feels good to beat your older brother in a heat. I’m super excited and I’m going to try and continue like this. I’m smaller than everyone, so if waves stay like this I could have an advantage again tomorrow.”

In the women’s, the two clear favorites Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) and Vahine Fierro (PYF) both lived up to the hype and easily qualified for the semifinals. Behind them, an interesting batch of new talent fought for their own spots on finals day and will be interesting to watch when they come up against their older and more experienced competitors.

Juliette Lacome (FRA), 14, just comes fresh off an excellent second place in Biscarrosse and looks determined to reach the finals once again. Currently sitting in fourth position on the European Junior rankings, the Anglet local has a real opportunity to climb further up the regional ladder with a big result tomorrow.

“The tide got a little too high in our heat and conditions weren’t the best but I got through so I’m happy,” Lacome said. “Being second in Bisca was great but that’s the worst place cause you’re so close to winning but you don’t! I hope to make the Top 2 by the end of the season so I’m going to try my best here again. Teresa (Bonvalot) is super strong, Ellie (Turner) as well, there are a few girls that are going to be difficult to beat but I’ll try my best.”

Speaking of, Ellie Turner (GBR), 15,  continued to contribute to England’s new push of Junior talents through the ranks, and reached the semis for the second time this season. With a second place on her season tally, Turner is nowhere out of the qualification talks for the World Juniors, and will be one to watch tomorrow when the event resumes.

“I’m happy to make the semis and I’m hoping the waves will be a little better tomorrow,” Turner admitted. “There are a lot of good surfers coming out of England right now, which is exciting. We have your average competition wave on a daily basis there so that might be an advantage, but also there are great clubs and coaches doing the work to train all the young surfers in the U.K. I personally travel quite a bit to Indonesia every year, as well as France and Spain, cause every wave is different and it’s good to experience it all.”

Contest officials have set a final call Sunday at 8 a.m to launch the finals and crown the 2017 Junior Pro Espinho Champions around lunchtime.

The Junior Pro Espinho is scheduled from June 22-25, 2017 Espinho, Portugal. For all results, photos, video highlights and press releases, log on to worldsurfleague.com. 

The Junior Pro Espinho is organized by GPDESIGN Brand Communication and Câmara Municipal de Espinho, sponsored by Toyota Caetano Auto, Castros Iluminações, Best Travel Viagens and Suported by, PraiaGolfe Hotel, Padaria Pepim, Vitalis, Comercial Tec, CP-Comboios de Portugal, Greencoast Surfschool,  with media partners: Porto Canal, FUEL TV, MegaHits, SURFPortugal, Vert, ONFIRE and Surftotal among others, official forecaster Magicseaweed.

UPCOMING JUNIOR PRO ESPINHO WOMEN’S SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS:
SF 1: Teresa Bonvalot (PRT), Mafalda Lopes (PRT), Juliette Lacome (FRA), Lucia Machado (CNY) 
SF 2: Neis Lartigue (FRA), Francisca Veselko (PRT), Vahine Fierro (PYF), Ellie Turner (GBR) 

UPCOMING JUNIOR PRO ESPINHO MEN’S QUARTERFINAL MATCHUPS:
QF 1: Ruben Vitoria (EUK), Juan Gorostidi (ESP), Leo Paul Etienne (FRA), Joaquim Chaves (PRT) 
QF 2: Tiago Carrique (FRA), Noa Dupouy (FRA), Lenni Jensen (DEU), Teva Bouchgua (FRA) 
QF 3: Marco Mignot (FRA), Justin Becret (FRA), Stanley Norman (GBR), Liam Murray Strout (GBR) 
QF 4: Adur Amatriain (EUK), Afonso Antunes (PRT), Erwan Blouin (FRA), Gonçalo Vieira (PRT) 

JUNIOR PRO ESPINHO WOMEN’S QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) 11.83, Mafalda Lopes (PRT) 8.56, Eveline Hooft (NDL) 7.23, Sara Urresti (EUK) 4.24
QF 2: Juliette Lacome (FRA) 9.36, Lucia Machado (CNY) 9.36, Maddi Aizpurua (EUK) 9.17, Mariana Brandao (PRT) 3.40
QF 3: Neis Lartigue (FRA) 7.63, Francisca Veselko (PRT) 7.44, Hina-Maria Conradi (FRA) 6.44, Uhaina Joly (FRA) 5.90
QF 4: Vahine Fierro (PYF) 13.74, Ellie Turner (GBR) 10.66, Melania Diaz (ESP) 7.87, Violeta Sanchez (ESP) 5.63

