Jordy Smith has conquered the Billabong Pro Rio 2013, in clean two-to-four foot (1 meter) waves, at the primary site of Barra da Tijuca, in front of thousands of surf fans.
The best ocean conditions of the entire Billabong Pro Rio 2013 came in the finals' day, with Jordy Smith beating Adriano de Souza in the last heat of the last day of the event waiting period.
Win it or break it. Adriano de Souza and Jordy Smith were up and riding with different trumps under their belts. The Brazilian wanted another home win and Jordy was surfing for the first victory of his ASP World Tour career, in foreign waters.
Mineirinho opened the final with two clean, sharp and hard-working waves. Smith answered with two great waves and the challenge was on. The South African was focused and clearly aiming to make history in Rio de Janeiro. Big win with a total of 17.80 points.
"This win feels unbelievable. It's another dream come true. I knew I could win a World Tour event, but I had to prove to myself that I could do it away from South Africa. Thanks to crowd and Adriano. He’s been ripping the whole event", says Smith, who moves to number two in the rankings.
The first Quarterfinal saw a classic clash. Adriano de Souza, local Brazilian star, versus Kelly Slater, the water splasher who's getting back to the thruster quiver.
De Souza opened with an excellent ride scored with 8.5 points. After a floater exchange, de Souza kept Slater against the ropes of combo land. In the last minutes, needing a 7.84, Slater waited and waited for a miracle wave, but Mineirinho ended up hailed by the crowd.
Gabriel Medina got things started with a 10-point ride: barrel and frontside air. Easy. The problem was an incomprehensible and strange potential interference on Adrian "Ace" Buchan. How could Medina destroy his pristine heat with such a naive mistake? Fortunately for him, judges decided in the Brazilian's favour. He had priority.
Sebastian Zietz and Mick Fanning came next, in smaller summer waves. Despite the tight, low-scoring battle, the Australian went through to the Semifinal. The Felipe Toledo show opened with an alley-oop and floater against Jordy Smith's barrels.
Drama set the first Semifinal, as Adriano de Souza defeated Gabriel Medina by a mere 0.14 points. The aerial 360s payed off when Jordy Smith eclipsed Mick Fanning in Semifinal number two.
Billabong Pro Rio 2013 | Final
Jordy Smith (ZAF), 17.80 vs Adriano de Souza (BRA), 16.34