Ace Buchan wins the 2013 Billabong Pro, Tahiti

Ace Buchan just won the Billabong Pro, Tahiti. After showing Mick Fanning the door in the semis, he beat Kelly Slater in the final for his first world tour win since beating Kelly in France, back in 2008. While Kelly put together a 17.90 combined total in the last heat of the Chopes event, Ace went turbo and posted 18.94 points. And considering his other scores in the business end (18.67 semis, 19.17 quarters), it was certainly Ace’s day.

Holding back tears, Ace was visibly overwhelmed as he debriefed with GT. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “Kelly is incredible and I thought he snatched it for me at the end. I couldn’t go right… but I probably should have. I still can’t believe it. It hasn’t sunk in. What an incredible day though. The sun came out during the last five minutes and it’s all just really special right now. I knew I had to step it up today. Had to plough through some big names today. Every time I paddled out, I told myself that I only had to catch two waves. That was my mantra through each heat and it worked out well for me.”