Kauli Vaast won the 2019 Tahiti Pro Trials, at Teahupoo, in French Polynesia. The 17-year-old defeated Hawaii's Tyler Newton in the final after a standout performance throughout the qualifying event. Tahitian surfer Vaast got the best scores of the trials en route to winning the golden ticket to the main event - a 18.10 in Round 1, a 17.10 in the quarter-finals and a 16.90 in the final. "I really wanted to win this. We had perfect conditions all day. I've been training a lot all week, and it paid off. It'll be my first Championship Tour event," Vaast told Surfer Today.