A thrilling final day of competition at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach saw defending world title champ Mick Fanning as well as Carissa Moore ring the Bell. In doing so, Fanning earned his third ‎Bells Beach‬ title, defeating Taj in the final. White Lightning first won the event well over a decade ago now back in 2001 as a wildcard, as well as in 2012. Despite dwindling swell at Winkipop, where the finals had been moved to due to poor conditions at the Bowl, the final 8 were still able to tap into plenty high-performance open-face awesomeness to finish off the event.

“After that result in Margaret River I went home and worked really hard and I’m so pleased that the hard work paid off. Congratulations to Taj, I’ve never been so nervous for nine minutes of my life, he surfed amazingly,” said Mick Fanning. “We got to surf everywhere at this event which was awesome, we got to surf the Bowl, Rincon and to finish at Winkipop. It’s always been my dream to surf a heat at Winkipop. This is such a special event for me and I feel comfortable here. With the calibre of surfers on tour at the moment there’s never an easy heat and it keeps it so exciting.”

“I felt really good today and I had a fun today,” said Taj. “I had a good final with Mick but it was rough losing knowing I needed a 7 because I felt like there were so many opportunities to get one, but that’s the way it goes. There’s nothing better than ringing that Bell. It’s such an iconic event and I’m glad to have my name on the Bell. I’d love to have it on there a second time but I’ll take this result, put it in the bank and carry on to the next event.”

In another highly anticipated final day match-up, Kelly lost in the quarters to John John, the Hawaiian securing a last-minute low-scoring victory with a 6.83.

“It was a slow heat so the nerves built and I forced a couple of turns. I think after I blew it on that one wave it hit my confidence,” said Kelly. “I’ve been a little nervous this whole contest and I haven’t felt real confident in my surfing lately. I’ve had a couple of things nagging me and I haven’t been free surfing enough. I’m happy for John John though. I’ve had a couple of quarter finals and a semi final so the Australian leg hasn’t been too bad for me.”

Jordy Smith’s Round 5 elimination to Julian Wilson also caused plenty of online wrath, with Jordy chalking a last-minute 9.93 when he needed a 9.97 to take the heat, a tough hit for the on-form South African.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Final Results:

Final: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.83 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.46

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Semifinal Results:

Semifinal 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.43 def. John John Florence (HAW) 13.43
Semifinal 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.20 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.36

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Quarterfinal Results:

Quarterfinal 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.50 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.16
Quarterfinal 2: John John Florence (HAW) 13.13 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 11.10
Quarterfinal 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.53 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.34
Quarterfinal 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.16 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 11.37

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 5 Results:

Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.27 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.33
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.26 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 12.44
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.30 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.26
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 13.37 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 13.10

Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Final Results:

Final: Carissa Moore (HAW) 16.23 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 15.77

Rip Curl Women’s Pro Bells Beach Semifinal Results:

Semifinal 1: Carissa Moore (HAW) 11.10 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 10.53
Semifinal 2: Tyler Wright (AUS) 17.77 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.77