Rip Curl Pro Portugal - Day 2

Portugal delivers the goods once again for the Rip Curl Pro (Photo: ASP)

Day 2 went absolutely mental at Supertubos. Highlight for me was Travis Logie winning his Round 2 heat on the buzzer, it sure must have felt good for him. Surfers to watch are definitely John John Florence, Taj Burrows, Damien Hobgood,  Julian Wilson and Kelly Slater. The competition is on right now for Day 3!

ASP Press Release: SUPERTUBOS, Peniche/Portugal (Monday, October 17, 2011) – The Rip Curl Pro Portugal stormed through 21 heats of competition today as the primary site of Supertubos delivered flawless six-to-eight foot (2 – 2.5 metre) barrels from sun up to sun down.

Event No. 9 of 11 on the 2011 ASP World Title Series, the Rip Curl Pro Portugal enjoyed an historic day of action with the world’s best surfers posting near-perfect scores throughout the day as Supertubos delivered world-class action.

Julian Wilson (AUS), 22, 2011 ASP Top 34 rookie, went blow-for-blow against compatriot Kai Otton (AUS), 31, in the heat of the event today. Otton posted a near perfect 9.97 out of a possible 10 on his opening ride and backing it up with an excellent 8.43 to put the youngster on the back foot early on. However, Wilson would answer back in champion fashion, netting a 9.43 early in the heat before pulling into a cavernous bomb for a 9.70 and the heat win.

“That was an amazing heat,” Wilson said. “My hat goes off to Otto (Kai Otton) as he was getting some ridiculous barrels and really put the pressure on me early. I’ve been watching the conditions all day long and have been trying not to froth out too hard, but they’re just so perfect. It’s truly Dream Tour stuff out there today.”

Finishing Equal 3rd at Lower Trestles and Runner-Up at La Graviere, the young Australian has been building an impressive momentum throughout the last several events and would be considered one of the more dangerous surfers remaining in the field.

“I’ve been very confident in my surfing the past few events and I really feel like I belong at this level of competition,” Wilson said. “I felt like I was right there at the last event in France and I’m really keen to put up another result. The win is always the goal.”

Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 1, navigated the challenging high tide afternoon conditions today with characteristic aplomb, besting an in-form Daniel Ross (AUS), 28, to advance through to Round 4.

“There are still a lot of fun waves out there but the tide is definitely changing things up,” Slater said. “My plan was to go out and catch a lot of waves and I actually made a little priority mistake in there. Dan (Ross) is one of those underrated guys. He’s a big guy so I knew he wouldn’t be taking the smaller waves and I knew he was capable of getting big scores.”

With his Round 3 victory this afternoon, Slater moves one step closer to clinching ASP World Title No. 11, but the iconic Floridian remains characteristically nonchalant about the possibility.

“Counting Portugal, there are still three events left and a lot of points so it’s far from over,” Slater said. “Obviously another result here would long ways towards it but there’re still quite a few guys remaining in the hunt that are still in the event so we’ll see how it all pans out.”

John John Florence (HAW), 17, newcomer to the ASP Top 34 following September’s rotation, posted the highest heat total of the event this morning, a 19.53 out of a possible 20, to eliminate Adrian Buchan (AUS), 29, in Round 2 of competition.

“It’s unreal out there this morning,” Florence said. “It reminds me a lot of Backdoor and Pipe but with a sandy bottom. I was having so much fun. I just kept taking off on everything that came through.”

Florence will now face current ASP World No. 2 Owen Wright (AUS), 21, in Round 3 of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal.

“Owen (Wright) is good in pretty much any conditions,” Florence said. “We had a pretty close heat in Trestles and he beat me. I feel confident in these kinds of conditions though. So hopefully we have good waves for our heat.”

Florence was joined by fellow Hawaiian Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), 29, who dispatched of current No. 5 on the ASP World Title rankings Jordy Smith (ZAF), 23, in Round 3 of competition.



Bede Durbidge (AUS), 28, punctuated the day’s affairs with the first Perfect 10 of the event for a monster forehand barrel to the adulation of the thousands on the beach.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7:45am for a possible 8am start.

