Adriano De Souza’s resume reads like a laundry list of competitive successes: A two-time Brazilian champ, a World Pro Junior champ, and the World Qualifying Series champ are but several of his most noteworthy accomplishments. In 2006 he joined the world’s best on the World Championship Tour and made his presence felt with a third-place result in his first event. Unfortunately, in 2007 Brazil’s best hope for a world title cooled considerably. Going into Hawaii, Adriano found himself on the re-qualification bubble. But the young lad’s obviously a savvy competitor and lived to fight another day. Reevaluating his heat strategies, putting in the hard yard with a trainer in the off-season, and devoting a considerable amount of time to heavy waves like Pipe and Teahupoo—spots he’s opening admitted struggling with in the past—should pay off in 2008, a year that will see more surfers his age on tour than ever before. “Mineirinho,” as his mates in Brazil have dubbed him, may have won everything possible as a junior, and while both his aerial and rail assaults are impressive, he’s reached the point in his career where if he’s going to be a world beater, it’s time to start rolling some heads.