Billabong just released this clip from their STILL FILTHY sessions down in Mexico. Warm clear water, perfect weather, and some of the longest winding tube sections on earth... Viva Mexico! Lucky youngsters Sterling Spencer, Granger Larsen, Torrey Meister, and Kolohe Andino score beyond belief..



Do you like Barrels? from Billabong USA on Vimeo.

In a recent interview posted on his blog, Joel Parkinson said "...being world number one coming into Tahiti isn't all beer and skittles because you generally get Manoa." Quite a compliment to hear coming from Parko, that he'd rather not be leading the world title race, just because it means facing Tahitian wildcards like Manoa Drollet. "You know you're going to get Manoa or Heiarii and they know the place so well its going to be hard. I've been beaten by wildcards so many times it's not funny." 

Tahitian born Manoa Drollet has been the standout surfer at Teahupoo for years, winning the Von Zipper Trials in 2005 and 2007, and has beaten just about everyone at his home break.  

In 2008 he beat Kelly Slater in round 3 on his way to making the final in the event, eventually placing second behind Bruno Santos. His freesurfing antics at Teahupoo are legendary, as evidenced by the news clip below. 



In the same interview, Parko went on to say "..the Tahitian guys thrive when the guy they surf against doesn't know their spot as well as them, they sense it and they lift." This was very evident this year as Manoa took out current ratings leader Jordy Smith in round 3 with critical wave selection and confident tube rides. That performance came the day after he did the exact same thing to current world number 2 Taj Burrow in round 2. Both heats saw Drollet display patience and superior wave selection to pick off the best tubes on offer. The fact is, Manoa wouldnt stand a chance in a heat against Kelly, Taj, or Jordy if it came down to performance, and he knows that. Luckily, Teahupoo is a wave that is scored on the tube, so performance is often secondary. All the turns in the world arent going to beat a gaping Teahupoo pit. 

 Some have even argued that wildcards should be done away with or at least seeded differently, as it creates a severe disadvantage to the top seeded surfers. Many tour stops have local wildcards that almost always cause problems for the top seeds: Adam Robertson at Bells, Sean Holmes at J-bay, Manoa at Tahiti, and the entire pipeline posse in Hawaii.  Would you rather surf against Marco polo or Jamie O'brien at Pipeline? Silly question, but at Pipeline the local specialists are seeded just below the lowest ranked surfer on tour. Since the system is designed to reward the top surfers by always matching them with the lowest seeds in the round, the system is inherently flawed if the last 2 seeded surfers are as dangerous as anyone in the entire event. When it comes to the top surfers leading the points race going into events such as Tahiti and especially Pipeline, such wildcard matchups can mean the world title. On the other hand, the local surfers do deserve the right to surf their home break when the circus comes to town. Either way, the point is: try not to draw Manoa Drollet at Teahupoo.

GRINDTVNEWSWIRE - TEAHUPOO, Taiarapu/Tahiti (Wednesday, September 1, 2010) ­ The idyllic
conditions of the past two days were washed away this morning under heavy
south wind and rain, forcing the Billabong Pro Tahiti to call competition
off after completing the remaining four heats of Round 3.

Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti is
both a pivotal point in the hunt for the 2010 ASP World Title as well as the
midyear field reduction; the latter of which was completed today.

Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 24, 2010 ASP Dream Tour rookie, punctuated the
morning¹s action, executing an incredible Rodeo Flip in the dying moments of
his Round 3 heat to overtake Chris Davidson (AUS), 33, and advance through
to Round 4.

"It was really tough out there," Gudauskas said. "There weren¹t a lot of
waves coming through and I didn¹t know if I should wait for the good ones or
if there were even any good ones left. I knew I needed to go big at the end
there so I thought, whatever, I¹ll just try this¹. It had a really nice
section and when I came out of the rotation, I knew I had it so I just kind
of rode out and gave the judges a little thumbs up."

