That’s it! Entries are officially closed for CLUTCH 2024.
It’s been a non-stop barrel competition up until now. Still, Round 3 brought something fresh for the judges to consider, featuring a mix of entries, including straight airs, big combos, and some solid tubes.
With 69 entries from Africa’s best surfers and underground rippers, CLUTCH 2024 has been a good event. Each round has been tight, and Round 3 was no exception.
The first stage of the process puts the power in the hands of the fans. For an entire week, surf enthusiasts could vote for their top picks on our website.
The top three surfers with the most votes would face off in an Instagram poll to decide the ultimate winner. The surfers who made it to the public vote were Jessie Van Niekerk x2 and Levi Kolnik. Fans had 24 hours to vote on Instagram, and the results were clear, with Levi Kolnik winning the Public Vote.
It was then time for the other judges to weigh in and select the overall winner.
The Zag team was the first to cast their vote: “It came down to Tide’s backside KZN barrel and Levi Kolnik’s CT cylinder. But it was Levi who took the win for us. That wave was thick, and he came from way behind it. The Local Heroes also made judging difficult, but Thomas Vos’s Indo drainer was the best.”
Monster Energy also shared their thoughts:
“The clutch moment is Dan Emslie’s front side air to start a wave in a heat, a clean landing, and a solid closeout turn. On the Local Hero front, barrels dominated here, too. Thomas Vos and Chris Olivier were both deserving winners. Still, the size and length of Levi Konik’s barrel edged him a whisker ahead of the other three for our vote.
The final vote came from Monster team rider, Matt Bromley: “It’s close between Dan Emslie and Tide. I’m looking for the real wow moment… when Tide dropped into that bomb, I thought that was steep and deep. It was a wild ride, but I had to give Dan the win. The degree of difficulty on his wave, linking smooth surfing with big snaps of power, was next level. The Local Hero prize goes to Levi Kolnik. His tube was so mental.”
We were left with a split in the votes: two votes for Levi (Zag + Public Vote) and two votes for Dan (Monster + Bromdog). To pick a winner, we decided to reach out to last year’s winner, Luke Slijpen, to make the final call.
“Both those waves are seriously good,” said Slijpen. “I gave them each a proper watch, showed a couple mates, and we all felt Levi took the win. The tube was solid and critical, and he rode it perfectly.”
So Levi Kolnik takes Round 3, and Thomas Vos gets the Local Hero prize. Barrels have dominated the comp from day one until the end.
The three finalists are now locked in. Chad Du Toit, Twiggy Baker, and Levi Kolnik will now fight for a chance to win R25,000 and an international surf trip.
Keep an eye on socials for details on how you can have a say in who takes the win.
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