Both Burrow and De Souza were on a roll in this contest and it was a matchup worthy of the final. De Souza was being widely touted as a serious Brazilian title contender and getting off to a flying start here was essential.
But Burrow had the crowd on his side, and is in the horrible club of being one of the best ever surfers never to have won a world title. He edged it in what some have called dubious judging.