Day 6 of the Fiji Pro waiting period dawned with inconsistent 3 – 4 foot waves spilling down the Cloudbreak reef. Underwhelming as the waves seemed it was enough for WSL Commissioner Kieren Perrow to finally pull the trigger on Round 1. No doubt some surfers wished he hadn't.

Kelly Slater finished last in the opening heat of the day riding an unmarked Webber banana board that looked more suited to Manly than Cloudbreak, the nose-to-tail rocker resisting the necessary down-the-line drive. Brazilian wildcard Alejo Muniz took advantage of the hindrance, blasting his way to first with Koloho Andino second. The 11 times World Champ only required 6.04 to take the win but ran out of time. He took the loss badly.

Rookie Matt Banting had Taj Burrow on the ropes in Heat 2 until Taj locked in a 7-point ride on the buzzer to move straight into Round 3. Taj looked good in the smaller conditions with his last two waves being his keepers. There's no need for Banting to read too much into the result.

The comp was three heats deep before the first real barrel was ridden, Yallingup lad Jay Davies threading the needle on an inside gem to score an 8.17. As good as it was the big unit still finished second to tour rookie Wiggolly Dantas who blasted some powerful frontside wraps to get the nod. Of all the Brazilians Dantas has the best build and the best style for Cloudbreak's long roping lefts. Fella can shift water when he wants, he's not short on confidence either.

Heat 4 saw another upset with 30th placed Adrian Buchan dominating small wave maestro Filipe Toledo and wildcard Dane Reynolds. Ace surfed with precision and aggression posting a 7.83 and a 7.33 putting Reynolds into combo and Filipe chasing a high 9. Filipe was under close scrutiny and fell on most of his waves, his highest score just 5.27. Reynolds looked sharp but couldn’t find the right waves taking plenty of the faster down the line closeouts.

Simply put, Mick Fanning never looked like losing his heat against Ricardo Christie and Aca Ravulo. He surfed with confidence and built an early lead. Of the early title contenders Fanning had the best, and also the easiest, start to the Fiji Pro.

Kai Otton flew out of the blocks in his heat locking in an 8.17 and 7.43 on his first two waves. Ratings leader Adrian De Souza looked rattled and was only able to muster a pair of 4-pointers while chasing down a combination of 15.61. Interesting to note that both ADS and Toledo (first and second on the WSL leader board) had bad first up heats whilst Fanning (in third) was on cruise control.

Defending World and Fiji Pro Champ Gabriel Medina is back in a big way. After a slow start to the year Medina posted the highest individual wave in Round 1 (9.23) as well as the highest heat total (17.13). The powerful goofy footer layed down some huge frontside hacks to post the 9.23 that he backed up with a 7.90. On each of his waves Medina looked calm, his timing was on point, and he chose all the right options. If Round 1 counts for anything then all eyes will be on Fanning and Medina.

One person hoping Round 1 holds no consequence is Owen Wright. The Big O controlled most of the heat - had it in the bag as they say - until Seabass Zietz smashed three huge backhand blasts to get the score he needed. Owen had a chance to take back the lead on his last wave but fell coming out of a top turn due to a crease in his board. Wright showed his frustration punching and elbowing his board. Who says nothing matters in Round 1?

Heat 11 saw Keanu Asing notch up another win for the rookies in a low scoring battle against Bede Durbidge and Matt Wilkinson. Late in the heat Asing made a wily move, scrambling on the inside for a 3.77 which took the lead off the experienced Durbidge. Asing’s score of 11.50 was the lowest heat-winning total of the day. Confidence and smarts are two things the rookie class of 2015 aren't lacking.

Last heat of the day saw another upset with rookie Italo Ferreira pulling the biggest air of the day – a tweaked out air rev with straight grab - to finish ahead of Joel Parkinson and Freddy Patacchia Jr. In the improving conditions Ferreira built a veritable mansion posting the second highest heat score of the day – 15.97. Parko’s 15.20 was the highest losing total of the day.

At the completion of Round 1 Medina was the standout followed by Buchan, Otton, Ferreira and Andre. Both Buchan and Otton will be looking for a big result as they are currently sitting in equal 30th position on the rankings. Each will take a huge confidence boost from today's performance. Fanning also looked sharp but the difference between he and Medina is that he was never really tested.

Looking forward, Heat 4 in Round 2 is an absolute cracker with Slater taking on Jay Davies.

Finally, Craig Brokensha has provided an up to date forecast for Fiji:

Today’s building S/SW groundswell should be reinforced by stronger S/SW groundswell pulses through the weekend, coming in around 6ft on the sets with rare bigger bombs possible at times.

Of greater importance is a much larger and stronger S/SW groundswell due to build through Monday afternoon, easing Tuesday and further through the rest of the waiting period. Cloudbreak should build to an easy 6-8ft, with bigger bombs possible towards the evening Monday, before easing from 6-8ft Tuesday morning.

Conditions should be workable each day with strengthening SE trades through tomorrow, easing back into Sunday and Monday while tending more S/SE each afternoon.