Boost Mobile Pro of Surf
Presented by Hurley

ASP World Championship Tour Event #6
Lower Trestles San Clemente California
9 - 15 September 2007

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc 

SLATER WINS BOOST MOBILE PRO – BREAKS WORLD RECORD      

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 15 September, 2007 : - - Lower Trestles -- Reigning and 8X Foster’s ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) has won his first event in over a year, moved to current World No. 2, and broke a world record after beating Pancho Sullivan (HAW) in the Final of the 2007 Boost Mobile Pro presented by Hurley today.

“It’ll be nice to go and sit down and think about this one,” Slater said. “This will be a neat little tournament for my career. I’m a little bummed because I didn’t feel like I capitalized on the waves I had, and it was frustrating, but just to get that win was important. We had similar conditions to 1990 when I won out here, so it was pretty magical.”

The victory marks Slater’s 34th ASP World Tour win and earns him the record for the most elite tour event victories in history.  Former three-time ASP World Champion Tom Curren (USA) set the record with his 33rd event win 16 years ago.  Slater tied Curren with his 2006 Bells Beach victory and, despite featuring in four finals in the 16 months since, hadn’t broken the record until today.

“Part of me is kind of sad,” Slater said. “I was hoping Tom and I would end up on the same number forever, but somebody is bound to come along and get to where I got. You’ve got to surf to the standards, but someone else is always going to be coming along that has the time and desire.”

Kelly Slater : photo Towner/ASP Covered Images

Slater has been in the last four Boost Mobile Pro finals. He finished runner-up in 2004 and 2006, and claimed wins in 2007 and in 2005. His win today puts him 230 points behind Foster’s ASP ratings leader Mick Fanning (AUS) and has positioned him as a strong contender for the 2007 World Title.

“Now I’ve almost got as many points as I had accrued last year,” Slater said. “I didn’t think I was that intensely focused this week, I felt calm and happy. We’ll see what happens in France. After this I could really capitalize on everything.”

Sullivan, who is into his sophomore year on tour, posted his best result to date with his runner-up finish to Slater.  The powerful Hawaiian was a standout performer on the final day of competition, besting Neco Padaratz (BRA), Troy Brooks (AUS) and Jeremy Flores (FRA) on his way to meeting Slater in the Final. He needed a medium-scoring ride – a 6.98 – to take the heat from Slater.

“It was a little frustrating, especially needing such a small score at the end and having priority and not being able to do anything, but that’s the surfing competition,” Sullivan said. “I still made it to the Final and hopefully I can carry some momentum into Europe and keep improving. It was really inconsistent but there were a few moments where we saw some spectacular surfing. I think all in all it turned out to be a great event.”

Pancho Sullivan : photo Rowland/ASP Covered Images

Sullivan has jumped eight spots from World No. 16 to World No. 8 with his runner-up finish today.

“I feel really good to get a good strong result like this,” Sullivan said. “I feel like my preparation was really good, I’ve been to every event this year and my scores have been really good. I felt it was just a matter of time before everything clicked. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a really good opportunity in the Final, but next week is another event and hopefully I can keep going.”

Flores, 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour rookie, put in a stunning finals day performance, attacking the roping Lowers righthanders with style, punch and bite.  The Frenchman dispatched of Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) and C.J. Hobgood (USA) en route to his first career Semifinal berth and 3rd place finish.

“I was so happy until that heat; it was the best result of my life,” Flores said. “I have been having the best time of my life. That was the worst way to lose, the worst way. I actually had a good wave, a real fun wave, and I surfed it bad the whole way. I couldn’t believe it, the waves were so good before my heat that I was jumping around, feeling so lucky that I was going to be able to surf man on man in those conditions. I was so, so stoked.”

Jeremy Flores : photo Towner/ASP Covered Images

Despite going down to Sullivan in the Semifinal, Flores has jumped to 9th on the Foster’s ASP World Tour – a move that puts him as the highest-rated rookie on the 2007 tour. Kai Otton (AUS) and Ben Dunn (AUS), rated 18th and 19th respectively, are his closest ‘Rookie of the Year’ competition.

