At the start of the 2026 Championship Tour season, nobody would have guessed that Miguel Pupo would be a mere 3,000 points off the world title race. Nobody but Miguel and his wingman, 2015 world champ Adriano De Souza. The same Adriano De Souza, who moved to San Clemente at one point in his career just to get better at Lowers. The same Adriano De Souza who made it his life’s mission to be a thorn in the paw of Kelly Slater. Surfing’s a young man’s game, but that veteran experience goes a long way. Miguel and Adriano have made a formidable surfer-coach pairing. “I was having a hard time with the wave, and I couldn’t find a rhythm. Adriano kept saying like, ‘No, you’re surfing good.,'” shared Miguel with the WSL’s Rosie Hodge after the final. On the podium for the second time in 2926, Miguel Pupo wins the Lexus Trestles Pro.…