22 years down the line since his very first professional surfing victory (which happened to be at Trestles), Kelly has once again rewritten the history books by claiming his 50th World Tour win at the same break. In a scintillating show of high performance shreddery put on by just about everyone, Kelly ended up defeating the event’s most on-form competitor Joel Parkinson (who posted the two highest scores of the whole contest) in the final.

“I know I went out there feeling like I didn’t have anything to lose because Parko (Joel Parkinson) was the form guy,” Slater said. “He was pretty much the standout in every round. He schooled Medina (Gabriel Medina) yesterday somehow and was combo’ing everybody. I just figured I had to get myself on the best waves and let go a little bit, but it got really quiet out there. It was the first time something really felt like it went my way when they (the judges) took my priority away. By the time they announced it, Joel was above the wave and couldn’t catch it. That was the turning point for me. Every contest I’ve won, there’s some moment where things go my way.”

The win puts Kelly 3rd on the ASP ratings and firmly back in the race for world title contention going into Europe and the back end of the season.

“I knew that heat would either make or break me for the year,” Slater said. “I would have let Parko (Joel Parkinson) have those extra 2,000 points if he’d won and it would look very different on the ratings. It’s nice heading into Europe. I feel like I’ve had so many good years at Lowers and the pressure is really on every year to make the Final – I feel like it’s been like that since I’ve been on tour. It’s cool to win the 50th here. I won my first event as a pro here and it’s great to get this win.”

For video highlights of the event, head on over to http://www.hurley.com/hurleypro/videos.cfm

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 16.50
2 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.00

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.27 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 9.34
SF 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.26 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.43

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.60 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.50
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.17 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.93
QF 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.16 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.04
QF 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.60 def. John John Florence (HAW) 11.60

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.90 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.76
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.94 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.44
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.93 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 9.57
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 18.30 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9.57

CURRENT ASP WCT TOP 5 (After Hurley Pro at Trestles):
1. Mick Fanning (AUS) 41,250 pts
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
3. Kelly Slater (USA)
4. John John Florence (HAW)
5. Adriano de Souza (BRA)