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, Ace once again did what he did in France back in 2008: He beat Kelly Slater in the final. Kelly, who didn’t appreciate a priority call that left him on the back foot from early on (Ace had priority, Ace paddled for wave, Ace kept priority), put together a 17.90 combined total, but 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.” While Ace now moves to 10th on the world tour, Kelly takes the number one spot. BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:1 – Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18.942 – Kelly Slater (USA) 17.90 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:SF 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18.67 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.80SF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.73 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 7.67 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:QF 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.07 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 7.06QF 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 19.17 def. John John Florence (HAW) 17.33QF 3: Kai Otton (AUS) 16.54 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.90QF 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.86 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 8.66 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 5 RESULTS:Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.20 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.40Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.16 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8.30Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 18.00 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 17.27Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.74 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.97 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 RESULTS:Heat 1: Josh Kerr (AUS) 16.67, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.47, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8.67Heat 2: John John Florence (HAW) 18.67, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 17.80, Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.10Heat 3: Kai Otton (AUS) 18.93, Julian Wilson (AUS) 18.74, Kelly Slater (USA) 14.77Heat 4: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 18.53, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.47, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.70 BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 3 RESULTS:Heat 9: Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.34 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 0.73Heat 10: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 9.60 def. Yadin Nicol (AUS) 7.10Heat 11: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 16.70 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.16Heat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.33 def. Alain Riou (PYF) 15.76 CURRENT ASP WCT TOP 5 (Following Billabong Pro Tahiti): 1. Kelly Slater (USA) 38,950 pts2. Mick Fanning (AUS) 37,900 pts3. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 30,700 pts4. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 29,200 pts5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 25,400 pts