hiya wa howa aswat

Mick Fanning has been crowned 2013 ASP World Tour champion, in the ultimate surfing showdown of the 21st century, held in firing 10-15 foot Banzai Pipeline waves and suicide close-outs.

The Australian surfer collects his third world surfing trophy, on a day of extreme emotions, at the Billabong Pipe Masters 2013, Hawaii. The decisive battle was all about focus and details, not surfing skills, with the Oahu's North Shore as prime stage.

Kelly Slater was still hoping he could steal the title away from Fanning, with an event victory and an early loss by Mick. Fanning kicked off the finals' day with a victory over an injured CJ Hobgood, in large NW swell peaks and multiple dangerous wipeouts.

But Fanning took a beating to win Round 5. The Australian got pounded in every single wave (eight) of the heat, until a last-minute power miracle came his way, a flawless 9.5-point ride. One heat to go.

"That's what you got to do if you want to win a world title. I wasn't too nervous. You just get them or you don't. It's more you versus the ocean", Fanning underlined, before his critical Quarterfinal heat.

The big rogue sets kept rolling. Fanning would be seeded against Yadin Nicol and surf before Kelly Slater. Again, on a last-minute wave, the man does it. At 9am, in Penrith, New South Wales, pints of beer celebrated the victory of the local surfer boy.

"I saw this set on the horizon, and I said 'I am going to pick the right one'. I'm overwhelmed with emotion", says Fanning, with tears in his eyes. Two critical waves in the dying second of two consecutive heats. Absolutely breathtaking.

For the second consecutive year, the ASP World Tour was decided in the last heats of the Pipe Masters. Joel Parkinson hands the silver soup cup to his fellow countryman, in a day of dreams and tears poured into the Hawaiian sea.

Mick Eugene Fanning, 32, three-time world surfing champion. Take a glimpse inside the world of the "White Lightning".

The first question of the upcoming season is whether Kelly Slater will be part of the ASP World Tour. He said he could be retiring from the Dream Tour, if he didn't win the 2013 title.


The 2014 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) schedule has already be announced. The new Dream Tour season kicks off with the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, on the 1st March, 2014, in Australia. The full calendar is already available.