Ten-times world surfing champion, Kelly Slater won his fifth career Hurley Pro title with a narrow victory over world number two, Owen Wright in a record breaking final at Lower Trestles, California.
The final was a first in ASP history, as no two competitors had faced off in three successive ASP Dream Tour Finals and Slater increased his lead in the 2011 title race by posting a 17.50 points to 16.74 victory over the Australian.
Slater scored the highest heat-total of competition, 18.40 out of 20, in the semifinals against Heitor Alves, and the American maintained his lethal form with a consistent display of new-school airs and patented carves to clinch an unprecedented 48th elite ASP World Tour victory and his third of the season.
“Owen (Wright) is tough and he’s been surfing great,” Slater said. “There really are no weak points to his surfing and he’s going to be a standout in every spot. A lot of the guys tried to get him this week and I got lucky in that last exchange.
"It’s been fun surfing against Owen and surfing Lowers. It’s been a great week and thanks everyone for the crazy support, it’s been wonderful.”
'I’ve dreamed about surfing against Joel and Mick my whole life' – Julian Wilson
Wright defeated Australians, Mick Fanning and rookie prodigy Julian Wilson (pictured above), en route to his rematch against Slater, but was unable to take a second successive victory over the veteran in the final.
“I’ve been enjoying the rivalry,” Wright said. “We’ve had some great heats and the last three finals have been great. I’m glad the sets came through at the end. It was a bit of a dud final, but I’m glad that last exchange came though at the end. It made it exciting.”
Julian Wilson (AUS), 22, was a standout throughout the Hurley Pro at Trestles, earning the highest single-wave score of 9.80 as well as the second-highest heat-total of 18.23 in his quarterfinal win over Joel Parkinson and consistently unloaded some of the most progressive manoeuvres of the contest.
“I had a bit of fire after yesterday, not against Joel [Parkinson], but just to show that I could beat him,” Wilson said after his quarterfinal win.
“I’ve dreamed about surfing against Joel and Mick [Fanning] my whole life and yesterday gave me a lot of confidence to go against him today.”
The young Australian got off to a slow start in his semifinal matchup versus Owen Wright after an interference and was unable to rebound, finishing equal third overall. Wilson now sits at number 11 in the ASP World Title Rankings.
Watch highlights of the final day at Lower Trestles here:
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES FINAL RESULT:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 17.50
2 – Owen Wright (AUS) 16.74
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.40 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 16.57
SF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.74 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 10.04
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Heitor Alves (BRA) 12.77 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.50
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.60 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.07
QF 3: Owen Wright (AUS) 15.67 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.67
QF 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 18.23 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.93
HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Heitor Alves (BRA) 12.74 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 9.80
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.27 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.97
Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.23 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.27
Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.67 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.37
ASP WORLD TITLE RANKINGS AFTER HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 44,950 pts.
2 – Owen Wright (AUS) 39,900
3 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 35,400
4 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 31950
5 – Josh Kerr (AUS) 30,800
6 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 29,250
7 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 28,200
8 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 27,500
9 – Jeremy Flores (FRA) 23,700
10 – Michel Bourez (PYF) 22,250
Want more?
- Check out the Hurley Pro site
- Visit the official ASP World Tour site
- Go to redbull.com’s surfing section
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