When competition resumes, up first will be Adriano de Souza (BRA), 24, and Travis Logie (ZAF), 32, in Heat 9 of Round 3.

Highlights from the Rip Curl Pro Portugal will be available via http://live.ripcurl.com

The Morning Show from the Rip Curl Pro Portugal will be webcast LIVE from 7:30am to 8pm tomorrow morning, as well as broadcast LIVE on FUEL TV in Australia and Portugal, Ma Chaine Sport in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland and Africa as well as ESPN in Brazil.

Surfline, official forecasters for the Rip Curl Pro Portugal, are calling for a strong northwest swell will fill in further on today, ease on Tuesday and then fade further on Wednesday. A smaller, reinforcing north swell could then move in on Thursday to keep the surf from dropping too quickly. Wind conditions will be generally favorable for Supertubos Monday with light wind in the morning building in the afternoon.

For additional information log on to www.aspworldtour.com

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.74 def. Bruno Santos (BRA) 10.97
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.10 def. Francisco Alves (BRA) 6.57
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.83 def. Justin Mujica (PRT) 8.64
Heat 4: Michel Bourez (PYF) 16.77 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 15.23
Heat 5: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.43 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.90
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) 19.53 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.97
Heat 7: Heitor Alves (BRA) 15.50 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.20
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 16.04 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.87
Heat 9: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.97 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 13.93
Heat 10: Dusty Payne (HAW) 16.63 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.27
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF) 16.43 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.76
Heat 12: Taylor Knox (USA) 13.73 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 9.30

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.57 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 8.43
Heat 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) 16.33 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 15.30
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 19.13 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 18.40
Heat 4: Chris Davidson (AUS) 14.10 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 5.10
Heat 5: Heitor Alves (BRA) 12.77 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.20
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.86 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 16.37
Heat 7: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.06 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.90
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 18.33 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.17

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 9: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 10: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 11: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 12: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. John John Florence (HAW)

Drama, Arials and Upsets at the Quik Pro NY - Day 2

Adriano letting his surfing do the talking! (Photo:ASP)

 Outside of the Bobby Fiasco, there were actually some pretty amazing waves and surfing on display in New York for day 2 of the Quik Pro. While the waves can certainly not be considered the ideal for a "Dream Tour", they were super fun and the world's best had no compunction in ripping them apart. I would love to see the stats on aerials landed in this comp, would be interesting reading. The big news was obviously Bobby's tirade and consequent disqualification from the competition. In some ways though the bigger news is actually who benefited from this... None other than Mr Kelly Slater, who gets a free pass through to Round 4 thanks to Mr Martinez. That should keep the conspiracy theorists going for a while. In sad news, Travis Logie was knocked out in Round 2 and he now will have to go cane the last WQS contest to have any chance of making the cut. He is however really well positioned for the rest of the year and has a great chance of qualifying for 2012. The ASP Press release below.



