Kelly Slater (USA), 40, reigning 11-time ASP World Champion has claimed the Hurley Pro at Trestles over Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, in pumping three-to-five foot (1 – 1.5 metre) waves at Lower Trestles.
Event No. 6 of 10 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour, the Hurley Pro at Trestles culminated in exciting fashion today with the world’s best going blow-for-blow in pristine Southern California conditions.
Slater got off to a quick start in the Final bout against Parkinson, electing smaller inside waves, surfing them impeccably and moving from strength-to-strength throughout the heat. Surfing on a four-fin “Quad” surfboard, Slater’s juggernaut momentum and searing performance would prove too much for the in-form Parkinson as he confidently took his sixth event title at Lower Trestles, his third consecutive.
“I know I went out there feeling like I didn’t have anything to lose because Parko (Joel Parkinson) was the form guy,” Slater said. “He was pretty much the standout in every round. He schooled Medina (Gabriel Medina) yesterday somehow and was combo’ing everybody. I just figured I had to get myself on the best waves and let go a little bit, but it got really quiet out there. It was the first time something really felt like it went my way when they (the judges) took my priority away. By the time they announced it, Joel was above the wave and couldn’t catch it. That was the turning point for me. Every contest I’ve won, there’s some moment where things go my way.”
Slater, who now sits at 3rd on the ASP WCT ratings, views today’s victory as a turning point in the 2012 season and will look to carry his recent momentum throughout the upcoming European leg of competition.
A board change and some massive punts saw Kelly take out his 50th world tour win.
“I knew that heat would either make or break me for the year,” Slater said. “I would have let Parko (Joel Parkinson) have those extra 2,000 points if he’d one and it would look very different on the ratings. It’s nice heading into Europe. I feel like I’ve had so many good years at Lowers and the pressure is really on every year to make the Final – I feel like it’s been like that since I’ve been on tour. It’s cool to win the 50th here. I won my first event as a pro here and it’s great to get this win.”
Joel Parkinson was dominant throughout the entirety of the Hurley Pro at Trestles, consistently posting high scores in every round. Parkinson was unable to find the usual set-waves he scouted in previous rounds and finished runner-up against Slater, maintaining his position as No. 2 on the ASP WCT heading in to Europe.
“A Final is a good result,” Parkinson said. “Tahiti kind of hurt a lot. I felt like I was on a bit of a good one this week. It was all going well. Every time I paddled out I had a lot of waves and Kelly (Slater) had those heats where he had no waves and I was thinking, ‘my mojo is stronger.’ Sure enough, it was a slow one. It was one of those ones where you feel like you’re on point all week and Mother Nature just lets you down.”
Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, current ASP WCT No. 1, was a standout throughout the entirety of the Hurley Pro at Trestles, consistently lacerating the righthand Lowers walls with powerful combinations. Fanning was unable to find a rhythm in his Semifinals bout against Slater, however, exiting the Hurley Pro at Trestles with an equal 3rd finish overall.
Parko managed to close the gap a little on compatriot Mick Fanning in the world title race, but so did Kelly.
“Even when he had those first two waves, I was confident that I could come back if the waves came,” Fanning said. “It just stopped. That’s the nature of our game. You can’t really fight back if there is nothing there and I sort of thought after I didn’t break the combo with that one wave, I was thinking there had to be a flurry or it was pretty much done.”
Fanning, who entered the Hurley Pro at Trestles off of a victory in Tahiti, knew advancing over Slater would have strengthened his lead on the ASP World Title, but added that an equal 3rd place result is a strong addition to his 2012 campaign.
“Kelly (Slater) and I both knew what was going on and if I got on top from there it would have just been further away,” Fanning said. “He surfed a really smart heat and threw caution to the wind and it paid off. I was just unlucky. The ocean didn’t really cooperate with me, but a third is a keeper. It’s another result I don’t have to worry about and I learned a lot of things at this event.”
Adriano de Souza (BRA), 25, current ASP WCT No. 5, led the South American contingent, eliminating fellow countryman and event standout Gabriel Medina (BRA), 18, in Round 5 and John John Florence (HAW), 19, in their Quarterfinals bout, but was unable to surpass Parkinson’s rampage in the Semifinals to finish equal 3rd overall.
“I had a nice heat against Gabriel (Medina) a few months ago at the US Open and he beat me,” De Souza said after his Quarterfinals win. “Gabriel’s such a good guy and a good competitor, he’s going to battle for the world title soon and I just got lucky. I was trying to find a few waves at the beginning to put pressure on him.”
Jordy was surfing brilliantly, but lost out in a controversial heat to eventual finalist Joel Parkinson in the quarters.
Hurley Pro at Trestles highlights available via www.hurley.com/hurleypro
For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.27 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.34
SF 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.26 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.43
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.60 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.50
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.17 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.93
QF 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.16 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.04
QF 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.60 def. John John Florence (HAW) 11.60
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.90 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.76
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.94 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.44
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.93 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 9.57
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 18.30 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9.57
was jordy robbed in the qf against parko
shouldnt the judges sit seperately to try an limit them influencing each other they only human after all
pretty pissed with the ASP right now….
As someone who judged provincial surfing years ago, I know that the Joel Parkinson ‘s scores against Jordy were a total con. Unfortunately most people are unaware of the workings behind the scenes and won’t see it but that’s the nature of the commercial interests behind the ASP at the moment and how subjective the scoring of the judges is. Barton Lynch called it a crock of sh*t and he was right. Sorry ASP and all the big brands but you’ve lost your soul !
I think that as THE South African surf mag, you could have written a bit more than a simple caption under a pic to explain just how badly Jordy got rammed. I say that hoping it will be taken constructively as even foreign publications have been more patriotic to us SAFFA’s.
Frankly it looks like a recurrent thing. In last event it was Jeremy being robbed by Parko, now Jordys turn. Parko is a great surfer, but honestly if I had been him, I would have refused to go to next round in both cases, so obvious that is is ridiculous. His 9+ wave in the quarter against Jordy should have been a well under 8.