Jack Robinson has held his nerve to eliminate Gabriel Medina in Hawaii but now must find a way through red-hot local hope John John Florence in the quarter-finals of the World Surf League's season-opener in Hawaii.
World No.3 Robinson will be joined by countryman Liam O'Brien in the last eight at Pipeline, while Tyler Wright had already made the women's semi-finals.
Robinson found two barrels to notch an 11.50 total in the heat of Tuesday's action, with Medina (10.40) unable to find another score to complement his heat-best 6.73 wave.
The Australian held priority and patrolled every move of the Brazilian three-time world champion in the closing five minutes, shutting down a last-gasp effort from Medina to seal his passage.
Robinson will next meet the surging Florence, who somehow emerged from a deep barrel to score 9.93 and then added a 9.40 to dominate his round-of-16 duel with Miguel Pupo.
"It was cool, but I also wish we came up against each other later in the contest," Robinson said of his hyped date with Medina.
"I'm sure we'll do it another time.
"I'm just surfing, just loving it, staying focused and trying to compete and do the right thing out there.
"It's Pipeline and there's so many things going on out there, so many variables."
O'Brien knows those variables well after breaking his leg while surfing the day before Pipeline last year.
Simply grateful to be back, he now has a path to the title after edging fellow Queenslander Ethan Ewing and then beating Hawaii's Seth Moniz to reach the last eight.
There he will surf against Brazil's Caio Ibelli, who beat Australian Ryan Callinan in the round of 16.
Defending champion Kelly Slater, world No.2 Italo Ferreira, and No.5-ranked Kanoa Igarashi of Japan were also casualties.
Slater and Yago Dora were starved of quality waves in their showdown, with the Brazilian doing enough to oust the 11-time world champion, who turns 51 next week.
