by Greg
18. October 2011 15:31
Adriano de Souza has defeated Kelly Slater in the Rip Curl Pro Portugal. The event was held in epic surf at Supertubos, Peniche with surf ranging between 4-8 feet. This contest was one of the best events wave wise in the history of the ASP and although the final still had excellent waves, it was a bit of an anticlimax compared to the rest of the event where competitors were scoring 18+ heat totals.
The final was full of mind games as Adriano got off to a good start. Adriano held onto the lead the entire heat and despite a great fight back from Kelly Slater, the ocean, in coming tide and dropping swell was against him.
Adriano’s win has moved him into 3rd place on the World Ratings but the big news is that Kelly Slater’s 2nd place finish has moved him that much closer to his 11th World Title. Slater will only need to finish 9th or better in the upcoming event to seal another World title, so you can pretty much start engraving his name on the trophy again!
Kelly Slater was for me once again the standout of the event but the surfer who caught my eye was young John John Florence. John John is an amazing tube rider as we saw at 10 foot Ballito during the MR Price Pro, but he once again displayed that brilliance as he took down World number 2 Owen Wright. John John ended up loosing to Bede Durbidge is a closely contested round 5 heat, but we are sure to hear a lot more from this Hawaiian kid!
South Africans Jordy Smith and Travis Logie both went down in round 3. Jordy is still not 100 percent after dislocating his rib and lost out to Fred Patachia while Travis lost to the winner of the event Adriano de Souza.
The next event is the Rip Curl Search San Francisco from 1 – 12 November.
Greg Emslie