Adriano de Souza defeats Nat Young to claim 2013 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach title
Brazil’s Adriano de Souza took out the second of ten stops on the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship, 2013 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford, after getting the better of America’s Nat Young in the final that went
down at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.
The Brazilian surfer, a seasoned ASP World Tour campaigner, was pushed to the limit by his young opponent, an ASP Dream Tour rookie, but eventually managed to managed to walk away with the coveted win, becoming the first South African man in the 52-year
history of the event to claim the men’s title.
“This is the most important event on tour to me,” De Souza said. “Guys like Andy Irons, Kelly Slater, my hero Mick Fanning, they have all rung the Bell. I have been coming here a lot of years. I love the place. It has been a tough time for me recently. I
started 2013 without a sponsor for the first time in many years. I had to believe in myself that a company would believe in me and one did. I have to say thanks to Pena for believing in me. I have a lot of people to thank, but all I want to do right now is
ring the bell.”
Both De Souza and Young had been in prime form throughout the course of the event and continued to come off as a formidable force on the final day of the event.
Young defeated Australia’s Taj Burrow, while De Souza got the better of South Africa’s Jordy Smith in the first and second semi-finals respectively to make their way into the final where they took each other on in the battle for the overall win.
Making it into the final of an elite tour was a big achievement in itself for Young, but the 21-year-old Young gave it his all to make the occasion a memorable one.
Young put on a solid performance, netting a couple of big scores to eventually finish with a heat-total of 15.83 points.
De Souza was clearly taken by surprise as his opponent showed a lot of grit, but eventually managed to take control of the situation by landing an excellent performance of his own. The 25-year-old Brazilian force got hold of two of the best waves during
the course of the heat to finish with a heat-total of 16.26 points.
The score was sufficient to take him ahead of Young on the score-board, consequently sealing the fate of the heat and thus the event in his favour.
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