It’s not easy staying up until 3 AM PST to watch surf contests on the other side of the world, but that’s just what we did last night as the Billabong Pro wrapped up at South Africa’s J-Bay.
First off, we have never seen a more amazingly produced Internet broadcast. The replays, multiple camera angles, beach interviews, graphics, commercials, and especially the commentary were all mind-blowingly tight. Billabong showed the rest of the world what online sports event coverage is supposed to look like.
At the same time, during last night’s action, Kelly Slater showed that his chess-game style competitive attack is unbeatable. In each of his quarters, semis, and final heats the 36 year old went out and surfed J-Bay perfectly. Going out early to get solid scores on the board, and then choosing waves like a master tactician he dominated current World Champ Mick Fanning, in the final to win his fourth event on this years WCT tour.
Slater beat Fanning 16.73 to 9.40 in the Billabong Pro Final. While conditions early this morning were clean and six foot (two metre), onshore winds made the semifinal and final tricky. . . . “I didn’t realize I was going to be overwhelmed by it, but I haven’t been in this position before, at this point of the year, with this many wins,” Slater said. “There are great things going on in my life so I’m just trying to soak it up and be appreciative.”
Oh yeah, about that number nine, number nine, number nine”
“I’d like to think I have it the bag but I have to be realistic, it’s early on – we’re not quite half way yet,” Slater said. “We have 11 events this year and this is number five. Last year at this point I was looking at Mick [Fanning] that way. He had a first, a couple seconds and a third so I’d imagine being on the same side of that coin and looking at someone with four firsts and a throwaway is probably tough to look at.”
Congrats to Kelly. To watch the complete finals (and the rest of last night’s action) click the link below and select VIDEO.
[Link: Billabong Pro]
