Top surfers take an early lead in the latest season of ASP World Tour
The latest season of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title Series has already gotten done with its first two stops and once again the action has been mind-blowing.
There have been a series of exquisite performances from the top surfers in some of the most exciting beaches and best waves in the world. Taking each other on for the coveted ASP World Title, the surfing elite from around the globe held nothing back as they
sought to build momentum from the very start of the campaign.
Intense heats and high-level action is the only thing that is expected of competitions with the likes of 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater and two-time ASP World Champion Mick Fanning in the field.
A week prior to the first stop of the ASP World Tour, Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, there was hardly anyone who could say with certainty whether Slater planned on pursuing his 12th ASP World Title. The defending champion had revealed that he was
really fond of the waves at Snapper Rocks and was not going to miss an opportunity to compete against the top talent from around the globe in such promising conditions, but he stayed mum on his plans for the future.
With Slater in the competition line-up, Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast turned out to be as exciting as ever. The ASP World Tour veterans, sophomores and rookies all put on great performances and made each other work hard for the slightest share of success.
Australia’s Taj Burrow and Brazil’s Adriano de Souza in particular were spectacular during Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast. The Australian talent is renowned as one of the most consistent surfer in the world and he lived up to his reputation by coming down hard
on his competition to eventually walk away with the event title.
De Souza made it into the Final at the opening stop of the 2012 ASP World Tour as well, apparently still in the same intimidating form that he had exhibited during the last season.
Slater, Australia’s Josh Kerr, Joel Parkinson and Owen Wright, South Africa’s Jordy Smith and a few other surfers also put on standout performances and eventually finished in top-five.
The second stop of ASP World Tour brought the surfers to Bells Beach for the Rip Curl Pro. Once again, the crowd expected the showdown between the surfers to be nothing short of epic, something that eventually totally lived up to.
The defending event champion Parkinson was determined to put on a success title defence and came close to doing that successfully after putting on a series of enthralling performances. However, he was forced to make a premature exit from the event after
faltering in the Semi-final.
The two biggest standout performers at Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach were Slater and Fanning. Both the surfers had a huge arsenal full of technical tricks, superb skills and immense experience, which they displayed during their heats to amass victories and slowly
move towards the Final.
Pitted against each other in a battle for the event-title, the defending and former ASP World Champion put up a breath-taking performance in a 35-minute heat. They both proved that they were still a force to be reckoned with, especially Slater who had turned
40 at the start of this year.
The exciting match-up concluded with Fanning defeating his Florida-based rival to claim top honours.
France’s Jeremy Flores and Australia's Kai Otton were pretty impressive during the event as well, making it into the final stages of the competition before getting eliminated.
Hawaii’s John John Florence and Brazil’s Gabriel Medina were failing to make the sort of impact that was expected of them, though they still have plenty of opportunity to bounce back and even go as far as competition for the ASP World Tour Title.
The elite tour season is still pretty-much open-ended, capable of going in any direction since some of the top performers at Gold Coast failed to on striking performance at Bells Beach.
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