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Gabriel Medina has taken the 2012 Nike Lowers Pro after defeating veteran campaigner Glenn Hall, in two-to-four foot waves at Lower Trestles.
The win earns him a $40,000 paycheck, a 14-karat solid-gold spike and major ASP World Ranking points.
"This is a very special win and it has been a long week," Medina said. "I’m going to Brazil now with more confidence and this has been great." Watch the final highlights.
Medina’s run at the Nike Lowers Pro was one of complete dominance, as the young Brazilian earned several of the event’s top scores including the only flawless 10-point ride.
"I love Trestles so much," Medina said. "It’s just such a good wave and it’s one of my favorites, I just don’t even have words to explain how I’m feeling right now. I’m stoked."
Glenn Hall proved to be the dark-horse of the event, consistently putting on solid performances on both his forehand and backhand to top ASP World Championship Tour surfers Jeremy Flores, 24, and John John Florence, 19, on his way to the final, but was unable to surpass Medina, finishing runner-up overall.
"It’s Lowers, it can turn on or off at any time in the day. You kind of have to be on to it and luck has to go your way as well," Hall said. "I had a few lucky heats earlier in the event and that heat was funny with Gabriel. I thought we were going to have an interference in the beginning and they didn’t call it, but it’s all good though. He surfed well and he won."
Hall, who has been knocking on the door for elite ASP World Championship Tour qualification for several years, is hoping his result at the Nike Lowers Pro kick-starts his qualification campaign for 2013.
"This is a great result for sure," Hall said. "The way the system is now, if you don’t get results in Prime events, you don’t qualify, so I’m relieved with this result and am in a good position to try and qualify now. I’m going to do all of the Primes and see how we go."
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