Rookie Australians Jack Freestone and Davey Cathels have announced themselves on the World Surf League tour, eliminating a pair of Rio Pro big guns to secure maiden quarter-final berths.
The Aussies could be joined by more experienced compatriot Adam Melling in the final eight, Melling due up against Michel Bourez in the final heat of the fifth round when competition resumes.
However all eyes will be on young guns Freestone and Cathels, the latter causing one of the upsets of the event when he defeated Brazilian Filipe Toledo in the fifth round.
Toledo, who secured one of his three 2015 wins in Brazil last year, was pipped by Cathels after he produced an 8.60-point ride late in the heat.
The 25-year-old only beat fellow-Australian Stuart Kennedy in the third round by 0.06 points, before he was relegated to the fifth round when he finished second to local hope and reigning world champion Adriano de Souza in the fourth round.
Cathels will now face de Souza again in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile 24-year-old Freestone provided one of the rides of the day en route to booking his last-eight place against Brazilian Miguel Pupo.
After missing the past two events with a leg injury sustained in the season-opening event on the Gold Coast, Freestone - who nabbed a 9.00-point ride in the third round to eliminate South African Jordy Smith - took down world No.3 Italo Ferreira with a combined total of 16.43 to book the quarter-final spot.
Brazil's 2014 world champions Gabriel Medina produced his second perfect-10 of the event on Wednesday, with a giant aerial manoeuvre to secure a quarter-final berth.
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