Kai Otton wins the 2013 Rip Curl Pro, Portugal

Kai Otton just won the Rip Curl Pro, Peniche over Nat Young. After beating Mick Fanning in the quarterfinals (and thus removing Mick’s chance of winning the world title in Portugal, it’ll now come down to Pipe), Kai clocked a pair of sevens to take down Joel Parkinson in the semis and landed in an all-goofy final against the new Rookie Of The Year, Nat. It’s Kai’s first ever time at the top of a world tour podium, and in an emotional victory speech he acknowledged Andy Irons before dedicating the win to his grandpa. Beating two wold champs and enjoying your first dream tour champagne shower? That’s a very good day. “It’s the weirdest feeling ever, I just can’t comprehend it,” said Kai. “I really want to dedicate it to my Granddad, he passed away the year I qualified and never saw me on tour so this is for him. It seems like this event was a little bit of a grind, every heat the tide changed so dramatically you never really knew what was going to happen!” “One of the things that has changed for me this year is my girlfriend being pregnant, I’m pretty excited about that. It’s unbelievable, it’s the next chapter I’m really looking forward to. It’s amazing to have all of the support, all my home town of Tathra, my Mom and Dad who supported me all of my career. To get here is kind of a pinnacle for me.” Nat was bummed not to scoop a win, but Rookie Of The Year is a sweet consolation prize. “The whole final was really frustrating, I couldn’t really get one good wave,” said Nat. “I’ve been searching up-and-down the beach for waves and I was exhausted in the end. It’s been a good day for sure, after getting that close a second place is heart-breaking for sure but it’s still a great result, and Rookie of the Year is amazing too.” The title race now lands in Hawaii and, except for Mick, who ain’t glad about that? “It’s a bit frustrating, obviously I just wanted to surf and unfortunately it didn’t really happen,” said Mick. “I’m stoked that I made some points here, it puts me in a better position going into Pipe and I’m excited to go to Hawaii. I’ll do the whole triple crown so this could be fun! I’ve had a lot of slow heats this year, snuck through a few, but you know every now and then one’s going to go your way. It probably made it a little bit more significant with what was on the line at that time.” Following Mick’s fifth place in Portugal, Kelly must win the Pipe Masters to surpass Mick for the World Title. If Kelly is to win the event, Mick’s gotta scoop a third or better to claim the title for himself. Everybody likes a big end-of-year party… RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL FINAL RESULTS:1 – Kai Otton (AUS) 12.232 – Nat Young (USA) 11.03 RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:SF 1: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.83 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.23SF 2: Nat Young (USA) 14.07 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.66 RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL QUARTER-FINALS RESULTS: QF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.07 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.90QF 2: Kai Otton (AUS) 10.00 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.43QF 3: Nat Young (USA) 15.10 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.54QF 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.67 def. C.J Hobgood (USA) 8.56 RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL ROUND 5 RESULTS: Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.17 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.10Heat 2: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.60 def. John John Florence (HAW) 12.16Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.33 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 8.90Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) 18.40 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.53 RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL ROUND 4 RESULTS:Heat 1: Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.50, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 10.50, Kai Otton (AUS) 9.90Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.00, John John Florence (HAW) 11.70, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 4.74Heat 3: Nat Young (USA) 14.67, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 9.60, Josh Kerr (AUS) 6.46Heat 4: C.J Hobgood (USA) 15.33, Taj Burrow (AUS) 9.30, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 8.17