LONG BEACH, Long Island/New York (Wednesday, September 7, 2011) – The Quiksilver Pro New York continued for the second consecutive day at Long Beach in Long Island, New York and saw the completion of Round 2 as well as the first four heats of Round 3. Stop No. 6 of 11 on the ASP World Title Series, the Quiksilver New York marks the final event before the mid-year rotation while also offers up the richest prize purse in surfing history of US$1,000,000. Hurricane Katia continued to deliver increasing three-to-four foot (1 metre) surf throughout the day, and there was no shortage of fireworks that went off in Long Beach. Adriano de Souza (BRA), 24, current No. 4 on the ASP World Title Series, vigorously attacked the Long Beach lefthanders on his backhand and belted the day’s highest single-wave score of 9.20 while netting the top heat-total of 17.93 (out of 20), in Round 2 before taking his Round 3 heat.
“I’m really happy with my performance today,” De Souza said. “My first heat was better for sure, I got the 9 and the 8, but I tried to get in rhythm in Round 3 and I hope I can keep going and get a good result in here. My house is really similar to these waves in New York and I feel at home out in these conditions.” De Souza, who defeated Travis Logie (ZAF), 33, in Round 2 before topping Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 25, in Round 3, kept his ASP World Title campaign alive with today’s effort and is hunting a strong result in New York to regain the No. 1 position on the ASP World Title Rankings. “I’m stoked to make my heats today,” De Souza said. “We had tough conditions and I knew for me that if I fell in that heat I would be out of the World Title Race. I’m happy to make it and hope I can keep my rhythm for the rest of the event. I’m looking forward to the no-loser’s Round 4 and hopefully I can keep going in this event.”
Taj Burrow (AUS), 32, put on an amazing aerial performance on his forehand in Round 3 compliments of the side-shore winds blowing into the Long Beach right-handers and lofted a 17.10 heat-total while eliminating Adam Melling (AUS), 26, from competition.
“It’s pretty good out there,” Burrow said “Us natural footers that like to do airs rub our hands together when wind’s like that. I did that big alley-oop on that first wave and I stacked it, but when I was through air I felt the board sticking to my feet. I knew that heat was going to be fun. I wasn’t aware of his (Adam Melling’s) position on the rankings, but I’m thinking about the money. I’m trying not to, but it’s there in the back of my head.” Melling, current No. 35 on the ASP World Ranking, will not make the mid-year rotation for Trestles, but could possibly appear as an alternate in the remainder of the ASP World Title events.
Mick Fanning (AUS), 30, two-time ASP World Champion, rebounded after a Round 1 loss yesterday, making a change in his equipment to dispatch of dangerous local wildcard Balaram Stack (USA), 20, with a dominant performance. “It’s always hard when you lose that first round, you’ve got to go back and pick up the pieces and go again,” Fanning said. “Wildcards are difficult because they’re usually locals and they know spot. I tried to get moving early and keep moving. The tide was dropping out and I just tried to get them in early. My board yesterday wasn’t working to well, so I went back to my normal shortboard that I’ve been riding all year.”
Brett Simpson (USA), 26, got the best of a series of exchanges over ASP Dream Tour veteran Taylor Knox (USA), 40, in their Round 2 match-up. Knox, current No. 30 on the ASP World Ranking, will wait on the results of the surfers ranked behind him who are still alive in the Quiksilver Pro New York to see if he maintains his position among the ASP Top 34 entering Trestles. “We all knew coming into this event that Taylor (Knox) needed to do something and I am coming off momentum from Teahupo’o,” Simpson said. “He’s been a mentor and friend since I started on tour last year. He’s inspired all of us. It’s just the way it goes. I was anxious. I knew there was a lot on the line for him and I want to climb the rankings too.” Simpson will face off against ASP Dream Tour rookie Julian Wilson (AUS), 22, in Round 3.
Jeremy Flores (FRA), 23, who was a standout at Teahupo’o, maintained his form in the beachbreak conditions on offer at the Quiksilver Pro New York, eliminating fellow European and close friend Tiago Pires (PRT), 31, in a hard-fought Round 3 battle. “I didn’t like surfing against Tiago, I want him on tour,” Flores said. “He’s my friend, but I want to do well here, I want to make heats, but I wanted to see him do well here because I knew he needed a result. I couldn’t find any really good waves. The guys in the heats before had fun waves with great walls and mine were fat or wide. I guess my wave choice was bad, but I made it.”
Bobby Martinez (USA), 29, has been disqualified from ASP competition in New York. An explanation is available on the ASP website. When competition resumes, up first will be Josh Kerr, 27, (AUS) against Raoni Monteiro (BRA), 29, in Heat 5 of Round 3. Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start.

Highlights from the Quiksilver Pro New York will be available via http://www.quiksilverpro.com
Surfline, official forecasters for the Quiksilver Pro New York, are calling for Solid SE swell from Hurricane Katia expected during the second half of the week before fading headed into the weekend. For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.20 def. Balaram Stack (USA) 7.06
Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.07 def. Asher Nolan (USA) 11.33
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.10 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 9.00
Heat 4: Bobby Martinez (USA) 14.06 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.73
Heat 5: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 13.10 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.27
Heat 6: Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.13 def. Gabe Kling (USA) 10.00
Heat 7: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17.93 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.40
Heat 8: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 13.17 def. Cory Lopez (USA) 12.50
Heat 9: Adam Melling (AUS) 15.70 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.97
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) 13.50 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 12.43
Heat 11: Brett Simpson (USA) 12.93 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 11.20
Heat 12: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 14.93 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 8.83

