![](\"http:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/uploads\/771f2f95-9ee9-feab.jpg\")
\nPictured: Adriano de Souza (BRA), 22, collected his first ASP World Tour victory today at the Billabong Pro Mundaka, bolting up to 3rd on the ASP World Tour ratings.
\nCredit: \u00a9 ASP\/ CI\/ SCHOLTZ via GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
Billabong Pro Mundaka
\nStop No. 8 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour
\nMundaka, Euskadi\/Spain
\nOctober 5 \u2013 October 17, 2009<\/p>\n
De Souza Takes Inaugural ASP World Tour Win at Billabong Pro Mundaka<\/p>\n
\nPictured: Adriano de Souza (BRA), 22, collected his first ASP World Tour victory today at the Billabong Pro Mundaka, bolting up to 3rd on the ASP World Tour ratings.
\nCredit: \u00a9 ASP\/ CI\/ SCHOLTZ via GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
SOPELANA, Euskadi\/Spain (Tuesday, October 13, 2009) \u2013 Adriano de Souza (BRA), 22, claimed his inaugural ASP World Tour win today, taking out the Billabong Pro Mundaka, eliminating fellow Finalist Chris Davidson (AUS), 33, in punchy two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves at the backup venue of Sopelana.<\/p>\n
Stop No. 8 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Mundaka experienced an array of conditions for the event, from clean surf on the opening day at Mundaka to a lengthy seven-day wait before a marathon 24-heat session yesterday, culminating into today\u2019s dramatic finale.<\/p>\n
De Souza, who had previously experienced in the ASP World Junior Championships (winning in 2003) and on the ASP World Qualifying Series winning in 2005), was rapt with his inaugural ASP World Tour victory.\u201cI don\u2019t have words to express how happy I am right now,\u201d De Souza said. \u201cI have been working so hard for this ever since winning the ASP World Junior Championships and the ASP WQS. To finally win here in Mundaka, where the culture is so rich and the people love surfing so much, is an incredible thing. This is the most special day of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young Brazilian dominated the crumbling lefthander of Sopelana, racking up an insurmountable 16.40 out of a possible 20 to overtake his Australian opponent, resulting in his history-making win as the first South American to take out the prestigious event win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conditions have been hard for this event but we surfed the best waves that were available to us,\u201d De Souza said. \u201cDavo (Chris Davidson) is such a strong surfer and he has been going after a win for so long. When he beat C.J. (Hobgood) in the Semifinals, I knew it was going to be a battle. I was able to get the better waves today and that\u2019s why I won.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victory rockets De Souza into a solid 3rd place on the 2009 ASP World Tour ratings, putting him within striking distance for a shot at the ASP World Title.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not thinking about the world title right now,\u201d De Souza said. \u201cI am just enjoying my win. This is the biggest win of my career and have a lot of confidence heading into the next events.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davidson, who\u2019s storied career amongst the world\u2019s best surfers has seen him qualifying and falling off tour multiple times, secured his best ever result today with his Runner-Up finish at the Billabong Pro Mundaka.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything has felt special at this event for some reason,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cEverything has clicked and I\u2019ve felt confident in every heat. Couldn\u2019t find the waves in the Final, but congrats to Adriano (de Souza) \u2013 it\u2019s a truly deserving win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The win vaults Davidson into 20th position on the 2009 ASP World Tour ratings, well within the requalification cutoff for 2010.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a really crucial event for me in terms of the ratings,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cI was on the bubble heading into this event and knew I needed to pull something out of the bag. I\u2019m frothing for the next event and the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
C.J. Hobgood (USA), 30, former ASP World Champion (2001), matched his best result today, finishing equal 3rd and solidifying his position at 4th on the ASP World Tour ratings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really stoked for Davo (Chris Davidson), but it\u2019s disappointing at the same time,\u201d Hobgood said. \u201cI\u2019m happy that I matched my best result this season, but was hoping for better. I felt like I prepared well and surfed conditions similar to this most of the week, but in the end, I couldn\u2019t edge into the Final.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly Slater (USA), 37, reigning nine-time ASP World Champion, was in stunning form throughout the event despite nursing an Ilio-tibial band strain in his knee, only losing to eventual winner De Souza in a tightly fought Semifinal bout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe knee felt okay today,\u201d Slater said. \u201cIt was sore walking downhill but felt okay out in the lineup. I guess I\u2019m still in contention (for the ASP World Title), but we\u2019ll see how it pans out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The race for the 2009 ASP World Title is far from over and the world\u2019s best surfers will battle it out in the remaining two events.<\/p>\n
Highlights from the Billabong Pro Mundaka will be available via http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com\/mundaka09\/<\/p>\n
Next stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour will be the Rip Curl Pro Search in Peniche, Portugal from 19 \u2013 28, 2009.<\/p>\n
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO MUNDAKA FINAL RESULTS:<\/p>\n
1 \u2013 Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.40<\/p>\n
2 \u2013 Chris Davidson (AUS) 11.83<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO MUNDAKA SEMIFINAL RESULTS:<\/p>\n
SF 1: Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.84 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 10.53<\/p>\n
SF 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.00 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 15.93<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO MUNDAKA QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:<\/p>\n
QF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.00 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 10.97<\/p>\n
QF 2: Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.40 def. Drew Courtney (AUS) 10.10<\/p>\n
QF 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.33 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 10.67<\/p>\n
QF 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.33 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.60<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PRO MUNDAKA ROUND 3 RESULTS:<\/p>\n
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 8.00 def. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 6.17<\/p>\n
Heat 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.93 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 10.90<\/p>\n
Heat 3: Chris Davidson (AUS) 14.73 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 14.17<\/p>\n
Heat 4: Drew Courtney (AUS) 13.26 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 10.74<\/p>\n
Heat 5: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.44 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.10<\/p>\n
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.16 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 11.44<\/p>\n
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) 12.93 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 9.26<\/p>\n
Heat 8: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.60 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.43<\/p>\n
CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10 (After Billabong Pro Mundaka):<\/p>\n
1 \u2013 Mick Fanning (AUS) 6350 points<\/p>\n
2 \u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS) 6306 points<\/p>\n
3 \u2013 Adriano de Souza (BRA) 5773 points<\/p>\n
4 \u2013 C.J. Hobgood (USA) 5748 points<\/p>\n
5 \u2013 Bede Durbidge (AUS) 5524 points<\/p>\n
6 \u2013 Kelly Slater (USA) 5514 points<\/p>\n
7 \u2013 Taj Burrow (AUS) 5149 points<\/p>\n
8 \u2013 Bobby Martinez (USA) 4914 points<\/p>\n
9 \u2013 Taylor Knox (USA) 4816 points<\/p>\n
10 \u2013 Damien Hobgood (USA) 4794 points<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Billabong Pro Mundaka Stop No. 8 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour Mundaka, Euskadi\/Spain October 5 \u2013 October 17, 2009 De Souza Takes Inaugural ASP World Tour Win at Billabong Pro Mundaka Pictured: Adriano de Souza (BRA), 22, collected his first ASP World Tour victory today at the Billabong Pro Mundaka, bolting up … Continue reading “De Souza Takes Inaugural ASP World Tour Win at Billabong Pro Mundaka”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13773\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}