Gabriel Medina Tops Kelly Slater In Insane Conditions To Win 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiiti

A big congrats there to Owen Wright, amazing stuff. And right now, we do have our final underway. Gabriel Medina, the current world number one, taking on Kelly Slater, who I believe has already moved into second position. We'll let the boys take the call. Thanks, Ronnie. We're that excited to get this one underway, not wasting any time. World number one, Gabriel Medina, taking on number six in the world, Kelly Slater. A huge matchup on paper. We just came off one of the wildest semifinals of all time, a 19.77 tie break situation with John John Florence exiting out in the semifinals. Now the stage is set. The sun's back out. There's still some eight to 10 foot waves coming through our lineup. And we'll wait for the opening exchange. Joe Tappel alongside former world champ Martin Potter. As we assess this opening exchange, it's been tricky for competitors to figure out how to get around Gabriel Medina to get the first wave. What's your take on the positioning? How's this first wave going to go? Well, you know, you've just got to look at what Kelly did in that last heat. I mean, he let John have the inside. He let John have the first wave of the set. And then Kelly posted a 10 right behind. So Kelly's got his strategy. He's a smart guy. He's not going to play into Gabriel's hands. He's had Medina a few times and he's dealt with him. So it's, you know, he's going to stick to his guns. He's just come off the back of an incredible heat. So Kelly's got to settle himself down. He's got to just find that headspace again, that very similar headspace that he had at the beginning of that semifinal. They see Kelly, 42 years young, five foot nine, 159 pounds from Cocoa Beach, Florida, ranked number six in the world coming into this event. He is well and truly moved up the rankings. Joe, a big switch for Kelly Slater. And you think about it, he hasn't really had a serious loss. I guess the biggest one would just be back to Jeffries Bay, getting an equal 13 to Maddie Wilkinson. A shock to see Kelly go down an event that he's dominated in the past. But you get two throwaway results. All of his other results this season are pretty solid. Absolutely right. You know, and this is basically, you know, Kelly's sort of part of the year where he starts to get the ball rolling. You know, you look at J-Bay, Fiji, J-Bay, you know, here at Chopie. Then you go to California, you go to Trestles, an event that he's dominated. He just recently won the event in France, which is something that he's it's taken him a long time to do yet to win Portugal. So, I mean, sorry, he has won Portugal. So he's pretty much won everything from now on in. And he's going to be feeling really comfortable coming out of this kind of form from here. It's crazy when you look at stats and we'll at every venue on tour with Kelly Slater, but arguably the best one of his stats is at lower Trestles, where he's won so many times in the last six or seven years. As you see, the channel nice and calm, preparing for a huge final clash. You see a beautiful rainbow in the mountains back there where you can see the trade winds usually push those clouds up against those mountains and the freshwater pours down these little valleys. And creates these passages over thousands of years. And one of the greatest slabs was created called Chopu, the Wall of Skulls, where we've now been able to honor some of the best surfers of all time. Kelly and Medina still waiting for their first wave pots. Yeah. You know, look at the conditions. Absolutely beautiful right now. Nice, clean texture on the face of the water. We're just waiting for those sets to come through. They're still out there. We heard Kelly say that it sort of felt like towards the end of that heat there, it started slowing down. But John still got that bomb. He still got a good score right at the end. And, you know, a lot of people might have thought he got it. It was such a tight heat. They came out, even Stevens tied, and it came down to the single highest scoring ride, which you do. And Kelly got the ten. So a super close heat for Kelly. And you can see right now he's letting Gabriel Medina have that inside section. He's not playing into Medina's game plan, as we heard Beat say that he did put him out of position for his two best waves and unfortunately didn't make them. So Kelly, a bit smarter than that. We're going to see these guys both waited out. That's right. Much different story on Medina's road to the final. Taken out beat Derbyshire in the first semifinal. This quarter was against Kolohe and Dino, where he was effective in surfing, basically a 20 minute heat with them paddling up the reef. Medina was able to skip round five. Same thing for Kelly Slater. So their fitness level is sky high. Their attention to detail is insane. To hear from Kelly, the way he describes every wave that he takes off on, he's always been really good at painting a solid picture on what he's doing inside the two. You know, Kelly's like that. I mean, he remembers everything he does. He remembers how things felt. He remembers, you know, what position his body was in when he did that high line up and over the foam ball. You know, and that's something that he, you know, uses in different instances when he finds himself in a situation. He clicks into that memory thing of, oh, I remember this. And then his body follows, you know, and it's unbelievable like that. We see a big set coming through. Both guys opting not to go that one. There's obviously still some bombs out there. Joe, if they're letting waves like that go by. Such a beautiful sight. Watching perfection roll by the channel. That's what the view looks like. If you're sitting here in the channel watching the world's best compete. See these little waves on the inside. Some of the years we've been here, we'd be dying for sets like that. We've had some challenges over the years. It's always a gamble when you look at the ocean to see what's going to be in store. This one already marked as maybe the best one of all time as we're still scoreless through the first about nine minutes or so of this final. And now we're hearing some whistles from the channel. That's exactly right. You know what that means, don't you? That means there's some bombs coming. Looks like Medina and Kelly a little too deep on that one. And wow, look at that thing there. So there's still some bombs out there. There's still going to be some big waves coming through. Twenty six minutes remaining. And I can't remember having a final heat restart. Have you? Can you remember, Joe? It's it's been a while. We'll have to dig that one up. But we haven't had too many restarts today. Just that one a little bit earlier. But we've had a few on the opening day, even with the pumping swell here in Tahiti. So far, we'll see if we get another minute off the clock without a wave written and it'll be up to head judge Richie Porta if he will reset the clock. Remember, against the key with Kolohe and Gabriel, they're out of position letting waves go by. So they didn't get a restart