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.10 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 12.87
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.60 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.67
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.60 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 12.73
Heat 4: Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.17 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 7.93
QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 5: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Bobby Martinez *Will not be surfed. Martinez disqualified from competition.
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 8: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 9: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 10: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Brett Simpson (USA) Heat
12: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)

A weekend of Carnage at the Billabong Pro Tahiti

Jeremy Flores deep inside the Beast and charging into Quarters. (Photo: ASP)

Drama and giant waves, that was the weekend's script at the Billabong Pro at Teahupoo. Competiton was called off on Saturday due to conditions that even had the tow teams cucking in their rods. Watch the video below and you will probably cringe at least 10 times (Especially the guy valiantly trying to swim back over the shoulder and getting sucked over the falls on a 20 footer.)



The crew woke up Sunday to perfect 8-10ft Teahupoo and the carnage began. The losers results sheet looks like the whos who of Pro Surfing with Taj Burrows, Joel Parkinson, Mick Fanning and Jordy Smith all out of competiton. The story of the weekend though was the round 3 battle between Jordy and fellow Saffer Travis Logie. Due to timing call, when Jordy was injured by the ski, Travis watched his victory disappear as Jordy got a 8 point ride in the dying seconds of the extended heat. After everything he had been through to get to Tahiti it was no wonder the small guy was some what upset! Jordy, who looked in serious pain with a rib injury, showed what a gentleman he is though and agreed to a re-surf of the heat - Travis went on to win and now finds himself in the Quarters! We can only hope he makes the Finals and raises the SA flag high! With so many tour front runners out, Kelly Slater is grinning from ear to ear as if he wins here, he will be right back in the title hunt, after missing Jbay.



TEAHUPO’O, Taiarapu/French Polynesia (Sunday, August 28, 2011) – With pristine eight-to-10 foot (2.5 – 3 metre) barrels detonating across the reef at Teahupo’o, the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui completed the remaining heats of Round 3 before bolting through Rounds 4 and 5, setting up the Quarterfinalists for a potential finish tomorrow.
Event No. 5 of 11 of the 2011 ASP World Title season, the Billabong Pro Tahiti has enjoyed a historic run of swell for the event, with the world’s best surfers pushing the limits of paddle-in surfing at the infamous lefthander and locking in some incredible rides.
Jeremy Flores (FRA), 23, current No. 15 on the ASP World Title rankings, became the third surfer in history to lock in a Perfect 20 heat total in his Round 5 bout against an in-form Michel Bourez (PYF), 25, this afternoon.
“I’m so stoked!” Flores exclaimed. “What’s on my mind right now is I just had a heat out there with Michel (Bourez), one of my best friends on tour and it’s so big and perfect and we got some amazing barrels. I was saying the other day that I’d never got a 10 before and that I’d like to get one, and now I’ve gotten two in the same heat. I’m so stoked.”

Staring into the eye of the Beast. (Photo: ASP)