The Califonian¹s advancement to Round 4 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti
guarantees an Equal 9th, a career best, and rockets him from No. 32 to No.
24 on the ASP World Title Race rankings.

"My mind is still here for the moment," Gudauskas said. "But it¹s been my
dream of mine since I can remember to surf at this level at home and at
Pipe, and I¹m over the moon. First and foremost though, focus remains here."

Mick Fanning (AUS), 29, reigning ASP World Champion and current ASP World
No. 6, has been in impressive form all season, but has yet to recapture the
dominance shown late last season. The Australian remains calm when
discussing his ASP World Title defence, citing last year as an example.

"It¹s still early days," Fanning said. "I¹m holding a couple throwaways
already this season so I need to start looking at putting in results. It¹s
not all that different to last season really. Anyone can get on a roll at
any time and put a few events away. I just need to stay focused on each heat
and surf my best."

Andy Irons (HAW), 32, past three-time ASP World Champion and former winner
at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, survived a hard-fought heat with high-flying
rookie Matt Wilkinson (AUS), 21, in deteriorating conditions this morning.

"I just tried to catch a lot of waves," Irons said. "It was real stormy. So
I just tried to catch a bunch of waves and stay busy. That kid (Wilkinson)
is really wild, he can throw big airs and I knew he could blow the heat wide
open with one wave. It was a close one."

Damien Hobgood (USA), 31, current ASP World No. 13, finalized the ASP
midyear cut-off today, eliminating rookie Marco Polo (BRA), 29, in a
tightly-fought Round 3 heat.

"It was really close," Hobgood said. "Marco (Polo) beat Bobby (Martinez)
here the other day ­ anyone can beat anyone out there. I was hoping for more
barrels so it would favour me, but it¹s just really small. I¹m lucky to get
through out there. I knew it could potentially be like this. I hope we get
some fun waves in the last few days."

With the elimination of Polo, the ASP¹s midyear field reduction is complete.
The following 13 surfers have been relegated back to the ASP PRIME and Star
events:

- Drew Courtney (AUS), 31
- Neco Padaratz (BRA), 34
- Tanner Gudauskas (USA), 22
- Mick Campbell (AUS), 34
- Kieren Perrow (AUS), 33
- Tom Whitaker (AUS), 30
- Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), 25
- Blake Thornton (AUS), 25
- Dean Morrison (AUS), 29
- Jay Thompson (AUS), 28
- Nate Yeomans (USA), 29
- Ben Dunn (AUS), 24
- Marco Polo (BRA), 29

Moving forward, the ASP World Title events will have 36-man fields comprised
of the ASP Top 34 (Top 32 finishers after five events plus two surfer
wildcards) and two event wildcards.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow at 6am to assess conditions for a
possible 6:30am start.

When competition resumes, up first will be Dane Reynolds (USA), 24, against
C.J. Hobgood (USA), 31, in the opening heat of Round 4.

Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, are calling for
a small mix of south and southwest swell will prevail for the last days of
the waiting period along with moderate to strong easterly trades.

Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be available via
billabongpro.com

FUEL TV will be broadcasting the Billabong Pro Tahiti LIVE in Australia.
Check out http://www.foxsports.com.au/fueltv for details.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 13: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.50 def. Tamaroa McComb (PYF) 6.83
Heat 14: Andy Irons (HAW) 9.34 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 9.16
Heat 15: Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.77 def. Marco Polo (BRA) 8.74
Heat 16: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.43 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.16

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 2: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Heat 3: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Manoa Drollet (PYF)
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)
Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)

GRINDTV NEWSWIRE via ASP TEAHUPOO, Taiarapu/Tahiti (Tuesday, August 31, 2010) - The Billabong Pro Tahiti recommenced today in clean three-to-four foot (1 metre) waves for the completion of Round 2 and the first 12 heats of Round 3.

