SAMURAI MODE AT HOOKIPA: ROEDIGER STRIKES, HUNTER DOMINATESSAMURAI MODE AT HOOKIPA: ROEDIGER STRIKES, HUNTER DOMINATESQUATRO MAUI PRO AMHookipa turned it on in spectacular fashion for finals day as the Quatro Maui Pro Am crowned its mens and womens champions in solid conditions. Right on cue with the forecast, the ocean came alive delivering the perfect arena for the finals day action.In the mens division, Bernd Roediger rose to the occasion with a performance that was nothing short of electric, dropping the highest score of the entire event right towards the end of tense the final. He narrowly edged out Marcilio Browne in a nail-biting finish, with Antoine Martin taking third and Morgan Noireaux having to settle for fourth.Over in the womens, the intensity didnt drop for a second. Marine Hunter charged her way to victory with authority, while Maria Behrens stole the spotlight as the surprise package of the event, claiming an impressive second. Maui veteran Angela Cochran secured third, with Lina Erpenstein finishing fourth.EPIC PHOTOS: FISH BOWL DIARIESClick to enlarge and scrollbest viewed on a big screen!MENWhat a finals day. Seriouslyif you werent watching, you missed a spectacular show.The morning kicked off with frustrating cross onshore northeast windsthe kind that make sailors work for every turnand it all looked a bit crumbly and slow. But as the heats rolled on and the field narrowed, Hookipa flicked the switch. Clean, logo-high sets marched in, the trades swung more easterly and suddenly it was game on.From the quarterfinals onwards, the level went through the roof. Big moves, bigger commitment, high stakes and absolutely zero holding back.LOOK MA NO HANDS!In the semi-finals, Antoine Martin had the crowd on the guardrail losing their minds after sticking a clinical no-handed goiter (7.73). It was the kind of move that will get everybody talking for the next few weeks. Should it have scored moretough call!A one hitter with no set up turns or anything else on the wave.but that one hit was something spectacular and maybe should of been scored in the 8-9 region. Martin was on fire all daythrowing massive goiters, late hits and stylish airs and he was in his element.The crowd loved it and he loves putting on a show for them! That score sent him straight to the main final, leaving one of the event favourites, Bernd Roediger with the slightly less glamorous task of battling through the B final.ROEDIGER STRIKESBut Roediger? He was ice cold.While some other sailors were forcing the issue, Bernd played the long game. Cool calm and collected and seemingly unbothered, he waited patiently for the right waves and when they came, he struck with surgical precision. All while casually listening to Paul Simon on a waterproof speaker slung over his shoulder.Heading into the dying minutes of the main final, Roediger was still trailing. Thenbang. A perfectly executed taka, followed by a spontaneous clew first one-handed hit deep in the pocket. Cue absolute chaos in the commentary box as Kai Katchadourian practically exploded when the judges dropped an 8.93the highest score of the day. We loved the way Kai was so wrapped up in the commentary and immersed in the whole drama that was unfolding!At that point in the final with two minutes or so to go, Bernd wasnt just sailinghe was in another dimension. Samurai mode fully activated. I am not sure if any other sailors would have event contemplated that last hit, but it was Bernd and he was in the flow state and somehow it all just clicked for him when it mattered most.Morgan Noireaux had looked unstoppable earlier in the day, always in the right place with a full arsenal of tricks. Windsurf Predictions were not looking in a good place at all the way he was sailing he looked like he could win itand we had him down for 4th! Surely a blunderBut in the final, Hookipa had other plans. The waves didnt line up for him and despite his form, he just couldnt sync with the ocean when it mattered most.Shoutouts also go to Robby Swift (sailing better than ever), Levi Siver (Always inspiring to watch), Thomas Traversa (Who found his flow), Liam Dunkerbeck (Who nailed one of the best 360s of the day) and Arthur Arutkin (Classic solid sailing took him right through to the top 8), who all delivered standout performances.RESULTS MEN1: Bernd Roediger2: Marcilio Browne3: Antoine Martin4: Morgan NoireauxWINDSURF PREDICTIONS1: Bernd Roediger2: Marc Pare3: Marcilio Browne4: Morgan NoireauxIf theres one thing Hookipa loves, its humbling our predictions. On paper, the picks looked solideven safe. But once the ocean lit up, it started rewriting the script in real time. In the mens, calling Bernd for