THE NEW WORLD NUMBER 2

Australian surfer Owen Wright has won his first World Tour event beating out living legend Kelly Slater at the 2011 Quiksilver Pro New York Finals. The win sees his rank move up to No. 2 and in arm’s reach of his first ASP World Title.

From the podium following his win, the 21-year-old Australian had this to say:

I’ve always wanted to be in final with Kelly [Slater] and last week at Teahupo’o was great. I think Kelly is ready for payback already. How good is this? Look at these waves!

The two faced off in late August at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, with Slater getting the better of Wright – showing him a thing or two about surfing a final.  After the win Slater suggested that Wright hadn’t studied the conditions properly though with his vicious slob grab air and a mean frontside hook, he’s said to be a quick learner.

At the New York Finals, Slater was  in deadly form on the final day pulling huge 360 airs in the final minutes to beat out Taj Burrow and high-flying Australian Josh Kerr, but it was Wright’s rampaging forehand assault that made him unbeatable. Wright also edged out fellow Aussie, Julian Wilson in the quarters and Brazilian Alejo Muniz in the semis. Though taking on surfing giant Slater was another thing altogether, and on the heels of Hurricane Katia – Wright wasted no time in the finals connecting down the beach for an amazing slob air and scoring a 9.23. This put Slater against the wall, and though the 10-time champ didn’t disappoint fans with a massive free-fall floater and turns, he went into a series of failed air attempts that gave Wright the winning edge amassing a throw-away 8.6 and then an 8.67.

Slater had this to say after the event:

I’m sure he doesn’t mind, I’d put him up against Jordy [Smith] or Dane [Reynolds] in every kind of condition and I think he would end up probably winning more than not. He had a tough road through a lot of those heats. I mean, he’s pulling guys like Julian [Wilson] who does huge maneuvers. I’m sure that rattled Julian a little bit. He steamrolled through everyone and then beat me in the final and probably made it look pretty easy. He’s tough.

With his world ranking now just behind Slater, the young champ has his work cut out for him at the Hurley Pro Trestles later this month.

Here’s the stats from the event:

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK FINAL:
1 – Owen Wright (AUS) 17.90
2 – Kelly Slater (USA) 14.53

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.07 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 18.33
SF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.84 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 9.63

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.77 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.37
QF 2: Kelly Slater (AUS) 15.50 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.00
QF 3: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.10 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 10.10
QF 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 12.93 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.44

ASP WORLD TITLE TOP 10 (After Quiksilver Pro New York):
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 34950 pts
2. Owen Wright (AUS) 31,900 pts
3. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 30,200 pts
4. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 27,000 pts
5. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 26,750 pts
6. Josh Kerr (AUS) 25,600 pts
7. Taj Burrow (AUS) 25,250 pts
8. Mick Fanning (AUS) 23,000 pts
9. Michel Bourez (PYF) 20,500 pts

ASP World Title season continues with the Hurley Pro at Trestles from September 18 through 24, 2011.

via: espn  coastalwatch

Josh Kerr, Kelly Slater, Owen Wright, Quiksilver Pro, Taj Burrow