GRINDTVNEWSWIRE via ASP -SUPERTUBOS, Peniche/Portugal (Monday, October 11, 2010) - Supertubos turned on today with offshore three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) barrels for the world's best surfers to sink their fangs into as the Rip Curl Pro Portugal completed Rounds 1 and 2 of competition.

Event No. 8 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Portugal bore witness to the ASP Top 34 redefining progressive beachbreak surfing with a veritable cornucopia of barrels, power turns and aerials.

Adrian Buchan (AUS), 27, current ASP World No. 6, proved the form surfer of the day, netting the event's high heat total of an 18.00 out of a possible 20 for a series of deep forehand barrels and powerful turns.

"The conditions are pretty hit and miss today with some heats having lulls and others not," Buchan said. "We had really fun waves during that heat. It was really consistent and I was able to find a rhythm pretty quick. My equipment feels really good at the moment and I'm stoked to come back after a disappointing Round 1 heat yesterday with a strong performance today."

Coming off an Equal 3rd last week in France, Buchan is enjoying a solid momentum throughout the European leg and will look to capitalize through the remainder of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal.

"Definitely coming off of a good result in France gives me confidence here," Buchan said. "I'm having one of the better years I've had on tour and I'm looking to move from strength to strength. Everything is working really well for me at the moment and I love the waves here in Peniche. I would love to come away with a win."

Buchan will take on rookie Dusty Payne (HAW), 21, in Round 3 of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal.

Kelly Slater (USA), 38, former nine-time ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 1, survived his Round 2 bout against wildcard Bruno Santos (BRA), 27, this morning, dominating the shifting peaks to the raucous cheers of the thousands in attendance.

"The Portuguese fans are just so passionate," Slater said. "Tiago (Pires) is a national treasure here and every time he paddles out, the whole beach erupts. It's good to see. They love their surfing and that always makes us excited to perform."

Currently hunting down an unprecedented 10th ASP World Title, Slater maintains a focused approach to the job at hand.

"I just have to replicate what I've done so far this season," Slater said. "At the moment, I'm not in a position where I can afford to get throwaway results. If I want to improve my position at the moment, I have to do better than 9th. So it's still super close."

Slater faces Gabe Kling (USA), 30, in Round 3 of competition.

Jordy Smith (ZAF), 22, current ASP World No. 2, was another top seed to battle a wildcard today, besting Marlon Lipke (DEU), 26, with a comprehensive forehand attack on the righthanders.

"It was pretty challenging in my heat," Smith said. "It was hard to pick out the good ones and I kept finding myself out of position. Marlon (Lipke) obviously knows this wave really well, and at this level, everyone is dangerous. I was fortunate to grab a couple of mid-range scores and he was unable to get a decent second score."

"I'm just having fun and learning as I go," Smith said. "I'm still young and I have a ways to go before I'm at the same level as Kelly (Slater) and Mick (Fanning). The race (ASP World Title) isn't too far apart at the moment, but it's not too close either."

Smith draws Dean Morrison (AUS), 29, in his upcoming Rip Curl Pro Portugal match.

Brett Simpson (USA), 25, 2010 ASP World Tour rookie struck a brutal blow to Portuguese surfing enthusiasts in the final heat of the day, eliminating sole representative Tiago Pires (PRT), 30, from competition with an impressive display of hi-fi surfing.

"The conditions have changed so much since this morning," Simpson said. "We've gone from sucking barrels to really high-performance runners this afternoon. It was really fun but you have to be on your game and adapt pretty quick. Tiago (Pires) is so dangerous in any conditions and he obviously had a lot of support on the beach. It's a bummer to knock him out early, but I'm happy to move through to Round 3."

Simpson will take on fellow rookie Jadson Andre (BRA), 20, when competition resumes.

Travis Logie (ZAF), 31, current ASP World No. 34, caused a major upset this morning, eliminating current ASP World No. 5, Dane Reynolds (USA), 25, in Round 2 of competition. The South African goofy-footer adopted a frenzied approach, collecting a bevy of forehand barrel-to-turn combinations, leaving his Californian opponent behind.

