Kelly Slater eliminated on day two of Drug Aware Pro

Today, event organisers burned through the end of round one and straight through round two at main break Margaret River. The biggest upset? Kelly Slater, knocked by Leo Fioravanti! “Surfing a heat against Kelly has always been a dream of mine,” said the Italian. “To actually beat him in a heat is unbelievable, I am still in shock. These guys are the best surfers in the world so you have to surf one-hundred percent. It is a special opportunity and you do not get these opportunities that much, so I am having so much fun.”

It must be continually surreal for kids like Leo on the odd occasions when they take down Kelly. WSL/Kelly Cestari

“I didn’t start out real great,” said Kelly of the loss. “I had a quick start, but at the end of my wave I couldn’t see because I was in the foam trying to recover, and when I jumped I went straight onto my tailbone right onto a rock. I think what’s going on is that when you get a guy like Leonardo, who has nothing to lose and gets into the event as an injury replacement, he knows he has to go out there and have fun and be smart. He had a game plan to be on the best waves and it worked out for him.”

Kelly hasn’t looked like himself for some time – a fact he knows better than anyone. Blame uninspiring waves. WSL/Kelly Cestari

But, let’s backtrack a little. The first heat of the day involved John John Florence, a stiff offshore, a 9.00 and a 9.87. That’s what more scientifically referred to as watch that shit in HOD. “I’ve been surfing out here a lot this time around, whereas in the past couple of years I’d come here on freesurf trips before the event and surf everywhere but here,” said John John. “This year I’ve really focused on just surfing here. I’ve been here a bunch of times and surfed this wave quite a bit. I like this wave a lot.”

Allergic to disappointment. WSL/Ed Sloane

And so, back to Kelly. His the beginning of his end came in the opening heat of the day when Kolohe Andino burned past the 11-time Champ and Miguel Pupo. “You have to react really quickly with picking a wave and picking a manoeuvre,” said Brother. “I wasn’t sure if Kelly was going to go on that first one and then he ended up going. I was stoked he did because it was not that good, but if I would have taken off, I would have gotten an interference, which is not a cool thing to start the heat with.”

Catch all the stuff you missed today, right over here. And, tune in tomorrow for more of the same.

Brother put himself in the enviable position of skipping round two, by winning his first heat. WSL/Kelly Cestari

Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Men’s Remaining Round 1 Results:
Heat 10: Kolohe Andino 15.70, Kelly Slater 12.16, Miguel Pupo 5.10
Heat 11: Josh Kerr 14.93, Wiggolly Dantas 14.50, Jay Davis 9.50
Heat 12: John Florence 18.87, Adrian Buchan 15.27, Sebastian Zietz 13.20

Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Men’s Round 2 Results:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (13.00) 14.80 def. Jay Davies (AUS) 14.60
Heat 2: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.94 def. Jacob Willcox (AUS) 13.73
Heat 3: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 16.60 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.43
Heat 4: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 18.06 def. Jack Robinson (AUS) 14.37
Heat 5: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18.00 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 17.93
Heat 6: Adam Melling (AUS) 13.84 def. Conner Coffin (USA) 12.63
Heat 7: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 14.74 def. Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 12.83
Heat 8: Alejo Muniz (BRA)12.23 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 10.57
Heat 9: Matt Banting (AUS) 14.90 def. Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 13.30
Heat 10: Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 14.23 def. Ryan Callinan (AUS) 13.64
Heat 11: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.50 def. Davey Cathels (AUS) 13.33
Heat 12: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 15.40 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 13.00

Drug Aware Margaret River Pro Men’s Round 3 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. Matt Banting (AUS)
Heat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 5: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Heat 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 8: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 9: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (USA)
Heat 10: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Sebastian Zietz (HAW)
Heat 11: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Caio Ibelli (BRA)
Heat 12: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)