Adriano De Souza and Slade Prestwich must've been dubious when they paddled out for the first heat of Round 2 this morning. "The swell is on the rise," Pete Mel said and then the camera perfectly timed its pan to a dead flat Jeffrey's Bay. Patience, it would seem, would be key.

Pete Mel also said none of the wildcard and late inclusions - Slade Prestwich, Michael February, and Tomas Hermes, each surfing in the first three heats - would progress.

Mel was emphatic on the topic and he proved to be correct. ADS was fortunately holding priority after a long patient wait when the first wave in who-knows-how-long finally dawdled down the point. He may have scraped through but the gold jersey is more a curse than a confidence booster.

Mel was right though; ADS, Toledo, and Owen Wright overcame the would-be CTers, and slowly, ever-so-slowly, the swell began to rise.

First upset of the day was Taj Burrow being bundled out by Alejo Muniz. The difference between the two being simply intensity through turns; Muniz put everything into his rail game, stomping and extending through turns, while Taj merely whipped. He gets the luxury of going home and nesting now, picking pink or blue as he and his partner await Baby Burrow.

Nat Young easily accounted for Simpo, and then three heats in a row sheer talent overcame raw effort. Dusty Payne threw everything at Italo Ferreira and still lost, same with Micro succumbing to Medina, and in the best heat of the day Ricardo Christie went down to Parko.

With a 18.13 losing score the big Kiwi would've won every other heat, he fought his way out of combo and caught what will be some of his best waves of his year (Mel's forecast had by now come true and 4 - 5 foot lines peeled down the point). Both surfers went ham, or steezy, or got spunky if you were listening to Ross Williams. At the end of the heat Chrisitie sat in the water flexing and bellowing, what more could he do? It's the second comp in a row he's been turfed holding a score that would beat everyone else in the round.

Up on the deck Parko was pumped on the conditions and his score. "The anticipation kills the cat," he told Todd Kiline and we knew just what he meant....sort of. Parko is sitting in 15th position on the rankings but will get a huge boost from that heat. No doubt he can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel.

With the improving conditions came big scores, for everyone except the local boy. Jordy paddled out with a back injury and bowed out with just 8.00 points. There'll be no tears on the beach from the big Saffa.

Of the last seven heats of the day - three in Round 2, four in Round 3 - six were won by goofys. In fact 10 of the days 16 heats were won by goofys. Kai Otton, Wiggolly Dantas, and Matt Wilkinson rounded out Round 2, while Ace Buchan bundled out Owen Wright in the first heat of Round 3.

Yes, Owen Wright! The ignominy of the pro surfer, from two perfect heats and a contest win in Fiji to a Round 3 13th at J'Bay. Wright can take some consolation that he lost by just 1/10 of a point. He can also concentrate on Chopes an event he's gotta be hands down favourite.

As for surf, Ben Matson says, "Today’s rapidly improving groundswell is expected to ease slowly through Tuesday but should provide some fun waves with mainly light winds. Small conditions are expected on Wednesday ahead of a minor increase for Thursday and Friday, however a series of strong polar lows tracking through the South Atlantic mid-week are expected to generate a strong SW swell for the weekend, building slowly Saturday ahead of a strong day of waves on Sunday in the 4-6ft range. However, whilst Saturday’s winds look generally favourable in the wake of a cold front, there is a suggestion we could see devil winds from the nor’east crop up on Sunday, which could spoil the surf considerably."

Round 2 and 3 photos here

Round 2 Results:

• Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.33 def. Slade Prestwich (ZAF) 13.04
• Heat 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.00 def. Michael February (ZAF) 8.00
• Heat 3: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.17 def. Tomas Hermes (BRA) 13.77
• Heat 4: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 18.13 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.83
• Heat 5: Nat Young (USA) 17.10 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 12.10
• Heat 6: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.96 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 15.16
• Heat 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.00 def. Glenn Hall (IRL) 10.44
• Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.84 def. Ricardo Christie (NZL) 18.13
• Heat 9: Adam Melling (AUS) 14.90 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8.03
• Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) 18.10 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 17.07 
• Heat 11: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 17.77 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 15.23
• Heat 12: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.80 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 13.93

Round 3 Results:

• Heat 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.50 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 15.40
• Heat 2: Kai Otton (AUS) 15.50 def. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.83
• Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.94 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 8.40
• Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) 16.87 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 8.03