"I've had really bad luck this season so far in terms of waves in my heat so it feels really good to get some good waves finally," Logie said. "You can never discount Dane (Reynolds) in a heat. I had him on the ropes and gave him a rubbish wave and he turned it into something. It's really good for my confidence and I definitely need to get some results here in the back three events of the year. It's really fun out there."

Logie will battle reigning ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS), 29, in Round 3 of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal.

When competition resumes, up first will be current ASP World No. 4 Taj Burrow (AUS), 32, up against Matt Wilkinson (AUS), 22, in the opening heat of Round 3.



Highlights from the Rip Curl Pro Portugal will be available via http://live.ripcurl.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL MEN'S REMAINING ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 10: Damien Hobgood (USA) 15.36, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 15.10, Luke Stedman (AUS) 13.27
Heat 11: Bobby Martinez (USA) 16.70, Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.94, Kai Otton (AUS) 6.93
Heat 12: Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.27, Andy Irons (HAW) 14.07, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.76

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL MEN'S ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.17 def. Bruno Santos (BRA) 7.30
Heat 2: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.80 def. Marlon Lipke (DEU) 11.63
Heat 3: Travis Logie (ZAF) 16.06 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 8.50
Heat 4: Dean Morrison (AUS) 13.67 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.43
Heat 5: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18.00 def. Luke Munro (AUS) 6.24
Heat 6: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.16 def. Roy Powers (HAW) 9.03
Heat 7: Michel Bourez (PYF) 12.93 def. Luke Stedman (AUS) 8.23
Heat 8: Kai Otton (AUS) 10.83 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 10.40
Heat 9: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.17 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 10.37
Heat 10: Daniel Ross (AUS) 12.03 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 10.17
Heat 11: Chris Davidson (AUS) 12.23 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 11.94
Heat 12: Brett Simpson (AUS) 14.27 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 10.17

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL MEN'S ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 2: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 4: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Tom Whitaker (AUS)
Heat 5: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 8: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 9: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 10: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 11: Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)

Day three of the Billabong Pro at J-Bay was another beauty, and a storybook one for the country of South Africa with Jordy Smith taking over the ASP ratings lead thanks to his buddy Sean Holmes, who is officially the most lethal wild card in ASP history now. On Saturday Holmes knocked out Kelly Slater and Andy Irons, clearing the path for Smith to take over.

All the highlights below starting with a quick wrap up package here. Followed by each of the Round Four heats.


The first big upset of the day was Sean Holmes beating 9-time world champion and current tour leader Kelly Slater. It was a wave starved heat, and Holmes, the ultimate J-Bay chess player, played his board just right to slip away with the win.


Damien Hobgood beat Mick Fanning, proving once again that he's one of the best backsiders around at Jeffreys. It couldn't have come at a better time for Hobgood, who's been struggling a bit of late. He entered J-Bay sitting in the 23 slot, dangerously close to the cutoff. Meanwhile, Mick has yet to find his world champion form.


Dane Reynolds beats Brett Simpson, ending Brett's best run so far this season. Brett looked like he was going to put up a fight early, but Dane motivated and turned in a solid performance.


Taj Burrow beats Tiago Pires, looking incredibly sharp on his equipment. Taj seems to be accelerating from 0 to 60 faster than anyone, and it's paying off for him. Taj is now nipping right at Jordy's heels.


Sean Holmes beat Andy Irons for the fourth time at J-Bay, just a few hours after sending Kelly Slater packing. Andy was livid after a water photographer got a little too close. If he can bottle the anger his comeback will get even more traction.


Bede Durbidge beat Matt Wilkinson, ending Wilko's best run so far in 2010. Wilko looked solid in his earlier rounds but the unshakable Durbidge was all business.


Jordy Smith beat Owen Wright in what was arguably one of the best fought heats of the round. Both surfers were in top form entering the heat, making it one of the most anticipated match ups of the event. They didn't disappoint either.


Adriano de Souza beat Ace Buchan in a slow moving heat that was a bit wave starved.

