Photo: Rip Curl/Corey Wilson

Peniche, Portugal – Spitting Supertubos barrels, thousands of screaming fans, and a down-to-the-wire ASP World Title race will all take center stage when the world’s best surfers descend upon the picturesque Portuguese fishing village of Peniche for the 2013 Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal, set to go off October 9 – 20. Also looking to play a leading role in the best barrel riding show of the year will be a pair of hungry wildcards eager to write their own Cinderella story and prove they can compete with the world’s elite surfers.

Dillon Perillo has been awarded the first of two event wildcards to compete in the 2013 Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal. While better known for his buttery smooth free-surfing and electrifying performances in hi-fi surf films like Lost Atlas and Dear Suburbia, the 23-year-old regular footer from Malibu, California is relishing the opportunity to once again compete against the ASP’s Top 34 at pumping Supertubos, widely regarded as Europe’s most hollow and powerful beach break.

“Compared to how it’s been in previous events when I’ve watched online or on television, the quality wasn’t the greatest,” Perillo said of the waves during his heats at last year’s Rip Curl Pro Portugal. “There were still barrels to be pulled into, but when you compare it to the offshore overhead left and right peaks in past years, last year doesn’t come close. I’m not sure if it was the swell or the sand, but it was real closed-out and backwashy. So hopefully this year Supertubos lives up to its name.”

The powerful and technical tubes of Supertubos should suit Perillo, a world-class barrel rider who boasts one of the best backside pig-dogs in the business. The 2013 Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal will be Perillo’s fourth time competing as an event wildcard in a WCT event. He is looking to improve upon his early Round 2 exit in Peniche last year and score more time out surfing empty Supertubos.

“I’ve learned how to lose a heat and not take it to heart,” Perillo said. “I’m the lowest seed so I’m up against the highest ranks who have all this momentum built throughout the year and they’re going against the wildcard who has had no experience. With that said, they have everything to lose and I have nothing to lose.”

The second and final wildcard berth will be given to the winner of the Moche Wildcard Trials event, featuring 16 of Europe’s best surfers, including Jayce Robinson (UK), Pablo Gutierrez (Spain), PV Laborde (France) and Francisco Alves (Portugal). The Trials are scheduled for October 8th.

The 2013 Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal also marks the second event of the first-ever Portuguese Wave Series Cascais Trophy. Already being hailed as the “Triple Crown of European Surfing,” the trio of events is the largest ASP surfing series in Europe’s history and boasts an additional $50,000 USD prize money up for grabs, awarded to the surfer who achieves the best two results from the following three ASP events: The SATA Airlines Azores Pro (PRIME), the Rip Curl Pro Portugal by Moche (WCT) and the Cascais Billabong Pro (PRIME). Each event will have an equal pointing system.

The 2013 Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal will be webcast live at live.ripcurl.com as well as via the Rip Curl Live Events App for iPhone.