Tom Whitaker (AUS) had to fend off countrymen Shaun Cansdell (AUS) and Ben Dunn (AUS) to meet Slater in the Semifinals, but the fleet-footed Australian was unable to match the Champ’s prowess.

“It’s disappointing, but its fun to surf against Kelly,” Whitaker said. “You’ve got to bring your A-game. He looks at waves that you think he should get a 6.0 or 7.0 but he makes them 8.0s and 9.0s. I caught a couple of edges and didn’t get my way.”

Whitaker’s equal 3rd finish today is a far cry from the two 33rd (last place) results he posted at the two world tour events previous to the Boost Mobile Pro. He’s moved to World No. 15 after the result.  “I dropped one of those 3s off the end of a 33rd, those were terrible,” Whitaker said. “It’s good to start the second half of the year off like that.” The next stop on the Foster’s ASP World Tour will be the Quiksilver Pro France running from Sept. 20-30, 2007.

For more information, log on to www.aspworldtour.com.

Taylor Knox : photo Towner/ASP Covered Images

FINAL:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 13.40
2 – Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 10.60

BOOST MOBILE PRO SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 15.24 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 5.33
SF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.83 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 10.33

BOOST MOBILE PRO QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 11.17 def. Troy Brooks (AUS) 8.00
QF 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.17 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.67
QF 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.60 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 16.67
QF 4: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 15.83 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 14.93

BOOST MOBILE PRO ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Troy Brooks (AUS) 14.00 def. Chris Ward (USA) 11.40
Heat 2: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 13.47 def. Neco Padaratz (BRA) 11.17
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.94 def. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 9.83
Heat 4: C.J Hobgood (USA) 17.57 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 9.23
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.74 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 8.50
Heat 6: Taylor Knox (USA) 15.90 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.67
Heat 7: Ben Dunn (AUS) 9.67 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 7.40
Heat 8: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 16.77 def. Shaun Cansdell (AUS) 12.93

Foster’s ASP World Tour Ratings after Stop No. 6 the Boost Mobile Pro pres. by Hurley
1. Mick Fanning (AUS) 5270
2. Kelly Slater (USA)  5040
3. Taj Burrow (AUS)  4511
4. Andy Irons (HAW)  4331
5. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 4029
6. Damien Hobgood (USA) 3824
7. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 3467
8. Pancho Sullivan (HAW)  3462
9. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 3438
10. Dean Morrison (AUS) 3248

- Images from Saturday -

- More images from Saturday -  

 

 
About ASP
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster’s ASP World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships.

The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world’s best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America.

About Foster’s Group
Foster’s Group is a premium global drinks company delivering a portfolio of beer, wine, spirits, cider and non-alcoholic beverages. The Foster’s network spans three regions: 1) Australia, Asia and Pacific, 2) Americas and 3) Europe, Middle East and Africa. Foster’s has been the naming rights Title sponsor of the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour since 2004. Foster’s Lager is the official beer of the tour and is the world’s seventh largest international beer brand - available in 155 countries.  

Previous reports:
# 1 : Boost Mobile Pro of Surf secures seven day wait period
# 2 : Boost Mobile Pro presented by Hurley finalizes wildcards
# 3 : Boost Mobile Pro by Hurley goes live worldwide Sept 9-15

# 4 : Boost Mobile Pro of Surf and Fantasysurfer.com hook up 
# 5 : Boost Mobile Pro starts Sunday - Hobgood out, Garcia in  
# 6 : Slater, Fanning, Flores set the pace at Boost Mobile Pro.   

# 7 : Lay day on Monday for Boost Mobile Pro of Surf by Hurley 
# 8 : Boost Mobile Pro lay day, Round 2 looks good for Weds
# 9 : Wildcards rock round two of Boost Mobile Pro by Hurley
# 10 : Hurley's Keys to the Continent runs at Boost Mobile Pro

www.hurley.com
www.boostmobile.com
www.aspworldtour.com
www.boostmobilepro.com

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