The young Frenchman has been the form surfer of the event thus far, conquering the biggest days with aplomb and navigating his way through the some of the heaviest backhand barrels with unparalleled poise.
“It’s as good as it gets out there,” Flores said. “They are just so hollow and just keep spinning forever. It’s incredible. This is everything I ever wanted in a surf, let alone a contest. It’s the best surf of my life.”
Flores will take on Josh Kerr (AUS), 27, in Quarterfinal 1 when competition resumes.
Owen Wright (AUS), 21, current No. 9 on the ASP World Title rankings, was another to cement his reputation as one of the premier Teahupo’o specialists this afternoon with the second highest heat total of the year, a 19.77 out of a possible 20. In a hard-fought Round 4 bout with Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), 29, and Raoni Monteiro (BRA), 29, Wright built an impressive score line, opening with 7.77 before grabbing a 9.77 and finishing with a Perfect 10.
“I had a dream heat,” Wright said. “I opened up with a pretty good barrel and then Freddy (Patacchia) got a bomb. I got a solid one after that and then I just slid into that perfect runner. The waves out here are just so sizey and meaty. I love it out here. It’s the best wave.”
Wright will battle Raoni Monteiro (BRA), 29, in Quarterfinal 4 at the Billabong Pro Tahiti.
Kelly Slater (USA), 39, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, continued to breeze through the competition today, dispatching of lethal wildcard Ricardo dos Santos (BRA), 22, in Round 3 before blitzing his Round 4 heat.
“The waves are insane today,” Slater said. “This is probably the best I’ve ever surfed it – it’s just so big and perfect. It can be really intimidating when you’re on the spot and a wave comes in. Everyone is hooting and hollering and you have to go. There’s no other experience like it in surfing.”
Always one to push the limits of board design, Slater has opted to surf a quad-fin craft significantly smaller than the majority of his peers.
“I’m riding a 5’11””, Slater said. “My normal shortboard is a 5’9” so the board I’m riding out here is my step-up. There’s been a lot of discussion regarding surfboards that work best out here. You definitely need enough foam to get in and under the ledge, but once you’re in, you want to have a short enough board to maneuver around.”
With the Top 5-rated surfers on the ASP World Title rankings already eliminated from competition today, Slater (current No. 6) stands to benefit significantly with a result in Tahiti.
Slater will take on Matt Wilkinson (AUS), 22, in the Quarterfinals when competition resumes.
Travis Logie (ZAF), 32, current ASP World No. 44, gained entry into of the Billabong Pro Tahiti with the withdrawal of Dane Reynolds (USA), 25. Looking to break into the top 32 on the ASP World Rankings before the September rotation, Logie is into the Quarterfinals and already looking at a solid result.
“I owe it all to my wife as I was wavering on whether or not to actually make the trip from Europe and she convinced me to come,” Logie said. “I barely made it here in time for my first heat, have been surfing on borrowed equipment and this has been a huge result for me. Into the Quarterfinals, this is my best result ever here and hopefully it keeps going.”
Logie will face Brett Simpson (USA), 26, in Quarterfinal 3 when competition resumes.
When competition resumes, up first will be Josh Kerr (AUS), 27, against Jeremy Flores (FRA), 23, in the opening Quarterfinal of the Billabong Pro Tahiti.
Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start.
Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui will be available via http://www.billabongpro.com
Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, are calling for very solid surf this morning, with a decreasing trend through the day. We’ll get a reinforcing pulse of new south-southwest swell on Monday, although the overall swell trend will be a slow fading one through early next week. Easterly trades continue to ease on Sunday, with light ENE/E flow early next week.
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 4: Michel Bourez (PYF) def. Dusty Payne (USA) – Payne withdrew from competition due to injury sustained during a free surf on Thursday afternoon.
Heat 5: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 15.77 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.94
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.60 def. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA) 15.84
Heat 7: Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.93 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.43 – Re-surfed at the end of the round.
Heat 8: Chris Davidson (AUS) 11.77 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 10.86
Heat 9: Brett Simpson (USA) 17.26 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 16.70
Heat 10: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.80 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 5.00
Heat 11: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 12.20 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 6.44
Heat 12: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.60 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 7.93
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Josh Kerr (AUS) 16.30, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.16, Kai Otton (AUS) 8.10
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.77, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 6.50, Michel Bourez (PYF) 2.90
Heat 3: Travis Logie (ZAF) 15.66, Brett Simpson (USA) 15.00, Chris Davidson (AUS) 14.43
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 19.77, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 12.23, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.60
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 20 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 18.13
Heat 2: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.84 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 11.56
Heat 3: Brett Simpson (USA) 17.33 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.00
Heat 4: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 15.50 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 15.14
BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
QF 3: Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
QF 4: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)

Kelly, Parko and Wilko on fire! Quik Pro Round 3

Wilko on Fire in Round 3 (Photo: ASP)

Well any thoughts you may have had that Kelly Slater was heading for retirement, can be put to rest. He absolutely smashed young super grom Matt Banting in his Round 3 heat.



Joel Parkinson showed that he is on his way back to his best form after last years injury lay off and had the crowd of local Snapper pals screaming.



Matt Wilko on his backhand was going beyond vertical and showing some of the best backhand surfing we have seen in a long time. Still waiting for Jordy's heat to be put up, but look out for it later today!