World championship leader Matt Wilkinson has continued his flying start to 2016 by advancing to the third round of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.
Buoyed by claiming his first victory in seven years on the World Surf League (WSL) tour last week, Wilkinson won his opening-round heat at Bells against American Kolohe Andino and Brazil's Miguel Pupo, pitching the pair into knockout second-round encounters.
Wilkinson had also beaten Andino in the final of the tour opener on the Gold Coast.
The Australian has long been considered one of the most talented surfers on the WSL, but until now he has struggled to turn that potential into consistent results.
"I just decided to work hard and it's started to pay off already," said the 27-year-old from the NSW Central Coast.
"That kind of success early in the year has just really shown what the work can do and I really want to keep doing it and see how well I can do this year."
The scoring was tight, With Wilkinson (13.40) finishing just ahead of Andino (12.30) and Pupo (12.24).
Fellow Australians Kai Otton and Joel Parkinson also won their opening-round heats on Saturday morning.
Otton recorded a combined score of 13.60 points to move straight into round three, forcing 11-time world champ Slater and Brazilian Alex Ribeiro into cut-throat second-round heats.
"Any heat you have with Kelly you've got to bring your A-game," said Otton, who acknowledged he was lucky that a big wave didn't materialise for Slater when the American had priority late in the heat.
Former world champ Parkinson downed compatriot Taj Burrow and Hawaiian Sebastien Zietz.
"Bells is one of those places where you've almost got to surf a bit safe," said the 34-year-old Parkinson, a three-time winner at the iconic Victorian break.
"You don't have to win the contest in the first heat - you just have to win the heat regardless of the score."
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