in that matchup. And that one did go through the lineup where they should have been sitting. So, you know, it's it's touch and go. I reckon give him another 10 minutes. Let's see these guys have a full 35 minutes to, you know, show some show some of their stuff. But we can see some lines coming through now at the back there. And we've got a little bit of an advantage over these guys because we've got that view from the tower. So a little bit elevated. So we can sort of see a little further out. These guys don't have that. That's, you know, that luxury. They've got to rely on the action in the channel, the whistling, the shouting, the caddies telling him the second wave in the set. I'm sure these guys have been getting those kind of signals from the boats. Well, Kelly used to work out a scenario on how many wins he thought it took to win a world title back in the day. As we hear the horn sound, it's official. We'll get a fresh clock for the final with no waves written. We back to a 35 minute final in just a moment. Interesting, dramatic start, knowing that there's still some solid waves coming through pots. Yes, exactly right. I'm glad we got that restart, Joe. We want to see a full 35 minute hit between these two guys. And then we have Gabriel Medina, rank number one in the world coming into this event. He's going to stay there as he gets the first wave after the restart. Medina gets spit out time in the restart. Well, and now Kelly will have priority to try to answer back. We'll bring in the takeoff of Medina's opening ride. He's such a smart surfer at a young age, always thinking about tactics on how he can take out some of the world's best. Well, I'll tell you what. That's a good way to start by making sure you're on the first wave and a beautiful size wave. Here's Gabriel Medina pulls up nice and tight. They're driving through the barrel. He's been doing that this entire event. He's been picking the eyes out of it. He's made very few mistakes. I can't even remember him wiping out on a wave as we see the view the judges have. There he goes. He gets that first turn. He gets so much speed and direction off that opening, you know, bottom turn or mid face turn, I should say. And that just sets him so perfect for the rest of the wave. So Gabriel Medina draws first blood here in the finals of the 2014 Billabong Tahiti Pro. What an event we've had. And the cream pretty much has risen to the top. Joe Medina, remember, is only 20 years of age. He's already had some insane lifetime experiences. He had a final in pumping surf at the Fiji Pro finishing runner up to Kelly Slater last year. Kelly, we know his records. Fifty four career wins. The best of all time. He has plenty of room between him and Tom Curran. Back when he passed Tom, that was a huge feat. And I think his record is probably going to stand maybe forever. Well, that's what we thought about. Mark Richards, his record of the four world titles. And back in my day was like, you know, my goodness, how do you win four world titles? Kelly Slater comes along and, you know, he's looking for world title number 12, 54 victories. That's, you know, you could pretty much say that that that will never be matched. I mean, that's just maybe not in our lifetime anyway. Well, we see Medina still back holding that deep position. Kelly's look in the other direction towards the channel. Kelly does have first priority, but he's just been laying in the prone position through that first restart and calming himself down. There's always been the amazing stories in professional surfing history with Kelly, how he likes to sing in heats. He'll talk about golf with his competitors. What's Kelly doing now? Well, Kelly and Gabriel, not not notoriously friendly in the heats. You know, John, they're probably with exchanging words going. How amazing is this? Blah, blah, blah, blah. But with Gabriel, Gabriel is all about the business. You know, and you see Gabriel before he paddles out. He sits there. He has a bit of a moment, gets himself in the zone. You can see not buying into Kelly's game. Kelly likes to splash the water a bit, you know, just sort of sort of gets him in the zone, takes his mind off everything that's that's happening, tries to eliminate too much going through his head. And that way, when that wave does come through, he's nice and calm. He can think slow and make the right decisions. Well, Kelly, now on the inside, needing to better the seven nine that Medina posted on the opening strike. They're both starting to move around a bit. Slow motion on the sets at the moment after this restart. But the ocean surface still nice and glassy. Beautiful conditions for the final one hundred thousand dollars goes to the winner. But the crucial 10000 points. This is Kelly's first final of the year, and he'll glide in and hold back. He'll lose priority. A little too deep there for Kelly Slater. Wave number two, Gabriel Medina. Is he going to be in the right spot? He's paddling. He's having a look of Gabriel Medina on a ball as he free falls, surviving the spin right in front of the foam ball. A wave with a ton of size and power shoves Medina into the channel. We see the priority mistake from Slater. Medina already able to get a second scoring right. Wow. Kelly doesn't make too many mistakes like that. I think he's still trying to come down from that heat with John John Florence, that battle between him as we see Charlie giving Gabriel a bit of a clap saying, come on, son. Seven point nine zero on Gabriel's opening wave. And let's have a look at Kelly here. Kelly looking at the first wave of the set. You can see kind of a little bit indecisive, indecisive pulling back. Would you have made that joke? It was a little bit too deep there on that one. So and then Gabriel Medina wave number two. Look at that. Oh, just scratching his way down the face of that wave, standing tall in the barrel. And he comes flying out of that one. So another good way for Gabriel Medina. Let's have another look at it. Look at this drop right there. You can see Gabriel almost going over the handlebars using both of those hands in the face of the wave and managing to pull that one off. Gabriel Medina posting another good score. It's going to be better than his opening right. And he's going to put Kelly in a combo situation straight off the back. Joe, a huge drop for Medina. He's able to control it with so much momentum going forward and gets spit out of a cannon. A nine zero seven for Medina, a seven nine before that. With 30 minutes still to go. Kelly Slater comboed as Medina is looking for his third win this season. We have Peter Mel Big Wave World Champ in the channel right now. What happened, Pete, from your view on Kelly's priority mistake? Yeah, well, first, let me back up a little bit to, you know, Kelly was stating how he needed to kind of psych up. And you're elaborating thoughts about the fact that it takes a little bit to after coming off of that such a crazy heat that he just had in the semifinals to turn your game over and have 10 minutes or so to figure out a strategy against Gabriel Medina. Obviously, he's going to be able to do that with all taking all the