Pro surfing took a step forward Thursday. The next generation of world tour stars finally made a claim on the ASP's top spots at the Quiksilver Pro.

One day after the sport's biggest A-listers (read: Slater, Fanning, Parko) humbled the Freshmen class of 2010, they were slaughtered by a very lethal collection of second and third year pros poised to make runs at their lofty spots.

Today's lesson? Well, we learned that after a couple of trips around the ASP fast track, Jordy Smith and Dane Reynolds are finally comfortable in their world tour running shoes. On Thursday their equipment looked good, minds relaxed, nerves calm, and their surfing was freakish as Smith and Reynolds eliminated Kelly Slater and Joel Parkinson respectively in some hard fought clashes.

The A-lister carnage actually started in the fourth round when Mick Fanning was upset by Kai Otton. It was a razor thin win for Otton, who has looked solid all week. Mick shouldn't be the only one checking the replays and second guessing the scores of the first exchange.

Smith and Slater squared off in the final heat of the same round, and Smith, very wisely, jumped out to an early lead. Looking loose, lively and powerful Smith took it to Slater, who simply couldn't catch up.

The quarterfinal showdown between Reynolds and Parko was an instant classic. The chunky Snapper walls were the perfect canvas for both surfers to put their entire arsenals on display. The heat lived up to its billing, too, and will likely be remembered as a seminal moment in pro surfing history.

Parko was his silky-smooth self while ripping his backyard to shreds, but Reynolds managed to finally put all the pieces together, which let him take his tour act to a whole new level. The spontaneous tail blowing, rail carving and tube riding was the best surfing of the entire event, and Parko--even with his two scores in the 8 range--couldn't do anything to stop the onslaught.

On Friday, Smith and Reynolds will face off in the second semifinal, in what's obviously the most highly anticipated showdowns any rabid tour fan could hope for. For what it's worth, Reynolds has owned Smith so far in man-on-man heats. The winner will face either Bobby Martinez or Taj Burrow in the final.

Should the two Californians, Reynolds and Martinez, go the distance, it would be the first time that's happened since 1985, when Tom Curren and Mike Parsons met in the Stubbies Pro final at Burleigh Heads. What's also noteworthy is that for the first time in years there's no Gold Coast local in the top four.

This is gonna be good.



Dane Reynolds (top) and Jordy Smith (bottom) put on what was arguably their best ASP performances to date on Thursday at the Quiksilver Pro while taking out top seeds Joel Parkinson and Kelly Slater.