Kelly Slater wins 2010 Rip Curl Pro Portugal

Well, Kelly Slater has done it again and his quest for a 10th world title might soon be over. Earlier today, Slater defeated Jordy Smith in the final heat of the 2010 Rip Curl Pro Portugal. Not only is this Kelly’s third win of the year but he now has a commanding lead over the 2nd ranked Jordy Smith, of over 9000 points.

Mathematically Jordy is not out of contention to knock off Slater and either is the 3rd ranked Mick Fanning but it’s going to be very tough. With only two contests left on the year one of these guys would have to win both events and Kelly would have to be knocked out in the early rounds. I haven’t done the exact math yet but we’ll have that for you in our preview post for the next event, which is the Rip Curl Pro Search Puerto Rico.

You know Kelly is beyond excited to win an unheard of 10th ASP World Title and he has the chance to do it at the next contest.

“It’s obviously a very big deal for me,” Slater said. “If it happens, it will be a major accomplishment for me in my life. I’m fortunate to have an amazing circle of friends around me: my girlfriend Kalani, Belly (Stephen Bell), Travis (Lee) and a bunch of others. Today’s win puts me another step closer and we’ll see what happens in Puerto Rico.”

Jordy Smith, although disappointed about not winning, was still stoked on being in Portugal and being able to compete against Kelly in the final.

“I’ve had a blast here in Portugal,” Smith said. “We’ve had some really fun waves. I was stoked to be in the Final with Kelly (Slater). I’m stoked to be in the race still with him. He’s someone I’ve looked up to my whole life and it’s an honor to be up there in the rankings next to him. I’m looking forward to the next event and hope we get some more fun wedges.”

I guess we’ll see what happens in Puerto Rico. I will be down there for most of the event so expect some day to day updates, photos, video, and interviews from the contest. Hopefully I’ll be heading back to New York with the experience of witnessing Kelly Slater win his 10th title. We’ll have to start calling him K10.

You can watch the highlights of the final heat by clicking here or you can head over to live.ripcurl.com for all the heats on demand.

Related Posts

Rip Curl Pro Portugal Final Heat

Kelly Slater High Fives Jordy Smith at the Rip Curl Pro Puerto Rico

Rip Curl Pro Portugal 2010

Rip Curl Pro Bells is Live