experiences that he's had over the years and bringing it to this table right now. But then again, a little glitch right there, right? I mean, he looked over the edge. You know, he wanted that way, but it had a little bit of a crease in a corner to it, decided to not go. And sure enough, there was another wave. And how do you know that there's another wave? Gabriel, on the other hand, that was a bigger wave, you know, and he had to man up knowing Kelly's right there looking at it just as much. He had to turn and go on and did everything he could to make the wave. Got the nine point zero seven in early lead. Now, Peter, is it slowing down out there at the moment? I mean, there's still some good waves coming through, but is it slowing down? Is it going to be harder for Kelly to make a comeback like he did against John? Well, you know, I think that we just we just have to wait and see as we see Kelly going now. Kelly Slater, big pump. He's not grabbing the rail. Another big drive over the foam wall. The wave spits without him. And Kelly goes down on his effort to try to come back. It'll be a small score, a much different start than his last tee when he had the perfect 10. Yeah, just a little bit of a different start. But you know what? Kelly's a very experienced competitor as he just squeezes under that wave there. And you can see that thing just ripped the boards out of it, ripped the board out of his hands. That's the power of this wave, guys. And that wasn't even a big one. You can see Kelly just getting smashed around in there. Now, that was like a pretty much a medium sized wave. Kelly ducked underneath that thing and just the power just tore the board out of Kelly's hand. So Kelly's got to take in some deep breaths. That's the first real wipe out he's had in this event. You know, same with Gabriel. Both these guys have been conserving energy. They haven't dropped the heat this entire event. So in probably the best condition right now, big sets coming through. Gabriel Medina could really turn the screws on Kelly right now. Bombs coming through. The channel going crazy. Medina commits. Clean drop. Wide open pit. The wave explodes and he comes out again. Three great completions. He kicks out with some speed and he puts his head down in the priority race to try to control the next exchange. Wow. You know, we're talking about that, you know, coming out of the wave. You know, don't do those big flyway kickouts. Don't claim too much. Just get get on your board and get back out there, because I tell you what, priorities proven really important as we see Gabriel just standing in that barrel. One of the bigger waves we've seen Gabriel on this event. So he's really showing the world he's not scared. You know, everyone's saying, well, the kid's good in little ways. Well, let me tell you what, guys, this guy, he's got game here at Chopu charging and getting another bomb 7.9 on his opening right and 9.07 on his second wave. And look at this one. This is going to be another good score for Gabriel Medina. Perfect composure when the channels erupting and Medina is able to stomp the drop and get deep in the barrel. That'll be his third scoring ride. And he was able to paddle back out with all that momentum and regain priority to control the next exchange. Kelly in a bit of trouble just with the two point one seven combo at the moment. All the highlights have been for Medina. Speaking of highlights, we'll get caught up with the desk with Ronnie Blakey, Strider and Aki. Cheers, Joe. Well, a big strategy change up from Gabriel Medina getting himself on some bigger waves in this heat and getting an early lead on Kelly Slater. Amazing to think that Gabriel was just six years old when Kelly won the first one of the first world tour events here in Tahiti. And obviously, Kelly had already bagged a world title the year before Gabriel was born. But Slater, what's he got to do to get back in this heat off? Yeah, Pete got a really good point going that after that semi, it was a climax. He's got to, you know, just do a reset, you know, because he fell. That was the first time he fell. And he's we know he can do it. There's 25 minutes. But after that, you get tens and not high nines. And then where do you go from there kind of thing? So, yeah, can I just give a quick shout out to everyone at home on field TV? My boss, Adam, just text me and everyone's glued at Fox Sports watching this, not getting a whole lot of work done. So enjoy it. And one more. Everyone at Rainbow Bay at Snapper Board Riders 50th anniversary coming up soon at Rainbow Bay Surf Club. So, yes, right. Sorry about that. Well, back onto the heat. These guys are going at it. Gabriel Medina stepped it up like he like we all wanted him to. And he came to the table and he got to the biggest, best waves that he's gotten so far in the event so far. I mean, those waves were incredible. That last wave just sticking to the wall, stuck the drop. I mean, a nine point four. I mean, he's just killing it out there. You know, interestingly enough, he capitalized on Kelly Slater's mistake. It was like all of a sudden he he got the taste of blood and he just jumped right in there and just got right back on it and then just went to town. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though, because Kelly Slater, we've seen him turn around heat in the final stages of clashes here before. I remember a victory against Bruce Irons back in the day. Kelly needed two near perfect rides, got himself a perfect ten, backed it up with a high nine and got himself into the final, went on to win the event. Yeah, it's not over by any means. There's 24 minutes left. We just need some big sets. You know, Kelly's going to go anything that comes his way right now. So, yeah, he's hasn't got priority, though. Gabriela's got priority. But he's really surprised me. He's just charged a couple of bombs. Well, the interesting fact for for us is that that Kelly pulled back on that wave in the early stages of the heat. That's true, Ronnie. And you bring up a really big point when you look back that historical moment with Kelly's comeback against Bruce. There that one he did that lay back to recovery. And at the time, I heard Coyote reference that wave as one of the most historical comebacks in pro surfing on just the ability to pull off a miracle. He's done it time and time again. We've kind of rewritten the script on historical moments because everything's been outdone in this event. Right now, an 18.5 one doesn't seem that severe of a combination to come back from. Not when Kelly's been posted posted 90 plus points since round number three. You know, he's been constantly putting 19 plus two wave totals on the board. So, you know, just a bit of a slow start, a little bit of a different approach. And, you know, Kelly's not going to be too flustered just yet. Gabriel Medina, though, he's definitely stepped up that nine point four three on that last wave. It was crazy how easy he made that drop was like very similar to the way Owen Wright's been approaching it, just sliding in ever so easily, just making those steep drops that really, you know, easy in and getting nicely barreled. So Gabriel Medina showing that he's not scared. And the theme continues for Medina hasn't taken a serious beating all the way to the final in massive conditions. He's been so effective getting the first wave of every heat that he battles in. If any competitor questions that move, he'll end up beating him again by getting them out of their normal rhythm. Started off with a seven point nine in this seat. Now, Kelly Sater making a move without priority decides to pull back. Yeah, that one just not really what he's looking for. You know, he's looking for ways close to the perfect range. I mean, he's in a nine plus rides. He needs a nine five and he needs big scores. Gabriel Medina. Here he goes. Gabriel locks in right in front of Kelly. Big pump still driving. Medina gets blown out of his fourth tube in the final. He can't stop smiling. Everything's going his way. Remember, he's world number one looking to gain some serious ground in the world title race. I'll tell you what, if he wins this, he's going to have three wins on the board going into events that he's done really well in the past. So and this you know, this this event is going to give Gabriel Medina so much confidence going into pipeline as well. I mean, you know, he's already had good results of pipeline. Let's have a look at the replay here as he slides into yet another barrel. You can see him pumping, driving through that wave and he comes flying out with a spit. So another good way for Gabriel Medina. Is that going to better his nine point zero seven? Kelly's got to, you know, really click in and find some good ways. Gabriel Medina just having it all his own way at the moment. Amazing watching the kick out real from Gabriel Medina wave after wave. The smile gets bigger and bigger. Scores start to come in for Lassa Medina. It doesn't look like it's going to affect his top two. The combo stays the same. Let's get the vibe as we look at this wave pop up out the back. Slater commits. Holding on to Israel. He's super deep. The wave explodes and Kelly comes out. The comeback is just about to begin for Kelly Slater. The crowd loves it. Well, there you go. That's what he needed. That's all he needed right there was to get the ball rolling, was to get that good wave, get one good score on the board, reset the button, hit that reset button, you know, get that headspace back to where it was when he had John. Let's have a look at the replay here from the channel as Kelly takes off on a beautiful way. Nice and deep, and he got really high again, as Hockey pointed out earlier, just a different approach to the barrel here from Kelly Slater. This is the view the judges have and will decide how deep he is right here. Perfect positioning. Probably couldn't have got any deeper. You can see as he comes out of that barrel, just directing down the line and kicks out perfectly. Kelly Slater just locked in his best score. And Joe, there's still some bombs out there. Kelly's just started his comeback. Love the angle here coming from the point on land. You can see how this goes below sea level and gets exploded into the channel. A tougher start, starting out of rhythm, losing priority, falling on his first wave at a two point one seven. And now the comeback begins. Gabriel's low score is a nine zero seven. Kelly's hope is that he gets at least that to come back at this stage. It's going to be close. You know, I think that he's going to go into the nine point range for sure. I mean, that was a bigger wave. You know, he did everything right. And taking into consideration the scores he was getting in his last heat, that was very similar to the waves that he was getting in the semifinals against John. Well, we have another wave popping up. They'll let this one go through. Rosie Hodges out in the channel. How'd that one look for you, Rosie? Wow, Joe, I don't think today could get any better. You can just hear the noise in the channel and we see the lines approaching. So the boys, you know, this is the Gabriel Medina is having a big hit. So we got to give it back to you for more. Here we go. Rosie Medina looks down the edge. Free falls one big pump. The wave explodes him out into the channel. All glory moment for the young Brazilian. The current number one in the world is making this wave his skate park. He can do anything. Standing tall and bears big flyway kickouts. Rosie, where are you putting that one up on the scale? Are you kidding me? I mean, these guys are going wave for wave that getting spat out of that one. I don't know. That could have bedded his second scoring ride. But Gabriel Medina has taken such control of this heat after Kelly made that priority mistake, but Kelly fought back there. So, you know, this heat is just getting way too exciting in the channel. The vibe is incredible. There's a rainbow, there's rain, there's sunshine. It's so beautiful at the moment as we're looking at a replay from the front on view parts. How'd you like that composure? Well, Rosie's right. That was amazing. These guys are absolutely going to town. Let me tell you something right now. That was a crazy drop, a bigger wave for Gabriel Medina showing he's not scared. Standing tall in the barrel. It wasn't a deep one, but I tell you what, about as critical as it gets out here in Topu. Kelly Slater, 9.63. Let's have a look at this again as Gabriel Medina just free falls out of the sky right down the mineshaft and then really just pulls it up underneath that lip and standing tall there. Gabriel Medina showing the world that this kid is not just an air master. He can charge with the best of him. Scores dropping for Medina, a 9.53. Kelly Slater, a 9.63. Kelly back in the heat, needing a 9.33. This heat is on, Joe. Well, just to reference, Kelly Slater has two waves, but he has the best wave of the heat. A 9.63 is better than Gabriel's 9.53. It's in that similar scale. Remember how close he was with John John Florence? It came down to a tie break. We're looking at a similar situation. Kelly now needs a 9.33, 17.30 on the clock. And Kelly holding priority at the moment. We're not we're seeing a couple of lulls so far. So it's kind of stretching this heat out and making it feel a little bit more dramatic as we dive into the story with Gabriel Medina. Just his fourth year on tour for CT wins out of seven finals. This is his eighth final of his career. And his highest rank was seventh in the world when he's battling in that rookie of the year race. Back with John. John Florence came back and finished in the top ten. You know, this kid, well, he's ranked number one in the world. So he's really learning the game quick. Proving to the world that, you know, he's not just got that small wave prowess. He's really good in the big stuff. He's learning it. He's getting bigger and stronger. He's getting better. His game is becoming more and more of a complete surfer showing the world that he could take it out on his backhand and snapper. One of the first guys to win it in a very long time since Mick Lowe. You know, very hard wave to surf on your backhand showing that, you know, he's got what it takes there. And not only there, but he's then gone on to cloud break one there. And I tell you what, he's in pretty good position right now. Kelly Slater needing a nine point three three. That's a walk in the park for Kelly out here in these kind of conditions. Well, we look back on the way Medina started in world number one back on the Gold Coast. He shocked himself by winning that contest. He was a little bit injured and he actually didn't really rate himself to take everyone out. That's changed since then. He's now taking on that confident role of being the number one in the world. Whistles cheering on Slater now. He's a nine three three here as he lets go of the rail back to the rail. Grab high line of the football. And he ends up going over the handlebars. He did the hard work, went so high he couldn't come back down. Yeah. Kelly, just a little too high there. Maybe took a little bit too much of a high line as he pushes through that one. He's OK. He's back out. But I tell you what, that could have been a good score for Kelly Slater. And you know, you can see as he was using his fingers there just to show you how close he was to making that. Let's have a look at this way for Kelly Slater using his priority, sliding in as he always does. Perfect line drawing that thing. And you can see just getting caught a little bit high there. And as he comes down, his balance was a little bit off. As we have a look at the view that the judges had. Look at this wave. It is absolutely pumping out here right now. It's been like this all day long. And Kelly just going down there, really crucial part of the wave. You need to pull that off. That's going to come in around about in the five point range. And Kelly's going to have to go back to the drawing board. Still looking for a nine point three, three, Joe, just under 15 on the clock. And what an exciting day of surfing we've had. Well, we're having this rare moment watching Kelly go down on a couple of big opportunities. Current world number six. That'll be changing after this result. Fifty four career CT wins. Eleven time world champion won this event back in 2000, 2003, 05, and also in 2011, the code red year. He had a much different role in that event. Wasn't making the highlight reel in the first few rounds. Saved everything for the finals day. This event, though, he started off with perfection, dominated round one, the first heat of the day, and now showing some signs of a couple of mistakes. We'll dive back into that story and the final right after this. Introducing Orbitz Rewards, the instant approach. Earn rewards in an instant. Redeem in the instant. Book a flight. Use rewards for the hotel. Book the hotel. Use them to stay longer. Think reward. Redeem. Relax. Repeat Orbitz Rewards. Instant vacation gratification. If I need to drop the big one, if I need to, I'll go. You know, I'm pretty stoked to be in the final. You know, I'm looking forward to put a great show. I think I got to go psych myself back up and realize I still got to surf. The class that we've been waiting for coming to life here at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, world number one, 20 year old Gabriel Medina facing off against the best of all time, Kelly Slater, current number six in the world, has a nine six three, beating a nine point three three to come back. He got a five point on a wave that he almost made. Took a high line and went over the falls right as he was about to escape. Joe Trappel, alongside former world champ Martin Potter, as we look at this situation, has anything changed for Kelly? Are you surprised that he's in this situation right now? No, not at all. You know, I knew Gabriel was going to come and bring his game. I knew Gabriel was going to post a bunch of nines. And that's exactly what's happened. Kelly's just got to recalibrate. I think he's still getting over the little bit of a hangover from that semifinal with John. You know, there was so much emotion. There was so much going on in that heat. And, you know, that's that those are the kind of hits that Kelly really embraces. He's he's hit the reset button. He's posted the highest single score, nine point six three. He's just got to settle down. Gabriel's got priority. He needs to make sure that his next wave is up into that high nine point range and put the pressure on Gabe, because so far in this event, Gabriel's had it all his own way. No one's really ruffled his feathers. Well, now thinking about the numbers, since we have 11 minutes to go, let's see how Gabriel Medina got out in front of this one, because he started off with the first wave, just like he traditionally does. We'll watch this first one unload right out front. No takers on the inside. Medina holding priority at the moment to control this next set. They're looking calm and letting that one roll through. But we had Medina with that quick start and looks like he's still anticipating the set to come through. We'll have a look at this. Gabriel Medina with priority ten and a half minutes remaining as both surfers looking is Gabriel going to use his priority. He's paddling. He's paddling. He's got to go. He's committed a late drop and he drives big pumps. He's super deep. The foam ball picks up his board and Medina has gone down for the first time in this final. A rare moment to see him down. And now Kelly on the next one, he'll slide it and control it into the pit. A beautiful round wave. He controls the finish onto the shoulder to make sure he completes that effort. Wow. Well, there we go. Kelly Slater advantage on that exchange. He needs a big score. He needs a nine point three three. But really, Joe, he needs something up in the, you know, plus a nine plus nine, eight, nine, nine, somewhere around there. Gabriel Medina, first wipeout so far that he's taken. This is his first little run around into the channel. So he's going to be a little bit rattled because he hasn't experienced this yet, Joe. This is his first real go down. Let's have a look. Nice and deep. And he said in his post pre heat, if the big ones come, I'm going to go. And that's exactly what he did. Pulling in deep on that one, getting absolutely munched. So Gabriel Medina taking really his first donuts of the event and Kelly Slater right behind making him pay for it on a beautiful little wave as he pulls up nice and tight. It wasn't a big open gaping barrel, but have a look at that. Kelly Slater hanging on. Is that going to go into the nine point range, Joe? Nine minutes remaining. Kelly is going to get back out into the lineup and get priority side slipping down the face of the wave. Perfect technique from the eleven times world champion. And it's going to be touch and go whether that will go into the nine point range. Just ensuring completion on the exit. A beautiful read for Kelly Slater to pose a comeback. Medina had to wear that wave on the head as well. As you saw, the jet ski pick him up on the back of the sled. They ripped his leash off. They always want the leash off so it doesn't get tangled around the reef. When they step on the gas, they have to reroute around the lagoon, around the buoys and back to the channel. With this happening, Kelly's able to get priority back and he has the lineup to himself. About 30 seconds. That's all it takes. These guys are absolutely flying. And the downside is that for Medina is that that was his first incomplete ride and his first trip through the lagoon. So maybe a little bit ruffled. Maybe his feathers might have got ruffled on that. Maybe a little bit of different headspace for Medina. Still waiting for scores for Kelly to be locked in. Just under eight minutes remaining. Is that wave going to get Kelly into the into number one spot and make Gabriel Medina fight back? He's had it all his own way so far. This event, Joe. Can Kelly put himself in that position right now? Well, we've got Peter Mell on the channel and we just had Gabriel Medina maybe take his first wipe out of this whole event. How did his wipe out compared to a lot of the heavy ones you've seen today? Well, he went deep, right? He knew that he had to go deeper than he's been getting. Just because he's got to get those bigger scores and, you know, pushing it, pushing the limits. He's going bigger in this heat to going on the set waves, which is what he got it, what he's got to do. This is this to me feels like he's fighting for the world title right now in this heat against Kelly Slater. Kelly Slater obviously has the best record going through. He has, you know, all those thirds and fifths, but needs to win. And, you know, right now this is where Gabriel has to stamp his approval on this year to take this title. And this is what this heat really means to him right now. So he knows that. A lot of intensity at Pete, and we can hear the channel erupting. Is there the fans go in one direction in this heat? Or does Gabe and Kelly have some support out there? Absolutely. Both of them have support. It's it's great. They're actually just they're they're enjoying the show. I don't think they even care really who wins. It's just, you know, surfing wins and the fans win. Well, thank you. Thanks a lot. Pete, beautiful rainbow behind you and bombs setting up this final insane scoreline already with a nine four three and a nine five three from Gabriel Medina last of Kelly Slater at eight point nine seven. Still in second. They want more. He needs a nine three three to turn this final pots. Well, that's the thing. You know, when you've done what Kelly's done through this entire event, the judges are going to get a lot more critical. They want to see that. They want to see those big, deep barrels. They want to see him draw that high line over the the foam ball. They want to see him take off on the big bobs. So, you know, Kelly's going to have to go deeper, bigger to get that nine point three three. He does still have first priority. But let's start thinking about the numbers. You get ten thousand points for a win. Eight thousand for a runner up. This is Kelly's first final this season. That sounds shocking. But you see coming in number six in the world, just one throw away for that 13th at Jeffrey's Bay compared to Medina, where he has a 13th and a ninth already. He doesn't you know, he's obviously has another final appearance. Medina and Kelly squeezing those points towards this world title race. Three wins last year and didn't win the world title. You know, a lot more consistent this year. You know, Kelly was throwing 13th and 25th away last year. I mean, he was counting some bad results. And, you know, you've got to you've got to mix in some, you know, really consistent results with the odd win here. And then I think this is Kelly's chance to to maybe try and get that win. Still looking for a nine point three three, though, an eight point nine seven on that last one. Two judges gave a nine one, gave a nine to two in the high eight point range. So Kelly, with five minutes to go, the pointy end of the finals, Gabriel Medina hanging on by the skin of his teeth. And you can see him now just scratching his head, saying, wow, now I know what the big fuss is about. I finally had my first big wave on the head and that first trip through the lagoon. And he charged that last wave at two point eight three is five waves previous. Now, nothing under a seven point nine Medina. They call him the freak kid. That's a signature model from Lucas. And you can see that freakish talent that he has at such a young age surfing against his hero. So Blakey was on the desk earlier saying how Medina wasn't even born during Kelly's first world title. And you can see how he's been watching Kelly throughout his childhood, but he doesn't back down when it comes to big moments like this. We'll get some more insight on the desk with Ronnie, Aki and Strider. Cheers, Joe. Yeah, an incredible final unfolding. You've got to admire Gabrielle's ability to just ramp things up. And he really has paced himself well through this draw and saved his best to last than he's needed to because he's up against Kelly. Absolutely, Ronnie. He's so young, but he just amazes me, you know, like he knew what he had to do. He knew he had to get the big ones against Kelly. And he went straight out there and done it. Yeah, we were wondering if he was going to change up his game plan. And he did. And he just stuck to the back corner there and just went for the big ones. And you know what? Kelly's got a little bit of time left. We'll see if he can pull a rabbit out of the hat here in the end. Just over three and a half minutes remaining. He's chasing a nine point three three in his previous four heats. He's done that and more. So let's see if Kelly Slater, a four time winner here in Tahiti, can get back into the league. Thanks, Ronnie, Aki and Strider. Just a few minutes on the clock. Kelly needs that nine three three to come through. And the ocean's looking flat. We've seen some heroic moments over the last two decades where Kelly will start splashing the water, singing to himself. Sometimes dolphins pop up like a Jeffrey's Bane. He'll follow them up the point and a wave will pop up. They talk about those guys that are insane on tour. Guys like Tom Curran back in the day used to say he was able to will waves on demand when he needed it the most. Will Kelly get that same connection with the ocean right now? You know, I'd love to see both these guys get another roll of the dice. You know, I want to see Kelly have one more shot at it. And maybe Gabriel as well. We see some big sets coming through at the back. There's plenty of time. So these guys are going to get another roll of the dice. Two and a half minutes remaining. Exciting stuff here. Kelly needs to well, he needs to let it all hang out this next wave. He sure does. You can see the difference in the ocean texture out the back. It goes off this deep shelf and the water is just dark and creepy and sucks up off the reef. Right now, Kelly is just composing himself. He knows he needs something massive. He might only get one more chance to take out Medina. Kelly going for his first win of the season and Medina trying to get his third win, but not two minutes remaining. Here we go. Everyone's starting to whistle and yell. Kelly Slater. He's taking his spots. Looks like Kelly going over the ledge. A big drop. He controls it. No grab on the phone. Ball the way. Spits and Kelly goes down. What a huge opportunity to turn this seat. No doubt that would have been the score to turn it a minute. Forty five in Medina. Let's go. A big sigh of relief. That was a 10. Had Kelly come through that? We were looking at straight 10 points right there. For sure. That was insane from Kelly Slater. He knows it, too. He was right there. Another foot or two. And he was coming out of that. Have a look at this drop. I mean, first of all, he had to make that. That was insane right there. Just pulls it up really high, driving through that section. Right now, he's trying to climb up and over that white water right there. It just loses his fins. The board gets sucked away from his feet and goes down. Look at that drop there from Kelly Slater. Just the ability to be able to get up and into that barrel was just buying on some crazy talent right there. Kelly Slater driving through that barrel just right there. Is that wave unleashed? He went down. So, wow, that was a that was close to being an absolutely perfect wave, Joe. And now we're down to 53 seconds. Gabriel Medina still out in front, holding priority. He's been changing the game. The first Brazilian to win Snapper Rocks this year. First Brazilian to win the Fiji Pro. He's world number one. He wants to be the first Brazilian to win a world title. The crowd's going crazy. Here we go. Waves coming, bots. Don't you love it? It looks like a two way set to 30 seconds to go. Maybe both guys are going to get an opportunity. Kelly going the first one. Late takeoff. He grabs the rail to slide. Super deep. Kelly still driving. He comes out, shrugs his shoulders, asking the crowd what they think of that performance. Next wave, Medina's going to let go, and now it's going to come down to that final wave for Slater. Is it enough at 9.33 to turn this heat? Medina let him go. Medina had priority. That was a really, I'll tell you what, an Iceman like situation for Gabriel Medina to have the nerve, to have the confidence, to look at that wave and say, there's no way Kelly's going to get the score. Gabriel let him have it, gave Kelly that last opportunity. And now it is in the judges hands. 9.33 required by Kelly Slater. If he doesn't get it, well, Gabriel Medina will win his third event of the season and extend his lead in that world title race. Some huge scenarios to follow. Medina and Kelly shake this one out, congratulating each other on pushing themselves back and forth. Kelly almost had a perfect 10, fell with 30 seconds on the clock. One more wave, a late decision. Medina didn't go. And Kelly got one more wave that's still yet to be scored. Let's take another look. All right. Well, this is the one Medina let go. Kelly sliding down into it, the thing unleashing. Kelly pulls up nice and tight, disappears in that white water there and comes out and says, well, that's as good as I could have done on that wave. And is it going to be enough? It is in the judges hands right now. Both guys, I tell you what, we take our hats off to you. Both the both just absolutely charged. Gabriel Medina stepped up to the challenge. Everyone said this kid can't charge in big ways. Well, he just proved the world wrong right there. That's right. Another score that we're waiting for. The final heat is over time wise. But Kelly has one more number to lock in. The judges don't have to wait for another heat to follow. So they'll take their time. Look at the replays. Compare the last couple of two brides that they've scored. They remember that Medina has a nine point four three. Kelly needs a nine point three three less than that to turn the seat. Tell you what, that three point four zero on his last wave, the wave before that last one, that was a tanjo that he had the opportunity. Just a little bit too deep. Kind of, you know, you watch these bottom turn. He's a little bit. His body was a little bit off balance. Maybe that was the key right there. Had he come out of that one. It was a no brainer on the scoreline. Kelly would have definitely got it, but not to be. And we're still waiting for that last score to come through right now. I thought that when I fell on my ******* killing, it was. So already Pete, right next to Kelly, go ahead and take it, Pete. I would, except for there's a nice massive set coming and we're kind of inside. All right. Be safe, Peter. No, I got it right here. OK, good. Just making sure, you know, getting over the top here. Hey, Kelly, real quick. Just since we are live now and paddling out of the way. Incredible final. I mean, talk about that one wave there that was almost through. We haven't had the score yet, but. Yeah, that was my best one of the contests. I made that one. That would have done it easily. That last one was pretty good. It was kind of slow, but it was a really nice wave. So we'll see. I was I was baffled. He let me go. I couldn't believe he looked at me. No, but I don't know. We'll see. The waves are incredible. It was a little slow in our heat, but that was amazing. Super fun. And, you know, great surfing by all the guys all week. There's so many guys inspire me just charging and, you know, Gabe in that final win a couple of good sized ones. And he there's one I was like, oh, hopefully get too far out. He was in line for it. I was bummed, but it was fun. I, you know, I made a paddle mistake early in that heat. And it set the tone for him to get his first good one, real good one. So my bad. Yeah, we're trying to figure out what the judges are thinking. Is there any any inclination what the scores are right now? Something I'm not asking you, I'm asking these guys. Yeah. Well, nothing yet, Pete. Yeah. And they're they're looking at replays, obviously. They're probably looking at two waves and make their decision. Well, Pete, Mel, can you hear me? Yes, I can. Nine point two, nine point four, nine point three. So two under three under. It's going to be very close. Oh, my goodness. It's a nine point three zero nine zero. Not enough. Kelly Slater's second Gabriel Medina is your 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiti champion, is about to get the message right now. I paddled for one, I shouldn't have paddled for it. I lost prior to him. There it is, folks. Gabriel Medina is your winner. A huge moment for the young Brazilian, just 20 years of age, taking out the best of all time, the best in show history and looking at the numbers in 18.96 total to an 18.93 total. A huge one there. A split panel on the decision. Take it away, Pete. Now I let him have a moment. So Kelly rinsing that one off real quick here as Gabriel starts to celebrate breaking all the records, proving himself in waves of consequence, surfing against the world's best, proving that he is a true world number one at this stage. Well, you look at that last wave from Kelly. Two judges gave it to him, three judges didn't. And the three that didn't were just under the two that did were just over. So it came out point zero three under the score. That's about as close as you could get. That's the second really close heat that Kelly's had today. One with John in the semifinals where it went his way and in the finals with Gabriel Medina where it went against him. So really feel for him. But at the end of the day, Kelly's on back on track. He's surfing incredibly well. He's got really consistent results, puts him back in the world title race, Joe. And he's got to be happy with that. A huge one for Gabriel Medina now taking his third win of the season. Already was world number one. He's going to be wearing that yellow jersey and maybe for a long time thinking about lowers. He's won there at the prime level. He's won in France. He's made the final in Portugal. Those are all the events to come here on the Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour. Our 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiti champion Gabriel Medina. Yeah, and not to mention the fact that this this event is going to give him so much more confidence going into Hawaii at the end of the year because pipeline is going to feel like a walk in the park to what he's just been through this week. Amazing record here is Kelly Slater makes another final out here at Chopu, his first final of the season. We talked about how he was outside the top five picture. You can see why he gave him a little space going that close, surfing waves like this and coming up just short. Has to sting. Yeah, absolutely. It's got a sting. It's got to hurt. But, you know, Kelly's been on the both ends of that stick. He knows exactly what he's got to do now. And, you know, the thing that with Kelly is those things fire him up, you know, to realize how close he came. He's not going to let that happen again as well. We'll head down to Rosie Joe. How good that was. I don't think you do, because Rosie, let's hear about that. Oh, wow. Gabriel Medina. I mean, you've ticked so many boxes right now, silenced a lot of critics winning the Billabong Pro Tahiti, flawless, massive conditions and beating Kelly Slater. Talk us through your win. I really know what to say, you know. I was going to that heat and then I went home to talk to my mom and the words she said to me inspired me. She said, no one is bigger than God. And I trust in God. And I think that was him, you know. I'm so blessed to to have these conditions at CHOPES and to surf against all these guys. You know, I'm a big fan of everyone and I don't know what to say. I'm so happy right now. Gabriel, so proud of you. Obviously, your family is so impressed. But, you know, we were saying earlier, you did take that one wipeout and that's pretty much the only wipeout that you had the entire event. Just talk to us about that experience, too. Just that happening in the final with all the pressure on you. Yeah, I just did a mistake, you know. I thought that was it, you know. I know Kelly, he's I don't know what to say. He's a legend of surfing and he knows what he's doing. And when I fell off, I felt I had lost that heat, you know. And I know, as I say, that was God. Thanks, God. Thanks, Mom. Thanks, my family, sponsors. I'm I'm so happy right now. You know, when I usually speak to you, you're so cool, calm and collected. And you just have you know, you always have a mission in your mind. But right now, you're so emotional. Just tell us about that winning feeling. Oh, it's the best feeling ever. Win, like the waves were just perfect and big, too. And this feeling is amazing. I don't know this, you know, this crying is it's just because I love surfing. I love what I'm doing right now. And to get this waves was unbelievable. OK, and obviously there's a lot of people that are here. Your dad's here to support you. All the water patrol, the people that worked on the event. Who do you want to thank and give a massive shout out to? Yeah, I want to thank ASP to put this event on here. This way, I love more now this way. Yeah. Thanks for the water patrol to keep us safe. And all the judges, all the all the is working on ASP, you know. Thanks, guys. You guys are doing a good job. And I'm really happy to be part of this. And yeah, I can say some Portuguese. Thank you to everyone who's watching. I'm super happy right now. I'm sure a lot of Brazilians saw it. And I'm honored to have represented Brazil. I want to send a huge shout out to Cave Pool, who's watching me. All the people, Pedrinho, Camaras, Murilinho, everyone who's here, PC, the people from Maresias, my mom. And there's a lot of people to thank. But thank you, everyone. I'm very happy now. And this is for us. Well, a huge congratulations to Gabriel Medina, Kelly Slater. What a performance. Back to you, Joe. This has been an amazing event and day. We are right there with you, Rosie. Incredible words from Gabriel Medina showing emotion for the first time. And Rosie was spot on with that feeling. He comes into every event so determined to win and nothing is going to stand in his way. And for the first time, letting it all go at the end of an amazing final. Signs of a true champion, Potts. Unbelievable. I mean, Gabriel Medina didn't put a foot wrong. And, you know, that whole thing of saying, you know, when he wiped out on that one wave, you know, he thought that was it. You know, Kelly Slater was at such a high caliber today that one mistake was all it was going to take. But Gabriel Medina managing to pull that off. Kelly came so close at the end. An unbelievable day of surfing. And, you know, I think the sport itself is the winner. And you guys at home watching. I mean, it doesn't get any better than that, guys. Well, really special to watch. The best ever in history, as we're calling it now. We'll send it home with the boys on the desk for an insane finale. Ronnie, Aki, Strider. Good to see you guys. Great job, Joe and Potts. What an incredible contest. Gabriel Medina winning his third event for the year. Made history on the Gold Coast. First Brazilian winner there in Fiji. First Brazilian winner there. Not the first Brazilian to win here. Bruno Santos did it back in 2008, but he is the first world tour competitor Brazilian to have stood at the top come the end of the event. And what a great performance it was. Really peaked in the final. Yeah, didn't he peak in the final? Charged. He really took it on. Wow. I'm pretty dumbfounded about that whole contest. Kelly said it. I think it's the best contest I've ever seen. That semi between John John and Kelly was amazing. And Kelly almost won that final to Strider. He came so close. Yeah, it was. You can't win them all. And it was one of those where it was just on the edge. We saw a lot of those waves happen. We saw, you know, Owen, we saw Joel Parkinson. We saw a lot of guys just almost make it out the end. But, you know, almost doesn't count. And Gabriel took it to him. Gabriel just stepped up and he got some of the most amazing waves in that final. He fell from the sky late. It was he was he was pushed to a limit and you could see it. And it was really great to watch him, you know, take his level, put it up there where it needed to be and going for it. I mean, just that one wave where he just fell out of the sky was so beautiful. So great to watch the hats off to Gabriel Medina and one of the sickest contests we've ever seen. And I can't wait to see this year finish up and possibly have the first Brazilian world champion.