Seven year ASP tour veteran Kai Otton won his first ever world championship event, edging out California youngster Nat Young. The final in Portugal was held in 3-5ft. Supertubos, with the 33-year-old Otton topping the tour rookie, 12.23 to 11.03. On his way to the podium, Otton took out two former ASP world champs: Mick Fanning in the quarterfinals and Joel Parkinson in the semis. Fanning’s loss to Otton killed his chances of clinching this year’s title in Portugal, setting up a showdown with #2 ranked Kelly Slater in Hawaii to decide who takes home the ASP World Championship in 2013. Following his runner-up finish in Portugal, Young was named 2013 ASP Rookie of the Year.
Day One:
The Rip Curl Pro Portugal got underway on the first day of the waiting period, with a decent but fading WNW swell producing should-to-head high waves. Both Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning were forced into Round Two heats following poor opening performances. Meanwhile, Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow, Kai Otton, Jordy Smith, and John John Florence all emerged victorious in their first round heats.
Day Two:
The story of day two was the early exit of Kelly Slater, who is currently sitting in second place in the WCT rankings and was expected to push Fanning for the title in Portugal. Instead, Slater was eliminated by ASP World #96 Frederico Morais. Following his defeat, the surf media was ablaze with speculation over what the uncharacteristic loss might mean for the future of the 41-year-old Slater, and whether or not Fanning would be able to capitalize and seal the world title in Portugal. For his part, Fanning defeated Portuguese wildcard Francisco Alves in choppy, deteriorating surf, advancing to Round 3.
Julian Wilson’s massive alley-oop was the talk of day three, which drew immediate comparisons to John John’s similar huck in Bali back in June. Both maneuvers earned the surfers perfect 10’s in their respective heats. Mick Fanning advanced to Round 4 with a victory over Justin Wilcox, the 16-year-old Aussie who was responsible for sending Slater to Round 2 on the first day of competition. While most of the Round 3 scores were close, Julian Wilson, John John Florence, Nat Young, and Miguel Pupo managed to win big in their heats.
Day Four :
Throughout the final day of competition, Otton was on top of his game, defeating currently top-ranked Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson on his way to the final. En route to facing Otton, Nat Young defeated Australian Josh Kerr, South African title contender Jordy Smith, and fellow WCT rookie Sebastian “Seabass” Zietz. The second place finish matches Young’s best tour result of the year (runner-up in April’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach), while the victory was Kai Otton’s first as a member of the ASP World Championship Tour.