That increasing confidence was clear for all to see in today's third-round clash with de Souza, who went into the fourth stop on the series with a win, a second and a third to sit on top of the standings.
Christie had de Souza against the ropes from the first minute with a tube ride topped off with a snapping top-turn flourish. He backed up that 8.67 wave with a 7.90 with a big air reverse to improve to a 16.57 total. De Souza needed an 8.9 wave to beat the Kiwi but could manage only a 13.90 total, much to the chagrin of the local fans packing the Barra da Tijuca beach who booed the result.
Christie said he had concentrated on his game plan to get early waves and was "stoked" to be turning around his season.
"I've been watching all day to see where the good waves have been breaking," he said. "The rip is so gnarly out there though and can really change things up. I actually got my good wave exactly where I'd been watching, which was neat."
Finding that good wave saw Christie advance to the fourth round - all-new territory in his rookie campaign - where he was once again up against the fans, surfing a three-man heat featuring two more Brazilians, Jadson Andre and Italo Ferreira.
Christie posted 10.10 to place third, with Andre (12.63) winning and Ferreira (11.93) second, putting him into a repechage against Banting, who had earlier seen off 11-times world champion Kelly Slater.
It was a nail-biting encounter for Christie, compiling two solid scores, 6.83 and 6.67, for a 13.50 total. Banting had a 5.27 wave, then pulled off a huge aerial move that looked good enough to take him past his fellow rookie, but the judges did not see it that way and he was given 8.02 for a 13.27 total.
The quarter-final clash overnight (NZT) sees him pitted against the diminutive Toledo, who has a chance of revenge from his Margaret River loss. Even if Christie loses that match-up, he would still pick up 5200 points and US$15,000 ($20,072).