JUNIOR PRO ESPINHO MEN’S RD4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Ruben Vitoria (EUK) 11.47, Noa Dupouy (FRA) 9.33, Dylan Groen (DEU) 7.76, Joao Vidal (PRT) 5.43
Heat 2: Leo Paul Etienne (FRA) 13.33, Teva Bouchgua (FRA) 8.30, Renan Grainville (FRA) 6.91, Aurelien Buffet (FRA) 5.60
Heat 3: Tiago Carrique (FRA) 13.86, Juan Gorostidi (ESP) 8.06, Thomas Ledee (FRA) 6.97, Ignacio Guisasola (ESP) 6.66
Heat 4: Lenni Jensen (DEU) 12.13, Joaquim Chaves (PRT) 10.83, Kauli Vaast (PYF) 10.47, Sam Piter (FRA) 8.67
Heat 5: Marco Mignot (FRA) 13.97, Afonso Antunes (PRT) 9.57, Joao Moreira (PRT) 9.20, Dean Vandewalle (BEL) 5.00
Heat 6: Stanley Norman (GBR) 11.16, Gonçalo Vieira (PRT) 9.26, Nalu Doutres (FRA) 8.13, Asier Iriondo (EUK) 8.03
Heat 7: Adur Amatriain (EUK) 13.26, Justin Becret (FRA) 12.30, Gaizka Housset Ezponda (FRA) 8.80, Iker Amatriain (ESP) 8.73
Heat 8: Erwan Blouin (FRA) 12.67, Liam Murray Strout (GBR) 11.14, Guilherme Ribeiro (PRT) 10.24, Theo Julitte (FRA) 8.57

JUNIOR PRO ESPINHO MEN’S RD3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Ruben Vitoria (EUK) 10.83, Renan Grainville (FRA) 6.07, Kilian God (FRA) 5.50, Olivier Cassaigne (FRA) 4.97
Heat 2: Dylan Groen (DEU) 10.34, Aurelien Buffet (FRA) 9.43, Paolo Giorgi (CNY) 7.90, Nanook Ballerin (FRA) 7.67
Heat 3: Teva Bouchgua (FRA) 12.27, Noa Dupouy (FRA) 10.84, Maxime Dos Anjos (FRA) 8.10, Edoardo Papa (ITA) 6.90
Heat 4: Leo Paul Etienne (FRA) 11.13, Joao Vidal (PRT) 8.80, Fynnlee Miller-Cooley (GBR) 6.87, Patrick Langdon-Dark (GBR) 6.34
Heat 5: Tiago Carrique (FRA) 12.30, Lenni Jensen (DEU) 8.87, Mattia Migliorini (ITA) 7.10, Youri Conradi (FRA) 6.56
Heat 6: Ignacio Guisasola (ESP) 10.47, Sam Piter (FRA) 9.50, Diego Suarez Diaz (CNY) 8.33, Kike Suarez (ESP) 7.07
Heat 7: Joaquim Chaves (PRT) 9.80, Thomas Ledee (FRA) 9.47, Enzo Cavallini (FRA) 9.34, Miguel Castrillon (ESP) 8.83
Heat 8: Kauli Vaast (PYF) 16.43, Juan Gorostidi (ESP) 10.00, Titouan Canevet (FRA) 6.83
Heat 9: Marco Mignot (FRA) 13.06, Stanley Norman (GBR) 7.97, Jonathan Cohen (ISR) 7.04, Jose Marques Correia (PRT) 4.57
Heat 10: Afonso Antunes (PRT) 12.60, Gonçalo Vieira (PRT) 10.00, Dorian Gomez (FRA) 9.47, Felix Morau (FRA) 7.30
Heat 11: Nalu Doutres (FRA) 9.17, Dean Vandewalle (BEL) 9.03, Tomas Zarra (ESP) 6.43, Endika Garai (ESP) 4.74
Heat 12: Asier Iriondo (EUK) 10.67, Joao Moreira (PRT) 10.57, Jose Champalimaud (PRT) 7.40, Borja Malvar (ESP) 6.77
Heat 13: Justin Becret (FRA) 13.14, Liam Murray Strout (GBR) 11.10, Martim Paulino (PRT) 8.50, Willoughby Masterman (GBR) 7.57
Heat 14: Iker Amatriain (ESP) 10.57, Guilherme Ribeiro (PRT) 10.00, Maximilian Hudson (GBR) 6.57, Simao Penha (PRT) 5.16
Heat 15: Erwan Blouin (FRA) 15.67, Adur Amatriain (EUK) 10.87, Selyann Zouhir (MAR) 7.03, Francisco Almeida (PRT) 4.94
Heat 16: Theo Julitte (FRA) 14.67, Gaizka Housset Ezponda (FRA) 11.83, Lucas Desmoucelles (FRA) 9.94, Bryan Picon (FRA) 7.97