And the world title race tightens up!
The Quiksilver Pro ended moments ago with your champion, Gabriel Medina, being walked up the beach atop a throne built of countrymen. They shouted, “Long live the champ! Long live the champ!” it can be assumed, in Portuguese.
The final pitted Medina contra Bede Durbidge and it seemed a touch unfair. Bede found himself an alien-resident in the bleak country known to WSL announcers as “Comboland” from the start. At the end he tried to punt and flopped, helplessly, into the lip.
Gabriel caught the next wave of the set and boosted, effortlessly, into a hands free full rotation and landed like he never even took off, twisting the knife as it were. Was Bede, bobbing in the whitewash, totally gutted or relieved do you think? Did he feel, “Whew. I never even had a chance. I am a yeoman and fought the good fight and now, mercifully, it is over…”? Or did he feel, “Shit…”?
Whatever the case, the changing of the guard is well under way except maybe it is not. Michael Eugene Fanning still holds the number one spot with just two events remaining. Adriano de Souza is hot on his heels, only 450 points behind and both come from a different era. They come from Bede’s era.
Let the generational struggle continue!
(Watch the final here!)
(And final’s day highlights here!)
WSL Men’s Top 10 (after Quiksilver Pro France):
1. Mick Fanning (AUS) 49,900 pts
2. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 49,450 pts
3. Owen Wright (AUS) 43,600 pts
4. Julian Wilson (AUS) 41,450 pts
5. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 40,650 pts
6. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 40,200 pts
7. Kelly Slater (USA) 34,150 pts
8. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 34,100 pts
9. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 33,000 pts
10. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 31,200 pts
I have no idea why, but Medina could colonize Mars and I still wouldn’t care what he does. Maybe because he’d claim it super hard, maybe…I don’t know.
Joyce, Gabs and Toledo a little closer that they appear, on adjusted points, dropping 25ths. if my 3 unit maths is still any good. First to click bait with adjusted rankings would haul in the UVs I would have thought.
Not a bad event for Medina. For John John, otherwise… meltdown all the way to Portugal.
Adriano just keeps hanging in there doesn’t he. i don’t love him or his surfing but i hope he pulls this off, the internet meltdown would be all time.
ADS and Mick should be disqualified from the title race until they pull a rotation like Gabs layed down in that final. They don’t have to do his 10 from a few days ago, but the world champ should be able to do airs at a sufficient level.
Im sure Bede just chuckles to himself and thinks Oh Yeah, locked me in another year on tour…
like a tenured professor, just good enough.
They actually shouted “go left, go left”. Where they talking about Portugal and Pipe? Who knows…