Bells is off for the day; come watch Mason Ho’s heat-winner:

Eight points. That’s what wildcard Mason Ho scooped for this frontside spin today at the Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach. He beat Mick Fanning and Freddy Patacchia in the first round heat, and delivered the exact type of post-heat interview you’d hoped for. Asked if he’d envisioned taking down three-time event winner Mick in the first round, Mase stared down the barrel of the camera, eyebrows raised, and simply said:” Yep.” He then explained how he’d impulsively apologised to Freddy for beating him, to which Freddy awesomely replied, “No way, what are you sorry about!”

With only seven heats run today, and the waves far from overwhelming, there wasn’t too many particularly interesting moments. The betting types might’ve lost some cash on heat two, in which usual-workhorse Adriano de Souza was beaten by the peep’s champ, Brett Simpson. Ads’ Brazilian brother, Gabriel Medina, had better fortune in taking down rookie Matt Banting and wildcard Joe Van Dijk.

“Today isn’t typical Bells, we’re surfing up at Rincon which can be hard to surf so I’m stoked to win that heat,” said Gabriel. “I’ve got a good board for this wave and I’m feeling good, that’s about all you can do. It’s really hard to win this event, especially against all the regular-footers. All I can do is my best, hopefully I finish with a good result.”

Kelly Slater was another winner today, looking deadly and not at all the way he did in the third round of the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper. “I watched a couple of heats before to try and judge which waves were the best ones,” said Kelly. “I didn’t catch my wave until 10 minutes but it was a pretty good wave and then I was in sync for the good ones. The tradition here at Bells, winning the trophy and the history here all make it so special. You put everything on the line to try and win here.”

Mr John John Florence also got it done, coming off a stint in West Oz and straight into some very good facework (with an above-lip spin to full stop his second scoring ride). “That Bell, the trophy, is insane,” said John. “It’s probably one of the best trophies on tour. It’s an amazing wave too, unpredictable and powerful.”

Will the event run tomorrow? Given the way the previous World Tour event rolled out, we all know better than to speculate prior to Kiz Perrow’s fabulous (and media-trained!) vernacular delivering the morning word. Til then, get some kinda fix here.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.33, Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 11.73, Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.63
Heat 2: Brett Simpson (USA) 15.00, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.33, Kai Otton (AUS) 6.00
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.67, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.06, Ricardo Christie (NZL) 7.73
Heat 4: John John Florence (HAW) 15.33, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 11.47, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 10.17
Heat 5: Mason Ho (HAW) 13.13, Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.10, Freddy Patacchia Jr. (HAW) 13.00
Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.76, Matt Banting (AUS) 11.83, Joe Van Dijk (AUS) 8.23
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.33, Keanu Asing (HAW) 13.44, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.20

Upcoming Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 1 Match-ups:
Heat 8: Michel Bourez (PYF), Nat Young (USA), Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 9: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Glenn Hall (IRL)
Heat 10: Josh Kerr (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 11: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Owen Wright (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 12: Julian Wilson (AUS), Kolohe Andino (USA), Matt Wilkinson (AUS)

Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Round 1 Match-ups:
Heat 1: Malia Manuel (HAW), Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), Laura Enever (AUS)
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Silvana Lima (BRA), Nikki Van Dijk (AUS)
Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW), Dimity Stoyle (AUS), Pauline Ado (FRA)
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW), Alessa Quizon (HAW)
Heat 5: Tyler Wright (AUS), Johanne Defay (FRA), Sage Erickson (USA)
Heat 6: Lakey Peterson (USA), Courtney Conlogue (USA), Coco Ho (HAW)