The newly anointed face of women's surfing was beaten by an even newer face as world champion Stephanie Gilmore finished behind 14-year-old wildcard Tyler Wright in the opening round of the Beachley Classic.
Named by event host Layne Beachley as the surfer to take the sport forward, Gilmore suffered a hiccup in her bid to win the event for a third straight year.
Wright, who was competing in a main tour event for the first time squeezed out Gilmore for second place in their first round heat by just .1 of a point.
Gilmore failed to advance directly to the third round of competition for the first time in five events this year.
They were scheduled to go head-to-head in a third round knockout heat on Friday afternoon but the competition for the day was called off before they got into the water.
Wright (8.60) and Gilmore (8.50) finished behind South African Rosanne Hodge (12.75) in small surf at Freshwater, where the competition was relocated from Queenscliff earlier in the day.
Wright said she didn't feel nervous going into the heat against Gilmore.
"I was pretty nervous, I had the wild card and it was my first ever surf at Freshwater Beach," Gilmore said.
"I'm feeling quite old right now, beaten by a 14-year-old.
"She's an incredible little surfer as well. Each generation that I see coming through are just so much more professional than the last."
Gilmore said she didn't think she was as good as Wright at the same age.
"I think I was a little more reserved, I was probably a little more shy in my heats, but Tyler is confident in her abilities and she knows what to do to win.
"She doesn't care who she's against, a world champion, or just the other girl in the heat. She's going to use her natural talent to her advantage, she's going to be a threat for many years to come."
Wright was disappointed she didn't get the chance to have another crack at one of her heroes.
"I was pumped to get out there, I was really looking forward to it," Wright said.
"She (Gilmore) was like `see you in round three, bring it one'.
"Steph is pretty cool, she's definitely been a mentor in my life."
Only two of the third round heats were completed, with world number four ranked Australian Samantha Cornish (12.90) going down to Peruvian tour rookie Julia De La Rosa (14.35).
There was better news for another Australian, with Amee Donohoe (12.15) beating Hodge (7.30) to advance to the quarter-finals.
Beachley (13.30), who finished second to compatriot Rebecca Woods (14.25) in their first round heat, will meet another compatriot, Melanie Redman-Carr in the third round.