Aritz Aranburu wins Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Quiksilver in Nazaré

Aritz, who entered the competition as a last-minute wildcard, was indeed the man of the event. A part from a €10,000 1st place check, he was also rewarded with the Allianz Best Tube (€2,000) and KIA Best Score (€1,500) awards for performing the best tube ride (9,80 pts) and best score (19,05 pts) of the competition in his Round 3 heat, making the best of his debut in this invitees-only tube riding contest taking place in Portugal every year.

The organization’s unprecedented decision to postpone the event to October/November (the original waiting period ended in April) proved to be right as Praia do Norte finally offered the kind of conditions the organizer and contest director were seeking for since the very beginning. 9 feet waves and light offshore winds set the ideal scenario for Bruno Santos, Nic von Rupp, Pedro Scooby, Tiago Pires and others to go head-to-head for the best tube rides, turning impossible barrels into the most exciting moments in the history of the event.

In the end, Aritz came up as the undisputed winner with a jaw-dropping display of the talent that once set him among the world surfing elite, signing up his name on Perfect Chapter’s champions list alongside with Tiago Pires (2012), Nic von Rupp (2013 and 2014) and Bruno Santos (2015).

“This was an incredible day”, Aranburu said. “I’d surfed here before but never got it this good. Right in round 3 I had a very special heat and started building up my confidence. I knew I was going to meet very strong opponents in the final so I kept my feet on the ground. I’m glad I came up on top”.

Runner-up Balaram Stack fought for the win until the very end, performing the best ride of the final (9,70 pts). With an impressive overall performance, Stack took the prestigious Ricardo dos Santos Commitment Award, a standard Perfect Chapter’s trophy named after the Brazilian surfer who was brutally murdered last year just a few days after being invited to take part in the 2015 event’s edition. The Long Island surfer stood out for his raw energy and courage on Nazaré’s massive barrels, replicating Ricardinho’s fearless approach to surfing.

Last but not least, hats off for Bruno Santos and Nic von Rupp, both former Perfect Chapter champions, for seizing the Worst Wipeout (€500 from Nixon) and Best Claim (€500 from VonZipper) awards respectively. In the podium there was also room for Pedro Scooby, who took the Best Looser award (€500 from Beachcam) after being eliminated from the contest with the highest score in his semifinals heat.

This was the first time Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Quiksilver took place in Nazaré, coming a long way from Peniche (2012 and 2013) and Cascais (2014 and 2015). After providing the dramatic scenario for the most impactful big-wave sessions of the last decade, Praia do Norte proved to be the most versatile and all-rounder beachbreak in Europe, with a sandbar able to produce dreamy conditions for every kind of surfers.

A part from the athletes mentioned above, Felipe Cesarano, Francisco Alves, Ruben Gonzalez, João Guedes, Bruno Grilo, Eric Rebiere, Marlon Lipke, Tiago Pires and Alex Botelho also took part in the competition, putting on great performances and adding tones of suspense to the event.

The Allianz Perfect Chapter powered by Quiksilver is sponsored by Allianz, Quiksilver, Nazaré City Council, Kia, MEO and it is associated with the media partners RTP, Fuel TV, Jornal i, Mega Hits, SURFPortugal, Beachcam, Surf Session, Fluir, Waves and Surfing Life.

Final: Aritz Aranburu 16.75 x Balaram Stack 16.50 x Dylan Graves 15.25 x Gabe Kling 11.15
Former Champs: Tiago Pires (2012), Nic von Rupp (2013), Nic von Rupp (2014), Bruno Santos (2015)
Ricardo dos Santos Commitment Award: Balaram Stack Allianz Best Tube: Aritz Aranburu
KIA Best Score: Aritz Araburu
Nixon Wipeout: Bruno Santos
VonZipper Claim: Nic von Rupp Beachcam Best Looser: Pedro Scooby