"It was a bit of a slow final," said Kerrzy after his and Eric's fourth heat of the day. "You're blood is pumping a lot harder to keep you warm. It takes it out of you," he said. "But we are surfing in Canada - it's a beautiful place. You're in the mountains but by the beach. It's a trip. I am stoked!" Photo: ASP

"It was great surfing against Eric," Kerr said. "He's one of the best up-and-coming surfers around and I've respected him for years. I have so much respect for Julian and Pete too. I've seen him in videos and know how good of a surfer he is. For a guy that does about one comp a year he knows how to do them well." Photo: ASP

Eric Geiselman nailed the event's highest single wave score -- a 9.1 for this Kerrupt against Shaun Cansdell in the semis. Photo: ASP

After a week of rain and wind punctuated by bursts of sunshine, the final day of the O'Neill Coldwater Classic Canada went down in fine conditions. Photo: ASP

Julian Wilson made it to the semis, where he was taken down by Kerr. "Obviously I wanted to win this event, but a 3rd is nothing to be disappointed about," Wilson said. "I was focusing too much on trying to do airs out there. I had a wave where I probably could have got the score if I had done turns, but I was looking for an air. Hopefully I can move on from this event and post a good result going into Santa Cruz." Photo: ASP

Shaun Cansdell lost out to EG in the semis, and is now in the lead for this year's O'Neill Cold Water Classic Series champion. "I'm really stoked to get a 3rd in this event," Cansdell said. "Obviously I'm a bit disappointed to not have made the final but I'm just so stoked to get a result, especially at the tail end of the year with the Cold Water Series. Hopefully I can get a result in Santa Cruz as well." Photo: ASP

Last year's winner, local Pete Devries, made it through to the final day, but was taken down by Kerrzy in the round of 16. Photo: ASP

Devries was undoubtedly one of the most comfortable with all the rubber that's required for the contest in his hometown of Tofino. Photo: ASP

EG, early round shack. "It would've been nice to have won, but I'm stoked to get a result," Geiselman said. "I haven't really had one this year, so to make the final is great. I've had the best time ever up here in Canada and this is a great way to start the remainder of the year." Photo: ASP

Nathaniel Curran made it through to the quarterfinals where he was beaten by Cansdell. Photo: Adam DeWolfe

Former WT'er Timmy Reyes didn't make the final day, but did manage to score some good waves while in the Great White North. Photo: Adam DeWolfe

Yeah, that's a bear. Near a surf contest site. Photo: ASP

Cory Lopez was taken down by Irish surfer Glenn Hall in the round of 16. Photo: ASP

Richard Christie spent a bunch of the summer on Rip Curl's Tip2Tip voyage through Indo. Here's another extreme -- and he made the quarters. Photo: ASP

"I think it's switching offshore!" Ricky Whitlock puts his finger to the wind. Photo: ASP

Noah Cohen is Tofino's resident up-and-coming grom and the event's ambassador. "Having a small community of guys who are at that level, it pushes everyone," he says of his tight-knit surf community. Photo: ASP

"If you had've said six years ago we'd be having a six star in Tofino, i would have laughed," says Noah. "But everyone is stoked, we appreciate it for sure." Photo: ASP

Sebastian 'Seabass' Zeitz is from Hawaii, but he didn't let a little rubber slow him down. (Though he did lose to Tanner Gudauskas in the round of 16.) Photo: ASP

Not a bad setting for a surf contest. Photo: ASP

While Kerrzy is known more for his aerial antics, it was solid, dependable surfing that ended up winning the event. Photo: ASP

Maui's Kai Barger does his best to stay warm and stoked. Photo: ASP

Day One of the contest started out flawlessly. Photo: ASP