Heading into the round in Western Australia, Florence was tipped as one of the favourites for the men's competition due to his power surfing preferences, with the waves at Margaret River being some of the best in the world outside Florence's home state.

The two-time world champion bounced back from two eliminations to Australian WSL Tour rookie Morgan Cibilic to show what he can do on his best day.

Florence stayed high in the tube wave, coming out of it in perfect form before finishing off with a 180 into the wave for a perfect final section.

"It feels super good, and it was cool to get a barrel like that out there, I wasn't really expecting that in my mind I was just thinking turns," said Florence.

"Margaret River is kind of an unpredictable barrel I guess, it's kind of a warping barrel, and it's really high too so it's tricky to ride."

In the women's event, world number one Carissa Moore of Hawaii put down an early high score of 8.33, using timing and her power to her advantage despite some unpredictable waves.

"I was happy to find that one [wave], it's pretty tricky out there right now and it's been a tricky few days warming up," said Moore.

"It hasn't really been like normal Margarets where it's focused in one spot, it's been like rogue waves here and there so it's tricky to get underneath it and get those tight ones but happy to find one."

Narrabeen winner Gabriel Medina of Brazil won his heat too, but Australia's Ryan Callinan stole the show with some great backhand surfing - scoring 9.93, the highest of his career.

Reigning men's champion, Brazilian Ítalo Ferreira, progressed in his heat against Australians Jacob Willcox and local favourite Jack Robinson, but Willcox dominated the waves, finishing above one of the best surfers in the world, progressing alongside him.