Kelly Slater Takes The Title At The Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy
Tuesday 30th of August 2022
On Saturday, the Finals of the coveted surfing trophy began at Sultans with the ultimate surfing discipline of the event, Thruster Division.
In round one of the event, the 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater had an easy win over Rob Machado (USA) and Taylor Knox (USA) with a dominant start. He then advanced to the first Semifinal where he faced the Maldivian Surfing Champion Hussain “Iboo” Areef. The atmosphere was buzzing during the battle of the boards at Sultans with cheering from both sides echoing through the air. Maldivian flags waved on boats in the sea as they rooted for a local win and at the shore, fans were supporting for Slater from their sunbeds. However, it was Slater who took the win and advanced to the Final Round.
While speaking about the face-off Iboo said “I am very honoured and happy to have surfed these past few days. These guys are legends; they are the people I watched when I was learning to surf. They had a big impact on my surfing career. The last heat with Kelly was probably the best heat of my life. I never thought in my dreams that I would be surfing against him, man-on-man.
In the Thruster Division, Slater went against Rob Machado where he scored a 9.33 during the last minutes-the highest wave score of the event, cementing his second victory. As a result, he was crowned both the Single Fin Winner and the Thruster Champion.
Talking about his time at Four Seasons, Slater said “This whole event has been so fun, it’s been really relaxed with the guys. To have this crew together has been really enjoyable, and Iboo has been a great addition. I’ve never met him before, but he’s had a smile on his face the whole time-it was so nice to get to know him and surf with him.”
The 2 surfers with the most points in all the events combined advanced to the Grand Final. With the most consistent surfing and competitive wins, the two finalists were Slater and Shane Dorian (HAW). Dorian has been closing in on Slater with 2 out 3 heat wins against him.
With inconsistent sets rolling through the lineup, conditions were precarious for the Finalists at Sultans. Dorian found himself in a tough situation for most of the heat, but he was able to push through and land a solid score of 8.7 in the dying minutes. However, he wasn’t able to accumulate the backup score needed to take the win. Hence, Slater took the title with high scores of 8.23 and 8.73 in the Grand Final.
An opulent surfing event, Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy, completes its 10th edition in the island paradise this year, reigning in five surfing legends of the group "Momentum Generation" and local champion “Iboo”.
