Kelly Slater defeats Joel Parkinson to lift 2012 Hurley Pro Title

American surfing legend Kelly Slater claimed top honours at Hurley Pro, the sixth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after getting the better of Australia’s Joel Parkinson in the final that took place at Lower Trestles in California, America, on Thursday, September 20.

The latest victory marked the 50th elite tour win in the career of the reigning 11-time ASP World Champion, a record that alone sets him apart from his fellow surfers.

It encounter between the two surfing heavy-weights turned out to be a fitting climax to what had been a week full of breath-taking performances by some of the best surfing talent from around the globe.

The 40-year-old Slater had been looking dangerous since the start of the event, feeling right at home in the waves on offer at the iconic beach-break of Lower Trestles. The familiarity with the waves combined with his surfing prowess to result in one phenomenal performance after another, allowing him to survive a series of challenges to eventually reach the final.

Parkinson, on the other hand, had been looking just as formidable as the other finalist throughout the event. The heats over the past few days had not been easy as the competition field comprised of formidable surfing talent. However, he had done extremely well to hold his own and performed consistently to earn a shot at the title.

As the final got underway, both the surfers got off to solid start, but Slater soon got an upper hand over his rival with an impressive 7.83-point ride.

Parkinson was quick to rise up to the challenge and responded with a marvellous 8.33-point ride, thus snatching the lead from his rival. However, this turned out to be the only high-point of his performance in the final as he failed to back it up with a score higher than 5.67 points, which caused him to settle for a heat-total of 14.00 points.

The opportunity was there for Slater to clinch a comfortable victory and that is exactly what he did after locking his second business-wave in the later stages of the battle to unload a fresh set of exciting tricks, this time earning an average of 8.67 points from the judges and therefore reaching a decisive heat-total of 16.50 points.

“I knew that heat would either make or break me for the year,” Slater said. “I would have let Parko have those extra 2,000 points if he’d won 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.”

The 2012 ASP World Championship Tour action will continue with stop No. 7, Quiksilver Pro France, which is scheduled to run from September 28 through October 8.

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Posted by Muhammad Qasim Hassan on Sep 25 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.