![](\"http:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/uploads\/ab0516c6-22d0-be0d.jpg\")
\nCaption: Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, claimed the 2012 ASP World Title at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons.
\nImage Credit: \u00a9 ASP\/ SCHOLTZ<\/p>\n
Billabong Pipe Masters
\nEvent No. 10 of 10 on 2012 ASP World Championship Tour
\nEvent No. 3 of 3 on the 2012 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
\nBanzai Pipeline, Hawaii\/USA
\nDecember 8 – 20, 2012<\/p>\n
Joel Parkinson Wins 2012 ASP World Title, Seals Season with Billabong Pipe Masters Victory<\/p>\n
\nCaption: Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, claimed the 2012 ASP World Title at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons.
\nImage Credit: \u00a9 ASP\/ SCHOLTZ<\/p>\n
BANZAI PIPELINE, Oahu\/Hawaii (Friday, December 14, 2012) \u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, has claimed his maiden ASP World Title today at the final stop of the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) season, by winning the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons. The Billabong Pipe Masters was also the third and final leg of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series.<\/p>\n
Only Parkinson and reigning 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater(USA), 40, were in contention for the world title heading into the final day. Parkinson needed to finish one position higher to claim the title that has eluded him for the past 12 years. With Slater\u2019s loss to Josh Kerr (AUS), 28, in the Semifinals, Parkinson\u2019s dream became reality. Parkinson went on to beat Kerr in the final.\u201cConsistency paid off,\u201d Parkinson said. \u201cThis is where I wanted to stand at the end of the year. This is what I\u2019ve worked for my whole life. I can\u2019t describe what this feels like. I\u2019ve had runner-ups and ups-and-downs. I\u2019ve been to hell and back and it makes this so much sweeter. All the love from Hawaii and Australia and over the world, I can\u2019t thank you all enough for supporting me.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, Pipe Master, World Title, it\u2019s all surreal,\u201d Parkinson said. \u201cI figured it was going to be a pressure cooker like a few years ago. I knew there was nothing I could do about it. It was about what I had to do, not about what he had to do. I thought, surely he (Slater) has got to peak because he had that heat with Shane (Dorian) and I knew Kerr is a danger man for him. When Kerr got that one, I felt like I was going to physically throw up. I couldn\u2019t control my emotions at that point.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day you wake up feeling good the next day you wake up feeling like a loser. This morning I felt like a Champion when I woke up. Like Andy (Irons) always said \u2018I got this, huh?\u2019 I dedicate this to my family, Dad who used to take me to contests when I was 10, my wife and my mom and kids, this is all for us,\u201d said Parkinson.<\/p>\n
Parkinson has been the world title bridesmaid four times (2002, 2004, 2009, 2011). His Billabong Pipe Masters victory is his 11th elite event win over the course of his career, and by clinching the ASP World Title has established himself as one of the greatest surfers of all time.<\/p>\n
Parkinson\u2019s 2012 ASP WCT Results:
\nQuiksilver Pro Gold Coast: 5th
\nRip Curl Pro Bells Beach: 3rd
\nBillabong Rio Pro: 2nd
\nVolcom Fiji Pro: 9th
\nBillabong Pro Tahiti: 2nd
\nHurley Pro at Trestles: 2nd
\nQuiksilver Pro France: 3rd
\nRip Curl Pro Portugal: 3rd
\nO\u2019Neill Coldwater Classic: 5th
\nBillabong Pipe Masters: WINNER<\/p>\n
Slater was reflective following his Semifinal defeat this afternoon and gracious in honoring Parkinson on stage in front of a capacity crowd at the Banzai Pipeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cI missed Brazil because I had a cut in my heel and couldn\u2019t really turn,\u201d Slater said. \u201cI figured I\u2019d just rest up and get focused. Probably the one that hurt the worst was Teahupo\u2019o. I made two or three mistakes in a row and Ricardo (dos Santos) got a 9.8 with seven seconds left. I had a bad string over the last few months. It kind of fell apart after France. Portugal was a tough one and Santa Cruz, I was just real wobbly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor whatever reason, the momentum went in Parko\u2019s direction. It was cool that it came down to this, it would have been cooler to have it come down to the Final. Joel\u2019s been on tour for 10 or 11 years now and been in the hunt ever since he started. He\u2019s an amazing surfer. He\u2019s just the guy that makes it look easy. He can pull whatever our when he needs to,\u201d said Slater.<\/p>\n
Josh Kerr battled his way to a career first ASP WCT Final. The Australian suffered a heavy wipeout in his round four heat with Slater and Gabriel Medina (BRA), 18, resulting in a brief trip to the hospital. After medical clearance, Kerr overcame the setback to take it all the way to the final.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a hectic day,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cMy first heat, I\u2019ve been having nerve damage in my neck and my left side went numb when I fell. I had to get an x-ray and made it back for my next heat and made it through to the final. Congrats to Parko as well. I\u2019ll be back next year and hopefully one place better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerr finishes the 2012 ASP season ranked No. 8 on the ASP WCT rankings.<\/p>\n
Damien Hobgood (USA), 33, eliminated defending event champion Kieren Perrow (AUS), 35, while attaining his best result of his season. Hobgood was a standout at both Pipeline and Backdoor, but was unable to surpass Parkinson in their Semifinals matchup, finishing equal 3rd.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just thinking if I saw something that looks decent, give it a go,\u201d Hobgood said after his Round 5 victory. \u201cI wanted to try and build a couple of scores and I took one and was paddling out and saw Kieren (Perrow) get one. I could have given Kieren a 10 and that would have been the heat. I just tried to get some scores and not give him a bomb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hobgood\u2019s Equal 3rd place finish at Pipeline vaults him up to 16th on the 2012 ASP WCT rankings.<\/p>\n
Highlights from the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons are available at http:\/\/www.vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com\/billabongpipemasters2012<\/p>\n
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS FINAL RESULT:
\n1 \u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.17
\n2 \u2013 Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.83<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
\nSF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.30 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.63
\nSF 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.13 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 4.90<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
\nQF 1: Damien Hobgood (USA) 9.83 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.17
\nQF 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.50 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 9.40
\nQF 3: Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.00 def. Yadin Nicol (AUS) 12.17
\nQF 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.73 def. Shane Dorian (HAW) 18.20<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 5 RESULTS:
\nHeat 1: Damien Hobgood (USA) 8.23 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 3.26
\nHeat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.94 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 8.00
\nHeat 3: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 13.00 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.00
\nHeat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.27 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 10.66<\/p>\n
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 4 RESULTS:
\nHeat 3: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.57, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.10, Kelly Slater (USA) 8.10
\nHeat 4: Shane Dorian (HAW) 6.53, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 5.83, Yadin Nicol (AUS) 4.23<\/p>\n
2012 ASP WCT Top 5:
\n1 \u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS) 58,700 pts
\n2 \u2013 Kelly Slater (USA) 55,450 pts
\n3 \u2013 Mick Fanning (AUS) 47,000 pts
\n4 \u2013 John John Florence (HAW) 44,350 pts
\n5 \u2013 Adriano de Souza (BRA) 42,350 pts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Billabong Pipe Masters Event No. 10 of 10 on 2012 ASP World Championship Tour Event No. 3 of 3 on the 2012 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Banzai Pipeline, Hawaii\/USA December 8 – 20, 2012 Joel Parkinson Wins 2012 ASP World Title, Seals Season with Billabong Pipe Masters Victory Caption: Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, claimed … Continue reading “Joel Parkinson Wins 2012 ASP World Title”<\/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-14001","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\/14001","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=14001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14001\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}