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The Portugal Top 10: Slater Paves Way To 10th Title
Ben Mondy
With the 2022 Championship Tour season moving from the Pacific to the Atlantic and the MEO Pro Portugal set to kick off on March 3rd, we're counting down some of the most memorable moments from the famed barreling beachbreak known as Supertubes.
For the decade-plus that Kelly Slater has competed in Portugal, it is perhaps surprising he hasn't had more success. Given the quality on offer at Supertubes, it is a venue that should play to his strengths. Going into this year's event as the World No. 5 a solid result in Portugal will be critical if he wants to compete at the end of the season in the Rip Curl WSL Finals.
To win, Slater may need to channel his only victory in Peniche all the way back in 2010. And typical for Kelly, his event win came with plenty of high performance drama.
In the Semifinal, Slater was on the ropes against Australia's Chris Davidson until suddenly, he wasn't.
Buzzer beaters are now a hallmark of Slater's success, and on this day Kelly took off on a closeout in the dying minutes of the heat, unleashed a towering Alley-Oop 360, and was rewarded with a 9.33 to secure his place in the Final.
"What can you do when the King pulls something like that?" Davidson asked after being defeated by Slater. "All I could do was salute him."
That maneuver was symbolic of an event that had already set a new high-performance benchmark. Clean, fun conditions had transformed Supertubes from a bone-crunching barrel-fest into a dreamy, blue-green skatepark.
Slater, then a spritely 38-year-old, was all too willing to engage his young competitors in all aspects of state-of-the-art surfing.
After the last gasp Semifinal heroics, Kelly would go on to defeat a young South African named Jordy Smith in the Final. This feat marked his 44th CT win -- he now has 56 CT wins after taking out the 2022 Billabong Pro Pipeline -- and cemented his position as the World No. 1.
Slater's first win in Portugal was a rare new milestone in a career where he had achieved almost everything. The win would also pave the way for him to claim his 10th World Title at the Tour's next stop in Puerto Rico. If his GOAT status hadn't already been certified, it certainly was after that.
The only question that remains now is can he do it again?
Read More:
The waiting period for the MEO Pro Portugal gets underway on March 3rd. Keep it locked right here at WorldSurfLeague.com for the latest news and info as we countdown to the third stop of the 2022 Championship Tour.
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