Mick Fanning (AUS) has claimed his fourth Bells trophy after a closely fought battle against Adriano De Souza (BRA) in the final of the Rip Curl Pro.
Mick was loving the sweet taste of victory.
Adriano was first out of the blocks in the 30 minute final, registering two scores before Mick caught his opening ride halfway through the heat. Mick’s not known for making mistakes, but it appeared that the waiting got the better of him because he wasn’t able to capitalise and fell on his first turn.
“I sat there for so long at the start, and (for) that first wave I was so amped but I was cold,” Mick admitted after the final. “I was trying to do a layback and a finner at the same time and it just went haywire. I was so angry with myself, so when I saw that next wave I just wanted to give it all, and lucky enough it was that eight and that was the difference.”
Mick’s 8.17 second ride sealed the victory after both registered a 15.27 heat total by the final horn. With Adriano’s highest score coming in at 7.77, Mick took out the win by way of a count back.
Adriano de Souza was as close as you can get to a second victory at Bells.
Fanning was easily the man in form on the final day, registering the top two heat totals on his way to victory. In another closely fought battle against Jordy Smith (ZAF) in the quarter finals, Mick scored a near-perfect 9.43 and backed it up with an 8.33 for a 17.76 total – the day’s highest. Jordy put up a good fight though, managing to match Mick’s 8.33 opening ride. But Jordy couldn’t find a score that would trump Mick’s 9.43 and had to settle for equal 5th at the Rip Curl Pro.
In the semi finals, Mick got the better of Nat Young with the day’s second highest heat total – 16.70pts – to enter the final as favourite.
Adriano beat fellow Brazilian, Gabriel Medina, in the quarter finals, before out-surfing Josh Kerr (AUS) in the semis to secure his spot up against Mick in the final.
Mick was unstoppable on the final day.
Victory at Bells ensures Mick grabs the yellow jersey as ratings leader on the Championship Tour, sharing top spot with Brazil’s Filipe Toledo.
Go to worldsurfleague.com for all the heat reviews from the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Final Results:
1: Mick Fanning (AUS) – 15.27 (Mick wins with his 8.17 on a count back)
2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) – 15.27
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Semifinal Results:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.84 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 9.87
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.70 def. Nat Young (USA) 14.23
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Quarterfinal Results:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.60 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 8.33
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.00 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 7.93
Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.76 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60
Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) 15.10 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 13.86
World Tour Rankings after Event 2 – the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach:
=1 Mick Fanning (AUS) 15,200pts
=1 Filipe Toledo (BRA) 15,200pts
3 Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14,500pts
4 Julian Wilson (AUS) 9,750pts
5 Jordy Smith (ZAF) 9,200pts
=6 Josh Kerr (AUS) 8,250pts
=6 Nat Young (USA) 8,250pts
8 Miguel Pupo (BRA) 7,000pts
=9 Gabriel Medina (BRA) 6,950pts
=9 Taj Burrow (AUS) 6,950pts
=9 Owen Wright (AUS) 6,950pts
im not sure how the countback works as Adriano’s other waves were highier than the Fangs
The winner gets decided by who had the highest single wave score, and Mick’s 8.17 was better than Adriano’s 7.77 according to the judges.