Sunset Beach is known for having some of the most challenging waves in the world, and those with experience at the break have an enormous advantage over other competitors. On opening day of the Vans World Cup of Surfing, it was a mixed bag of locals and internationals with the edge.

Honolulu’s Kaito Kino avoided trouble in the solid 8- to 12-foot waves to stand out in the early rounds of the contest, which is the second leg of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

Kino has been on a tear recently, making the final of the HIC Pro at Sunset in October and making it through some heats at the first event of the Triple Crown, the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa.

Kino started his heat at Sunset with a modest score before backing it up with a solid barrel to turn a combo on his last wave for the highest score of the heat, a 7.83 out of 10.

“It was kind of a sketchy take-off, but I got on my feet right as the wave doubled up on the west bowl and I got that barrel,” he said.

Kauai’s Evan Valiere also advanced from that heat.

International standout Frederico Morais of Portugal was on fire and won two heats Saturday in varying conditions. Morais surfed in the first heat of the day and the second to last one, adapting nicely.

“It was really hard out there,” he said. “The swell is picking up and you have to get busy and catch a lot of waves. I rode a bigger board in my second heat as the waves came up a lot from the morning.”

In that first heat of the day, Morais and second-place Hiroto Ohhara of Japan eliminated Australia’s Wade Carmichael, the winner of the Hawaiian Pro and the Triple Crown standings leader..

Sunny Garcia, Mason Ho, Jamie O’Brien and Joel Centeio were among the other Hawaii surfers advancing. The contest is expected to resume today, conditions permitting.