On the back of a stunning week, the two riders met in an explosive semi-final that saw King Kelly emerge victorious with a score of 15.10 pts to 7.83 for Jérémy Florès.
The 3rd place marks a superb start to the season for Jérémy Florès, and 2012 is already shaping up to be a fine year for the Frenchman. Jeremy Flores (FRA), 23, posted two massive wins today over lethal rookie John John Florence (AUS), 19, and form goofy-footer Owen Wright (AUS), 22. The young Frenchmen dissected the Bells walls with unmatched precision, but a priority interference in his Semifinal bout with Slater would see Flores bundled out with an Equal 3rd.
The 3rd place marks a superb start to the season for Jérémy Florès, and 2012 is already shaping up to be a fine year for the Frenchman.
"I'm disappointed with the result," Flores said. "I feel like I was surfing really well and I didn't agree with the interference call. That's surfing though so I just have to brush it off and focus on the next one."
In the final round, the American Kelly Slater displayed his full range of talent with a full-rotation aerial that earned him a magnificent 10/10. The legendary natural-footer backed it up moments later with an 8.07 to take the lead, but would only hold it briefly after an assault from Fanning.
"I was moving around trying to get active and I was just finding my feet," Slater said. "I knew Mick (Fanning) was going to be real patient. I knew he got that start and then I tried to talk to him and he put his serious head on and pissed me off, so I thought I'd throw a big rotator on him and it wasn't enough. That was pretty exciting for me. Even when he had the 9 and 8-something, I had a feeling I was in it. I felt like something good was going to come my way and it started to. I had one more chance and that was about it. I knew it was going to be a bit of a struggle with the waves out there, with the long intervals and long lulls, but that's just the way it goes."
America's 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater, meanwhile, qualified for the final where he found himself up against Australia's Mick Fanning. The Aussie finally edged a tight contest, winning by just 8 tenths of a point (18.80pts to 18.07 pts for Kelly Slater).
Slater's Runner-Up finish moves him back to the No. 1 spot on the ASP World Championship Tour ratings.
Posted by Quiksilver 2012-04-06 15:11:20