As far as World Surf League debuts go, Mikey Wright's on the Gold Coast on Friday was pretty memorable.
Pitted in an opening-round three-man heat featuring defending world champion Adriano de Souza, Wright's first appearance on tour was a true baptism of fire.
The tattooed 19-year-old pulled off the shock of the opening round at Snapper Rocks, nailing a pair of 6.87 rides in the dying minutes of the heat to pip de Souza by 0.04 of a point.
With older sister and leading women's world tour surfer Tyler cheering from the beach, Wright finished with a two-wave score of 13.74 to move straight into the third round.
"I was not really thinking about that out there and I was just trying to get waves," Wright said of beating the world's best surfer.
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"I was just more nervous about first heat as a wildcard, you know?
"Just brushed those off at the start and then really started to work hard at it, to win the heat."
Depending on results, Wright could face de Souza again in the third round in a sudden-death heat but the Australian is just enjoying the ride as a world tour wildcard.
"I just wanna go and show what I've got," he said.
"Show what I can do and surf how I surf in free surfs."
