Joel Parkinson wins the Oakley Pro Bali 2013

 

Joel Parkinson has won the inaugural Oakley Pro Bali, after defeating Michel Bourez, in four-to-six foot (2 metre) waves, at the iconic Balinese righthander of Keramas.

Everything's changing and the 2013 ASP World Tour rankings, too. Mick Fanning is the new leader of the charts and the world title race is definitely on.

Parkinson got off to a slow start on his road to victory, but an impressive series of fully-committed forehand combinations on a steep righthand wall would see the reigning ASP World Champion surpass the Tahitian in the final minutes for the win.

"That was amazing. That was the coolest experience coming up the sand. It wasn't the greatest of the finals and I knew it wasn't over. I figured if I got the best wave towards the end figured I'd have a chance", explains Parkinson.

"Michel ripped and was probably the most in form surfer of the event. I dropped off my four fin back to my three fin and just didn't get a good pump in that one good barrel and was hoping it didn't lose me the final. From then on I knew I had to go to do turns".

Parkinson's first ASP WCT victory of the season puts him in No. 3 on the rankings and within striking distance of the 2013 ASP World Title.

"This gives me heaps of motivation moving forward. I've had two bad results and I knew I could change it around, but I'm glad I did it now rather than later. This win is so special because the event had such a good vibe around the event and such good energy about it. This was huge".

Fanning leads the Dream Tour with 31,400 points and he is closely followed by Kelly Slater (30,950 points). Joel Parkinson is third (26,700 points), Jordy Smith is fourth (25,200 points) and Taj Burrow (24,900 points) sits in fifth.

The next stop on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour will be the Billabong Pro Teahupoo from August 15th-26th, 2013.

Oakley Pro Bali 2013 Final:
Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.86 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 12.67