John John Florence and Joel Parkinson (AKA Parko) are two of the hottest names on the ASP World Championship Tour this year. With Parko now sitting comfortably in 3rd place and John John in 14th place, they are certainly drawing some attention on the tour this year. During the previous Oakley Pro Bali, which just wrapped up last week, these two goliaths went up against one another in an unbelievable heat match.
The 4-5 foot swells made for ideal surfing conditions, allowing Parko and John John to really impress the judges by showing their stuff. First up during the heat was John John, and it didn’t take long for him to barrel through the waves using his signature speed and stance. The judges were certainly impressed with his first wave, giving him an 8.33.
Of course, Parko didn’t let Florence’s score phase him one bit. The Australian-borne veteran came powering through on a long wave while hitting all the right notes. He maintained near-perfect posture and balance throughout the entire wave. The judges gave Parko’s first run a solid 9.00. With two high scores already this early into the heat, spectators knew it was going to be a close match.
It looked like something clicked in Parko’s ability after running through the first wave. Coming into his second run, Parko ran through and on top of a 4-foot wave, giving him an even higher score of a 9.27. John John responded strong with an impressive barrel run, generating a 9.73 by the judges. Although John John’s next run wasn’t quite as impressive, he still managed to come away with a 9.47.
These two guys were truly battling it out during this heat match at the Oakley Pro Bali. But the fireworks really began when Parko hit a perfect 10 by flawlessly running through a barrel. It was a beautiful surf that was well-deserving of a 10 score. As if a perfect 10 wasn’t enough, Parko found another nice wave that he was able to flawlessly surf yet again. The judges took notice of his ability and gave him another perfect 10 score.
The heat match between John John Florence and Joel Parkinson was a neck-and-neck battle, but Parko eventually came away with the win for the heat and the event. He was awarded 10,000 points and $75,000 for his first-place win. With those extra 10k points added to his standings, Parko jumped up to 3rd place in the ASP World Championship Tour standings.