Quiksilver Pro: Matt Wilkinson seals maiden WSL title after learning to switch off ‘circus weirdo’ and find competition mode

MATT Wilkinson hasn’t abandoned the happy-go-lucky guy who arrived at his first world surf tour event on roller blades wearing a top hat.

Final of the Quiksilver Pro Surfing contest at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast. Cop that! Mens Final winner Matt Wilkinson gives his opponent Kolohe Andino a spray, literally. Picture Glenn Hampson

MATT Wilkinson hasn’t abandoned the happy-go-lucky guy who arrived at his first world surf tour event on roller blades wearing a top hat.

But he’s now able to flick the switch and go from “circus weirdo’’ to competition mode – and it’s paying dividends.

Wilkinson won his first World Surf League championship tour title yesterday after beating Kolohe Andino in the final at Snapper Rocks.

After taking out world champion Adriano de Souza in the quarters and Filipe Toledo in the semi-finals, Wilkinson underlined his incredible potential with a maiden title win.

“It’s been a goal of mine since I was probably 10 years old,’’ the Byron Bay resident said. “I made a final a few years ago and I was so close to winning that.

“But I think I had a few years where I was just dawdling along and not really doing all that I could to win and this year I’ve really knuckled down and I wanted to get a win.

“For it to come in the first event is unbelievable.

“The tour this year I feel is stronger than ever, there’s so many good rookies and all the top guys from the past 10 years or so are still there with incredible form.

“To beat them in such good waves and do it in front of all my friends is the best feeling in the world.’’

The 27-year-old’s potential has never been in doubt.

Some may have seen Wilkinson’s happy-go-lucky personality, wacky wetsuits and fun-loving ways as an impediment to success.

But not the man himself who says he has not changed, just learnt how to compete.

“I feel exactly the same, except now I feel like I have a switch that I’ve found that around competition time, instead of keeping my mind on the circus weirdo, I can switch into comp mode and really just focus on the job at hand and know what I need to do to win,” he said.

“Not try to win the contest every heat, just make sure I’m getting through and then win the contest in the last heat.’’

It’s not a sudden change, rather something that’s been brewing as Wilkinson and his surfing matured.

“I think last year I felt like I was maturing in my heat surfing and knowing what to do a lot more and this year I feel like it’s stepped up a little level,’’ he said.

Like Roxy Pro winner Tyler Wright, Wilkinson, originally from the NSW Central Coast, has linked with Newcastle coach Glenn “Micro’’ Hall.

“Micro’s great, I think both of us … have got talent that wasn’t completely getting used in the last few years, so hopefully we can bring that out for the rest of the year.’’

Wilkinson will head to the next tour event at Bells Beach next week wearing the leader’s yellow jersey, something he was finding it hard to get his head around.

“It feels a little bit funny, when I get to Bells and put it on it’s going to be a weird feeling,’’ he said. “If I can keep putting heats together and keep surfing really solid, hopefully I can keep that on for a while.’’