Event No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti played host to an incredible day of action, with major shifts in the hunt for the ASP World Title as well as surfers falling off the Dream Tour, the result of the midyear cut-off from the ASP Top 45 to the Top 34 (Top 32 finishers plus two surfer wildcards).

Manoa Drollet (PYF), 29, local Tahitian wildcard, caused the upset of the event today, eliminating current ASP World No. 1, Jordy Smith (ZAF), 22, from Billabong Pro Tahiti competition in Round 3. The quiet Tahitian utilized his intimate knowledge of the break and picked off the better set waves to control the heat and come away with the win.

"He (Smith) was sitting on priority and he only needed a small wave at one point," Drollet said. "He waited forever and he didn't catch anything. I have a good knowledge here. I've been doing water patrol so I've been watching the event and analyzing the guys' strategies a lot. I managed to get scores and get back in the lead there towards the end. I was expecting Jordy (Smith) to come back with a 9 at anytime."

Despite the loss, Smith remained gracious in defeat and positive as he transitions to the next event in California.

"It was pretty tough out there," Smith said. "Wave-starved a bit and difficult to find the right one. I got an average one in the beginning and the cut my hand on the reef. Some heats go like that. You live and learn, and I'm looking forward to the next one at Trestles."

Immediately following Smith's ousting, Kelly Slater (USA), 38, past nine-time ASP World Champion scored a sensational come-from-behind victory to overtake dangerous wildcard Heiarii Williams (PYF), 23. Needing a major score with moments remaining Slater failed to emerge from an excellent wave, only to paddle straight into another impressive barrel to secure the 8.80 and the win.

"I knew what he (Williams) was going to do from the beginning," Slater said. "He and Manoa (Drollet) have the same game plan: be patient and they know the wave better than anyone. He was going to play it smart; he did that in the first heat too. I had a couple of average waves before getting an okay one. I took one at the end, probably the best wave of the heat, and I got too greedy and fell. When I came out, there was one that popped up right away and I was fortunate to get it."

With his Round 3 victory, Slater moves from No. 3 to No. 2 in the hunt for the 2010 ASP World Title, but the Floridian is pragmatic when discussing his campaign this season.

"If the roles were reversed from J-Bay to here and I won out here, then we'd be right back where we (Smith and I) were before the last one," Slater said. "It's especially hard when you go out early and someone else goes to win a contest, like in J-Bay. We're at the halfway point this season so we haven't even been dropping results yet so I'm not super focused on it yet. I've actually been more focused on my buddies on the bubble. It's a bummer to see some of them go."

By the end of the Billabong Pro Tahiti, the 2010 ASP World Tour will have completed half the season, and the ASP Top 45 will be reduced to 34 (Top 32 finishers as well as two surfer wildcards) meaning that 13 surfers will be relegated back to the ASP PRIME and Star events.

Today saw 12 of the 13 decided throughout Rounds 2 and 3 of competition:

- Drew Courtney (AUS), 31
- Neco Padaratz (BRA), 34
- Tanner Gudauskas (USA), 22
- Mick Campbell (AUS), 34
- Kieren Perrow (AUS), 33
- Tom Whitaker (AUS), 30
- Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), 25
- Blake Thornton (AUS), 25
- Dean Morrison (AUS), 29
- Jay Thompson (AUS), 28
- Nate Yeomans (USA), 29
- Ben Dunn (AUS), 24

Today's relegation proved emotional for both the victors and the defeated.

Andy Irons (HAW), 32, past three-time ASP World Champion, controlled his bout against Gudauskas from the outset, and admitted regret at knocking the young Californian off tour.

"It's really slow this morning," Irons said. "Tanner (Gudauskas) and I probably only had three or four good waves and I got two of them. He's a really good kid. It's a bummer and I hate seeing him off tour. But he's young and I'm sure he'll be back here really soon. It's really emotional in the 33rd round. The point spread is so big. If you get in a bad rhythm, you can get a few 33rds and before you know it, you're on the bubble."

