It was a clash of titans: the two best surfers in these last years of pro surfing confronted for an epic final. It was after all what many experts considered to be the best final in the history of surfing. Mick Fanning, the australian thunder claimed a deserved victory over the best surfer of all time, Kelly Slater.
This win marks the 14th victory by Fanning in the pro circuit, and the first win since 2001 in Bells Beach. Unfortunate to share the same surf era with Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning is not so bad when it comes to count the results in the heat matchup history between the two surfers: 7 wins for the ozzie and 8 wins for the american.
To the events official site Mick Fanning revealed what he felt at the moment of winning."I am just stoked because it is been so long. It does not seem strange that it has taken so long to win another one when you have got other guys like Joel Parkinson, Jordy Smith and Kelly Slater on tour and I usually come up just a bit short. Usually against Joel, but I got him today!".
There was big controversy tough on Fannings victory. Kelly made a perfect 10 air 360 in the final and decisive heat and many fans considered the result injust for the american.
Check out a video that sums up the incredible heat
Here are the complete results:
RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.80
2 – Kelly Slater (USA) 18.07
RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.10 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 7.83
SF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) def. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.06 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 13.66
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.97 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 16.10
QF 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.00 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 10.27
QF 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.63 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.63
RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.93 def. John John Florence (HAW) 14.00
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 17.40 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.36
Heat 3: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.27 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 12.90
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.27 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 9.04
CURRENT ASP TOP 3 (After Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach):
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 13,200 pts
2. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12,000 pts
3. Taj Burrow (AUS) 11,750 pts
3. Mick Fanning (AUS) 11,750 pts
RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sarah Mason (NZL) 15.84 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 13.94
Heat 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 17.17 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 8.90
Heat 3: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.77 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.50
Heat 4: Lakey Peterson (USA) 15.43 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 11.73
RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Sarah Mason (NZL)
QF 2: Malia Manuel (HAW) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
QF 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Coco Ho (HAW)
QF 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA)