Was Kelly Slater Robbed of a World Championship Title Yesterday?

pipe masters 2013 slater

One of the most dramatic Pipe Masters surfing competitions ever went down last week on Oahu’s North Shore.  The Finals happened yesterday and the conditions were big and beautiful.

41-year-old Kelly Slater (USA) and 32-year-old Mick Fanning (Australia) were competing for the World Championship Title.  Kelly had to win the Pipe Masters to win the World Tour and Mick had to get 5th place or worse.  Mick just had to get 4th place or better and the title was his.

At the end of the day, Kelly Slater won the Pipe Masters in true, freakish Slater style but Mick got the upper hand with a miraculous win over Yadin Nicol in the quarter finals.  The judges gave him a 9.77 for his final wave less than 2 minutes left in the heat and he won that heat by about 0.2 points.  Do you think that wave was a 9.77?  We aren’t so sure…

Regardless, it was an unreal comp and Kelly Slater announced that he will be back on tour in 2014.  

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