ReutersThe Brazilian had day four's highest individual wave score of 9.17 with an under the lip reverse manoeuvre during the round of 96, which saw him top his group despite strong performances from Sebastian Zietz and Gabe Kling.
"I’ve practiced this manoeuvre a lot in the hope of completing it in a heat," Ibelli said.
"This is one of the best waves I’ve surfed in competition, all the guys were going crazy out there so I knew it was going to take something impressive to come away with the win."
The first seven round of 48 heats also took place and there were strong performances from home surfers with Travis Logie, Beyrick De Vries and Jordy Smith all winning their heats.
Round of 96 results:
Heat 16: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 13.17; Mitchel Coleborn (AUS) 10.93; Kiron Jabour (HAW) 10.50; Davey Cathels (AUS) 9.67
Heat 17: Thiago Camaroa (BRA) 15.33; Jesse Mendes (BRA) 14.10; Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.43; Rudy Palmboom (ZAF) 5.76
Heat 18: Nathan Yeomans (USA) 14.33; Jack Freestone (AUS) 11.40; Tom Whittaker (AUS) 10.20; Jeronimo Vargas (BRA) 8.50
Heat 19: Dion Atkinson (AUS) 16.23; Nat Young (USA) 14.83; Messias Felix (BRA) 11.57; Brandon Jackson (ZAF) 5.77 Heat 20; Jay Quinn (NZ) 15.00; Greg Emslie (ZAF) 13.37; Adrien Toyon (FRA) 13.24; CJ Hobgood (USA) 9.77
Heat 21: David do Camo (BRA) 11.16; Billy Stairmand (NZ) 11.13; Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 10.63; Luke Davis (USA) 10.26 Heat 22: 1st Jonathan Gonzalez(CNY) 14.40; Glenn Hall (IRL) 12.40; Jano Belo(BRA) 11.34; Yujiro Tsuji (JPN) 10.03
Heat 23: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 17.17; Sebastien Zietz (HAW) 14.36; Gabe Kling (USA) 11.70; Dale Staples (ZAF) 10.03
Heat 24: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 15.85; Gabriel Villaran (PRT) 12.83; Chris Friend (AUS) 9.20; Steven Swayer (ZAF) 9.10
Round of 48 results:
Heat 1: Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) 13.50; Tiago Pires (POR) 13.17; Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) 10.97; Stu Kennedy (AUS) 10.96
Heat 2: Travis Logie (ZAF) 15.20; Tomas Hermes (BRA) 13.70; Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 11.50; Chad Du Toit (ZAF) 8.33
Heat 3: Nathan Hedge (ZAF) 13.96; Nathaniel Curran (USA) 13.67; Garrett Parkes (AUS) 12.83; Charles Martin (GLP) 9.22
Heat 4: Olamana Eleogram (HAW)12.00; Brian Toth (PRI) 11.34; Shaun Joubert (ZAF) 10.94; Bernado Miranda (BRA) 7.93
Heat 5: Torrey Meister (HAW) 15.07; Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.77; Leonardo Neves (BRA) 10.60; Marc Lacomare (FRA) 9.60
Heat 6: Adriano De Souza (BRA) 12.17; Granger Larsen (HAW) 10.70; Jadson Andre (BRA) 6.97; Eric Geiselman (HAW) 5.13
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.50; Hodei Collazo (EUK) 12.17; Mitchel Coleborn (AUS) 12.00; Willian Cardoso (BRA) 9.24
