Australia's Callum Robson and surfing legend Kelly Slater will get first crack at trying to take down world champion Filipe Toledo when the WSL Rio Pro gets underway in Saquarema.
Toledo will be aiming for a fourth consecutive Rio Pro crown, and he'll take on Robson and Slater in a star-studded opening-round heat when the action gets underway this weekend.
The top two surfers in each heat will progress straight to round three, with the loser to be thrust into a dreaded elimination heat.
Not only has Toledo won the last three Rio Pros, he also emerged victorious from the most recent stop on the World Surf League circuit - the El Salvador Pro
That win shot him up to second in this year's world rankings, narrowly behind American Griffin Colapinto.
“It’s always amazing to be back in Brazil,” Toledo said.
"It’s a place we love and feel super-comfortable.
"I grew up going to Saquarema and watched my dad and a lot of my idols compete here, so I’ve had a close relationship with the place.
"It brings me excitement to be here. I guess that’s where the magic is.”
With three events remaining before the end-of-season finals, there is a scramble to make it into the crucial top five.
World No.4 Ethan Ewing is the only Australian currently in that exalted company.
Joao Chianca and Gabriel Medina sit third and fifth respectively, with stars such as John John Florence, Italo Ferreira and Australia's Jack Robinson lurking outside the top five.
Ewing will be aiming to bounce back from his disappointing ninth-place finish in El Salvador.
The 24-year-old's appearance in Rio will be closely watched after he received death threats following his tight win over Brazilian Medina in the quarter-finals of May's Surf Ranch Pro.
Medina complained about the fairness of the judging in the wake of that loss.
"It's clear that the judges' assessment is now rewarding very simple surfing, incomplete transitions, and PROGRESSION and VARIETY is being completely taken out of the equation," Medina posted in an open letter to the WSL last month.
"This is very frustrating and threatens the growth of the sport."
Some Brazilian fans reacted by threatening Ewing with violence when he arrives in Saquarema for the Rio Pro.
There are currently three Australian women in the WSL top five - Tyler Wright (2nd), Molly Picklum (4th), and eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore (5th).
Picklum and Gilmore have been thrust into the same opening-round heat, alongside Hawaiia's Gabriela Bryan.
Wright is up against the USA's Caitlin Simmers and Johanne Defay of France.
World No.1 and defending Rio Pro champion Carissa Moore will take on Lakey Peterson and Silvana Lima.
