http://youtu.be/hcYmyJs5O74
So. As you know Mick Fanning stole a march on his fourth world title yesterday in Portugal. With Gabriel Medina throwing his toys out the pram and Slater’s uncharacteristic loss to Aritz it’s all to play for coming in to Pipeline. The scenarios below lay out who needs what. It is, in essence, Medina’s to lose. If he bungles it in the early rounds then it becomes a duel between Fanning and Slater. History would favour Slater in such a scenario. But Medina is no North Shore slouch. Even with limited experience at Pipe he has already made the quarters there. It’s going to be a fascinating tussle. Assuming the locals let the ASP run the event with the only two local wildcards…
All pics: ASP
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The 2014 Title race scenarios are now as follows:
If Medina finishes 2nd or better at the Billabong Pipeline Masters, he will clinch the 2014 ASP World Title.
If Medina finishes 3rd at the Billabong Pipeline Masters, Fanning will need to win the event and Slater will be out of contention.
If Medina finishes 5th at the Billabong Pipeline Masters, Fanning will need to win the event and Slater will be out of contention.
If Medina finishes 9th at the Billabong Pipeline Masters, Fanning will need to finish 2nd or better and Slater will be out of contention.
If Medina finishes 13th or 25th at the Billabong Pipeline Masters, Fanning will need to finish 3rd to win or 5th to send the title race into a one-heat “surf-off” between himself and Medina.
If Medina finishes 13th or 25th at the Billabong Pipeline Masters, Slater will need to win the event.
Note: The 2014 ASP World Championship Tour rankings are based on a surfer’s best nine results out of 11 events.
