Australians Ethan Ewing and Jack Robinson have secured semi-final berths at the Margaret River Pro on a day when Owen Wright was eliminated from the World Surf League tour.
Wright thought he had become a victim of the new mid-season cut after losing his third-round heat in huge conditions on Tuesday.
But the Olympic bronze medallist was given a glimmer of hope of sneaking into the top 22 after a series of other results fell his way.
The dream run meant it all came down to Matthew McGillivray's round-of-16 battle with Brazilian Samuel Pupo on Wednesday, with Wright needing the South African to lose.
But McGillivray pulled off a two-wave total of 14.50 to beat Pupo (10.74) and move into the quarter-finals.
Wright was on the shore watching the heat and the disappointment on his face was evident to see when Pupo crashed while attempting an aerial move with just a minute remaining in the contest.
If Wright wants to win back his spot on the Championship Tour he will have to compete on the Challenger Series for the rest of the season and register a number of good results.
Wright will now talk with family before deciding whether to continue or retire.
Ewing beat Caio Ibelli and Nat Young on the way to securing a berth in the final four.
Margaret River local Robinson defeated Barron Mamiya and Jordy Smith to set up a semi-final clash with Ewing.
Two-time world champion John John Florence will take on McGillivray in the other semi.
Waves were few and far between in Robinson's quarter-final, but he pulled off the winning move with just two minutes remaining on the clock.
"I just stayed composed towards the end and just tried to breathe," Robinson said.
"It was such a long lull. I had a feeling it was close by. There's surely got to be something. That's surfing."
Bells Beach winner Filipe Toledo lost to Young by 0.03 of a point in the round of 16.