Despite the brevity of his ASP World Tour stint, a disappointed Gudauskas remained positive following his loss.

"It was a tough heat," Gudauskas said. "There's not a lot coming in and when you get a guy like Andy (Irons), you have to be on your game. Today wasn't my day. It (being on tour) has made us push as hard as we can. No easy days. We've gone as best we can and we'll just keep trying to go."

Amidst the ASP World Title Race shakeup and the cutoff dramatics, the world's best surfers quietly mounted and assault on one of the world's most pristine lefthanders.

Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), 29, current ASP World No. 15, past runner-up at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, posted the highest heat score of the event this afternoon, an 18.50 out of a possible 20, including an incredible 9.57 for a throaty barrel followed by a massive carve.

"I don't know what to say," Patacchia said. "I watched Owen (Wright's) heat and it didn't look consistent so I tried to start with turns, then a few gems came to me. That was probably the best surf I've had since I've been here. I feel really comfortable out here at Teahupoo. I've had a bit of bad luck in the past couple of years. So now I just have to make my own luck. I really feel one with Tahiti here. I feel at home. The family I stay with here shows me a lot of aloha. I have a bike, I have a boat, I have a kayak and all my dive gear here. So I have a lot of things to keep me busy here."

Adam Melling (AUS), 25, 2010 rookie and current ASP World No. 19, continued to exhibit his maturity, dominating his Round 3 clash with fellow rookie Dusty Payne (HAW), 21, posting the highest single-wave score of the event, a 9.80 out of a possible 10, en route to his emphatic win.

"It was good to get on a roll out there," Melling said. "A couple of wider ones that opened up for me and it felt great to get a couple of scores. Dusty (Payne) is such an amazing barrel-rider that I knew I had to be on my game from the outset."

Dane Reynolds (USA), 24, current ASP World No. 4, continued to show the world why he is one of the best surfers in the world, dominating Teahupoo to the tune of an impressive 18.00 out of a possible 20 to take a Round 3 victory.

"There was just a flurry of sets there for us," Reynolds said. "The waves that came in the beginning of the heat were better than most of the day. Blake (Thornton) probably picked the wrong ones and I was always in position for a better one. It's frustrating when that happens and you're on the receiving end. I got two 8s on today's scale and then a better one came in and I got a higher score. It was a lot of fun and I hope the waves hang around a little longer."

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6am to assess conditions for a possible 6:30am start.



When competition resumes, up first will be reigning ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 6, Mick Fanning (AUS), 29, up against wildcard Tamaroa McComb (PYF) in Heat 13 of Round 3.

Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, are calling for a small mix of south and southwest swell will prevail for the last three days of the waiting period along with moderate to strong easterly trades.

Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be available via

FUEL TV will be broadcasting the Billabong Pro Tahiti LIVE in Australia. Check out http://www.foxsports.com.au/fueltv for details.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 7: Jay Thompson (AUS) 14.50 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 7.77
Heat 8: Chris Davidson (AUS) 9.77 def. Drew Courtney (AUS) 8.60
Heat 9: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.50 def. Neco Padaratz (BRA) 7.00
Heat 10: Andy Irons (HAW) 15.06 def. Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 5.20
Heat 11: Adam Melling (AUS) 14.44 def. Mick Campbell (AUS) 14.40
Heat 12: Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.16 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 6.33
Heat 13: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.20 def. Roy Powers (HAW) 10.74
Heat 14: Dean Morrsion (AUS) 17.23 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 15.10
Heat 15: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 15.83 def. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 10.17
Heat 16: Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.77 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 11.93