In a bit of a surprise Kelly Slater lost to Adrian "Ace" Buchan at the Quiksilver Pro France, or as I like to call it Boobs, Baguettes and Beach Breaks. Since I wasn't there, I'm in Vegas, here's what the ASP had to say about the final:

Hossegor, France (Wednesday, September 24, 2008) ? Adrian Buchan (AUS) has beaten eight-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) to win his first ever ASP World Tour event ? the Quiksilver Pro France ? in Hossegor, France today.

Buchan beat Slater 15.73 to 15.16 in a tight heat held at Les Bourdaines this afternoon. The final berth was the first of Buchan?s ASP World Tour career. Prior to winning the Quiksilver Pro France, Buchan he had never advanced from the quarterfinal round.

?I can?t believe it, to have Kelly in the final and to beat him, I am speechless,? Buchan said. ?He is my hero. I have watched him win five events this year ? he has just been phenomenal. He sets the bar so high for all of us guys, I am really thankful that surfing has got such a great custodian."

Had Buchan lost the heat, Slater would have clinched his ninth ASP World Title. Buchan led the heat for most of the 35-minute affair with Slater needing a very attainable 7.51 to change the situation. The eight-time ASP World Champion caught a wave with seconds to go but came up short.

?I tried not to think about it paddling out for the final,? Buchan said. ?I had visions of him winning the title but I just tried to focus on myself and what I had to do out there ? get two really good waves. Luckily Kelly did not get that one at the end."

Buchan, who has been on tour for three years, spent the first half of his rookie year injured. He earned an injury wildcard to compete on the tour in 2007 and finished the year rated 19th. He jumps to world No. 9 with this result.

?I have been injured so obviously doing well and to have a win today makes it all sweet,? Buchan said. ?My goal this year was to finish in the top 10 so we?ll see, we might have to take a look at reassessing that."

Slater dug deep in an effort to win his sixth event of the season, willing a last minute wave to pop up in the dying seconds. Despite needing a relatively small score, he was unable to pull out the last-minute comeback he?s renowned for.

?It?s cool that it came down to a wave in the end, at least it made it interesting,? Slater said. ?Truth is though, Ace was more in sync with it. He got those open face ones and did the turns. I had one wave I surfed pretty good on that I knew was going to get me back in it. Then I just needed a chance in the end but there wasn?t quite enough time ? I should have pushed for a 40-minute final.?

Slater only earned a 2.23 on the wave he caught with three seconds left. He will now have to wait until the next event in Mundaka to have another chance to clinch.

?I didn?t think I had the chance to win with that last ride,? Slater said. ?I would have been bummed if they gave me the score on it. Maybe people didn?t see it, but my foot came off, I didn?t make that 360 very clean and I didn?t really get above the lip on that air. Maybe if there would have been a punt section where I could have done a big air I could have possibly gotten the score, but I knew that score wasn?t going to be close. It?s frustrating though, to be so close ? literally one score away from winning the title. I guess at this point I?m two heat wins from winning the title.?

If Kelly finishes 9th or better in Mundaka he will win the world title. If he bows out with a 17th or 33rd and Mick Fanning (AUS) or Taj Burrow (AUS) win the event, the race continues until Brazil.

Slater beat Adriano de Souza (BRA) in the semifinals today. De Souza and Slater have now met eight times, with Slater getting the best of the Brazilian each time. De Souza moves to World No. 4 with the result.

?It is great to surf against Kelly,? de Souza said. ?He pushes my level further and forces you to put so much energy into the heat. I learned so much from this heat and I hope that next time I can get past that one. I am really proud. I came to Europe to get some really good results and I did already so I am really happy. Making the semis is a really good result for me so I hope I can keep it up and stay in the Top 10 ?that is my main focus this year.?

Buchan beat Damien Hobgood (USA) in the semifinals en route to his maiden victory.

"I never really had a stellar heat the whole contest, so that was kind of a bummer but I?m really stoked with this result and hopefully I can build some momentum,? Hobgood said. ?This is the result I needed to get my year started. It is a good start to the end of the year for me."

Hobgood moved from 31st to 26th on the ASP World Tour ratings with the result. Only the Top 27 ASP World Tour surfers at year?s end automatically requalify for the following year.

The ASP Top 45 will now head to Mundaka in the Basque Country of Spain for the ninth stop of 11 on the 2008 ASP World Tour.