You can blame Kai Otton for all of this. Photo: ASP/Cestari
We were given a Christmas present early yesterday, surf fans. Several stumbles by world title contenders at the Rip Curl Pro in Portugal have sent the title race to Pipe – and what a fitting crescendo it promises to be. Of all the scenarios that could decide a world title, we couldn’t have asked for a better one than this. Kelly needs to win the event, Mick needs to finish no worse than third and, come the conclusion of this title race, one man will have defended his legend or one will have become one.
How apt then, that in a title race where a competitor has yet to stamp his authority on it, we will have a decider 150 feet from the sand on the world’s most treacherous and fiercely contested slab of rock: The Banzai! This is no place for the meek, and tepid title contenders need not apply. Kelly’s early departure from the event and Mick’s failure to make the semis might seem to stack the odds in favor of the Australian, but I wouldn’t be so sure. Kelly is a six-time Pipe Master and arguably the best surfer in the history of The Banzai/Backdoor. Mick, on the other hand, has never won there before and having choked on a golden opportunity in Portugal to take the title, he finds himself in a very (psychologically at least) unenviable position. The title is his to lose at Pipe. The event, with its death-defying barrels and a dozen or so hardened Pipe specialists mixed in with rest of the world’s best, offers more ways to lose than any other event.
You can blame Kai Otton for all of this. At 26, Kai was a late qualifier for the tour, and it’s been a hard road ever since. 2013 has been his best year to date, and these last three events in particular have provided a fitting showcase for his underrated, though superbly vintage, approach. You won’t find him blowing minds in the latest hi-fi blockbuster, but Kai remains a surfer’s surfer. His prowess in waves of consequence is perhaps his best known quality, and we saw plenty of that in his blasé approach to several sand-spitters in Portugal and during his run to the quarters in France. But it was his versatile rail game, and the classic flair he throws with it, that was particularly noteworthy in his performance in Portugal. He’s got the perfect amount of jam-to-flow ratio in his pocket hacks, his frontside is equal to his backside, his reflexes and speed control are such that he wastes not a drop of wave, and unlike almost every other beach break specialist on tour, he never forgets his style even when thrashing out these quickfire three and four turn combos. No matter how much zest he puts into a re-entry – and he was throwing plenty at ’em, especially on his backhand – he still drops straight back into that clinical bottom turn and, in what sets him apart (to his opponent in the final, Nat Young), there’s also a certain malleability in Kai’s approach. And this is the quintessential mark of the super-talented beach break surfer. While it may be lost in the epileptic fits of triple rotation side-flips that dominate most high profile films, it’s a sight to behold in the real-time format of a competition.
And Kelly… it was his shocking back-to-back losses in round one and two that opened the door for Mick to claim the title in Portugal. The Champ appeared to be suffering a hangover of sorts from his quarterfinal elimination in France. He went down to an unknown 16-year-old in pretty bad circumstances in round one, then went on to lose in round two on account of his opponent’s air reverse that you can see at any beach break the world over. Kelly has spoken openly of his reluctance to train too hard at perfecting his aerial game because of the injury toll inherent to the high velocity moves. It’s a savvy approach given the impeccable shape he’s been able to keep himself in over the years, but it’s a tact he might consider changing after his loss to the Portugese wildcard, Frederico Morais. One measly 3/4 rotation air reverse would have done it, but despite two very makeable chances, he couldn’t get it done. The early loss wasn’t all bad news, however. At 41 years old, with 53 tour victories and 11 world titles, he now finds himself in a position to claim a 12th crown at Pipe. You’d be game to bet against him with such a stark pass-or-fail challenge like that. Ask yourself, how often does the champ get to flex his focus on a new challenge in surfing? And what tends to happen when he does?