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Dane Reynolds (USA) 18.00 def. Blake Thornton (AUS) 12.67
Heat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 9.84 def. Luke Munro (AUS) 4.37
Heat 3: Tiago Pires (PRT) 16.03 def. Dean Morrison (AUS) 15.66
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.10 def. Joan Duru (FRA) 11.00
Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.33 def. Jay Thompson (AUS) 2.17
Heat 6: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 18.50 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.07
Heat 7: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.87 def. Luke Stedman (AUS) 5.07
Heat 8: Manoa Drollet (PYF) 15.10 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.36
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.73 def. Heiarii Williams (PYF) 15.64
Heat 10: Adam Melling (AUS) 17.83 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 6.84
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.13 def. Nate Yeomans (USA) 15.77
Heat 12: Michel Bourez (PYF) 9.17 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 4.50

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 13: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Tamaroa McComb (PYF)
Heat 14: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 15: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Marco Polo (BRA)
Heat 16: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)

   Blake Thornton keeps his tour dreams alive by winning his round 1 heat

After 7 straight days of flat conditions greeted the Billabong Pro Tahiti, a small swell has finally arrived on the reef and the top 44 got to dust off their quivers. While not the big scary tubes we were hoping for, the waves did look very contestable, with some overhead barrels bending into the west bowl on the best sets. With the waiting period rapidly coming to an end, contest director Luke Egan started heat 1 at 6:30 am and ran all the way up to heat 6 of round 2 by sunset time. Some big upsets went down, including world number 2 Taj Burrow losing to Tahitian wildcard Manoa Drollet, Bede Durbidge lost out to Heiarii Williams, and past champion Bobby Martinez lost in an absolute shocker to Marco Polo. Rounds 2 and 3 are on for today, check it out here..





BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.07, Jay Thompson (AUS) 1.83, Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 1.00
Heat 2: Luke Stedman (AUS) 10.33, Nate Yeomans (USA) 8.83, Jadson Andre (BRA) 4.40
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.16, Marco Polo (BRA) 5.33, Bobby Martinez (USA) 5.33
Heat 4: Blake Thornton (AUS) 15.50, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 12.00, Dane Reynolds (USA) 11.60
Heat 5: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.66, Tim Reyes (USA) 5.34, Roy Powers (HAW) 2.73
Heat 6: Joan Duru (FRA) 10.10, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 7.60, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 6.90
Heat 7: Tamaroa McComb (PYF) 14.77, Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.50, Adam Melling (AUS) 5.70
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.30, Manoa Drollet (PYF) 10.40, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 8.41
Heat 9: Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.66, Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.40, Tuamata Puhetini (PYF) 10.43
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.00, Andy Irons (HAW) 13.97, Heiarii Williams (PYF) 12.57
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.50, Dusty Payne (HAW) 9.03, Drew Courtney (AUS) 0.20
Heat 12: Owen Wright (AUS) 11.27, Brett Simpson (USA) 8.53, Neco Padaratz (BRA) 7.73
Heat 13: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.93, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.46, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 8.43
Heat 14: Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.23, Dean Morrison (AUS) 9.00, Mick Campbell (AUS) 5.43
Heat 15: Luke Munro (AUS) 14.03, Travis Logie (ZAF) 12.94, Taylor Knox (USA) 9.93
Heat 16: Ben Dunn (AUS) 10.87, Chris Davidson (AUS) 7.90, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 6.92

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Manoa Drollet (PYF) 14.76 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.33
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.00 def. Tuamata Puhetini (PYF) 7.27
Heat 3: Heiarii Williams (PYF) 14.03 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.43
Heat 4: Dane Reynolds (USA) 16.27 def. Tim Reyes (USA) 12.50
Heat 5: Marco Polo (BRA) 9.84 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 7.83
Heat 6: Nate Yeomans (USA) 12.73 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.00

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 7: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 8: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Drew Courtney (AUS)
Heat 9: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 10: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 11: Adam Melling (AUS) vs. Mick Campbell (AUS)
Heat 12: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 13: Roy Powers (HAW) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 14: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Dean Morrsion (AUS)
Heat 15: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 16: Dusty Payne (HAW) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)