The first contest of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing got underway today, with a few OC surfers advancing through their heats.

Huntington Beach’s Brad Ettinger  placed 2nd in his heat earlier today. HB’s Shaun Ward advanced earlier in the day, and will go up against fellow Huntington Beach local Tim Reyes in heat 14 of round of 96.

It didn’t go so well for San Clemente’s Dane Gudauskas, who came in third after only pulling in a 8.93.

However, his bro Tanner just killed it during his heat about 3:30 p.m., placing first with a 15.0 score. These events are crucial for Tanner, who is on the cusp of qualifying for the World Tour. He is in 17th place on the WQS rankings.

“I was excited, that’s the sort of surfing we want to see,” said one of the announcers.

San Clemente’s Nate Yeomans just posted first place in his heat, with a total heat score of 11.17. He sits on the 8th spot of the tour, and will likely have a spot on next year’s World Tour to surf against the best surfers in the world.

Huntington’s Brett Simpson is up duing the round of 64, as is  the last Gudauskas bro, Patrick (likely to run tomorrow).

The event - to run through Nov. 24 - is a 6-star prime, meaning major points for those on ASP’s World Qualifying Series.  There’s a lot of money on the line during the Triple Crown, with a total prize purse of $1,000,000.

Watch the action live here.

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