the win was spot onbut beyond that, it got messy fast. Morgan looked like a guaranteed title threat all day (making that predicted fourth look questionable at best but at least that came in), while Antoine Martin came flying in to crash the podium partywe should of saw that coming!Meanwhile, Marc Par who we pegged for second never found his flow state at all and will be disappointed with his performance. He was not sailing badly at all but never seen in sync with the sets and could not find his flow! Classic Hookipa for you!BERND ROEDIGERYeah, its really hard to get into that level of just carefree sailing because you feel pressure, you feel expectations. Ive found that since the last time I won, its gotten harder to competeits become more difficult to manage those expectations.Back then, it didnt even enter my mind to win. Now it feels like theres more to it. Its more complicated and I guess thats lifeyou make things more complicated on yourself for no reason. So, to be able to get back to that point where you feel totally carefree, totally unattached to the result, where you just go out there, see what happens and follow whats going onits a big thing.You feel it out there. Youre like, OK, Im in last place in the heat. Cool, its not going the way I thought it would, but you just keep sailing and keep believing. All of thatit feels good.Yeah, I cant wait to celebrate. Im so grateful to have won this event. Its amazinglast year it was an experiment and this year its really happeningand happening on this level as a 5 star event. Its really cool. I feel super grateful, especially to Francisco and the team at Quattro and Goya and my own team at Fika and Hot Sails for supporting me for so long. Its unreal.Shout outs to those guys, and to everybody back home watchingthank you so much. On my first heat, the timing lined up exactly with the launch of the Artemis mission, that rocket that just took off. So, I dont know, it just felt like a charmed day the whole time. Even though it was a sketchy start for me, I believed. I believedand thats Hookipa.WOMENThe womens final brought just as much drama, power and tension.Marine Hunter was the clear standoutbringing an aggressive, no-nonsense style to every wave. Powerful top turns, late hits and committed airs made it clear she meant business. When the final horn sounded, there was no doubt who owned the day.Maria Behrens, already emotional just to make the final (She was in tears when being interviewed by Ann Marie), took things to another level. Linking turns beautifully and staying glued to the power source, she secured long, flowing rides and a well-earned second place. Safe to say, she won a lot of fans out there. Her family watching in Germany will be no doubt ecstatic!Angela Cochran reminded everyone exactly why shes a Maui legend, delivering a rock-solid performance to take third.Lina Erpenstein started the final strong with a 6.93 opening wave, but couldnt quite find the backup scores she needed, leaving her in fourth. That put the mockers on our Windsurf Predictions and allowed Paul Van Bellen to win the Windsurfing TV mini competition by a point over Windsurf!Elsewhere, there were some tough breaks. Pauline Katz suffered a nasty knee injury in the final and we wish her a speedy recovery (We dont know how bad it was as we write this). Lisa Wermiester came agonisingly close to the final and looked strong throughout, while Sol Degriek showed promise but needed a bit more punch in her lip attacks to progress. Coco Foveau also put in some solid rides and was unlucky not to advance further.RESULTS WOMEN1: Marine Hunter2: Maria Behrens3: Angela Cochran4: Lina ErpensteinWINDSURF PREDICTIONS1: Marine Hunter2: Lina Erpenstein3: Maria Andres4: Sol DegriekOn the womens side, things started strong with Marine Hunter delivering exactly what was expectedtotal dominancewe got that rightbut the rest? Pure curveball territory. Lina, tipped for second, couldnt back up her opener, while Maria Behrens flipped the narrative entirely with a breakout performance that no prediction saw coming. The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing and looking back now we should have been smarter with our picks! At the end of the day, predictions are funbut Hookipa or the sailors do not read them.MAUI BLESSEDHats off to Kai Katchadourian and Jace Panebianco for the excellent commentary and also the live stream crew for delivering a fantastic broadcast! Tomorrow it is the chance for the Youths and Masters to shine so we will keep an eye on the action if the conditions continue.The post SAMURAI MODE AT HOOKIPA: ROEDIGER STRIKES, HUNTER DOMINATES appeared first on Windsurf Magazine Online.