The Oakley Pro, Bali (part one)

Day one of the Oakley Pro, Bali absolutely lived up to all our hopes and dreams about what a high-performance contest could be. Kieren Perrow did a smooth air. John John Florence landed the biggest alley oop ever done in a jersey. And, a whole lot of other stuff happened too, but they were the two things that illuminate most clearly in memory of today. Is there such a thing as upsets in a world tour event anymore? Perhaps, but maybe “unexpected outcomes” is a better term. And today there was a whole lot of unexpected outcomes.

“I was happy that I had priority at the end, but priority can also be tough to choose which wave you want,” said Freddy Patacchia after beating Joel Parkinson. “It’s a tough wave to surf, Keramas, and I think a lot of us are trying to figure it out. I lost early in Fiji, so I came here right away and have been putting time in and getting use to the waves here. Joel is the ASP World Champion and a great surfer and we saw Adriano kind of struggling out there as well, so you know it’s tough.”

The following heat saw Yadin Nicol take down Kolohe Andino and Taj Burrow. “It sucks sitting on the bubble because you never want anyone to get injured and you don’t want to have to get their spot, but obviously you want to be in the events,” said Yades. “I hope all of the inured surfers have a speedy recovery. I’m stoked I’m here though. That was a weird heat because I was rattled after that first exchange. Taj and Kolohe are capable of getting huge scores and I was just happy to get a few waves of my own and make the heat.”

In a less surprising outcome, Mick Fanning dominated his heat against Brett Simpson and Bruce Irons. “Really exciting to be back in Bali,” said Mick. “The juniors have had the good fortune to compete here at Keramas over the last few years and all the boys on tour have been pretty jealous. The wave has so much power and variety, it could be the most high-performance wave on the planet. Not ideal conditions for our heat, but still some sets and some sections so I’m stoked to get through.

Even less surprising was Jordy Smith winning his first play. “That was a pretty exciting heat,” said the South-African. “Oney (wildcard) started off really strong, but I was able to claw back around mid-heat. Every wave is a chance to go big – Keramas is that perfect. Few scores started to drop for me and I was able to build some momentum throughout the back half of the heat. I have some really good boards under my feet and I’m just psyched to be here in Bali.”

And finally, the most amazing, important and game-changing heat of the day, being John John Florence vs Sebastian Zietz and Miguel Pupo. As you’ve no doubt seen, John landed the biggest alley oop we’ve ever seen in competition. “I was in the air and saw the bottom and everything happened so fast that I was just reacting,” said John afterwards. “I claimed it pretty hard, but I was so stoked. The ankle is strapped but the brace gives me a lot of confidence and it feels good out there. Just psyched to be at Keramas, this wave is amazing and the boys are ripping so hard.”

Don’t you miss a second of this event tomorrow now, y’hear? Have at it right here.

OAKLEY PRO BALI ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.93, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.17, Dusty Payne (HAW) 8.60
Heat 2: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.67, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.00, Travis Logie (ZAF) 0.00
Heat 3: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 14.56, Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.93, Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.63
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.46, Oney Anwar (IND) 11.93, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 9.03
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.56, Brett Simpson (USA) 6.83, Bruce Irons (HAW) 5.50
Heat 6: Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.10, Kelly Slater (USA) 12.00, Jack Robinson (AUS) 5.83
Heat 7: Nat Young (USA) 17.03, Willian Cardoso (BRA) 13.90, Kai Otton (AUS) 13.40
Heat 8: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.07, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.50, Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.67
Heat 9: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.43, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.17, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 8.17
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF) 17.30, Adam Melling (AUS) 14.10, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.93
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.94, Julian Wilson (AUS) 16.77, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 13.90
Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW) 19.87, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 19.37, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.60

OAKLEY PRO BALI ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Jack Robinson (AUS)
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Bruce Irons (HAW)
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Oney Anwar (IND)
Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Heat 6: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 7: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 8: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 9: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 10: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 11: Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 12: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)