Will he do it again? Photo: Nate Smith
Event #5 for the Men’s 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour will take place on the Fijian island of Tavarua with a waiting period that begins on June 1st and runs through June 13th.
The start of the 2014 Fiji Pro may be the most highly anticipated event on the loaded 11 event Men’s ASP WCT schedule. 11-time ASP World Champ and current world number one, Kelly Slater, is winless thus far on the 2014 ASP Men’s WCT. However, as the reigning and four-time champion of the Fiji Pro, Kelly certainly has the top 34 on high alert as his performances in previous Fiji Pro events have been as dominant as the sport of professional surfing has ever seen.
Kelly reaching the podium this year seems like a foregone conclusion with the tougher prediction being the extrapolation of his opponent for a projected final. One dream-final scenario would pit Kelly against current World #15 barrel-riding savant John John Florence in a rematch of their 2013 Fiji Pro semifinal – a heat in which Kelly schooled John John, who had been the event’s most in-form surfer prior to Slater’s motivated and inspired shellacking.
Other surfers with a penchant for posting outstanding results at the Fiji Pro, and who seem poised to make a great run during the 2014 Fiji Pro, include CJ Hobgood with equal 3rd place finishes in both 2012 and 2013, and Mick Fanning with Fiji Pro results of equal 3rd in 2012 and a runner-up finish in 2013.
Three-time Fiji Pro Trials winner, as well as defending trials champ, Isei Tokovou is scheduled to face top-seeded Kelly Slater and World #20 Mitch Crews in Heat #6 of Round 1 as the event’s sole wildcard. Isei will need to rely on his solid local knowledge of the reefs at Cloudbreak and Restaurants to offset his minimal WCT competition experience.
With a less than stellar swell forecast for the first week of the 2014 Fiji Pro waiting period, you can be sure that all interested parties will be hopeful for the formation of a healthy purple blob of swell creating energy emerging from the South Pacific and Indian Ocean for the final week of the 2014 Fiji Pro waiting period. After all, it’s Fiji and all eyes will be intently focused on all the electrifying action on the heart-shaped island of Tavarua.
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