Kelly Slater was eliminated in the 2nd round of the Rip Curl Pro in Portugal by wild card entry Frederico Morais. Now Mick Fanning can clinch the title if a few scenarios play out. Fanning needs to finish better than 3rd, and Taj Burrow, Jordy Smith, and Joel Parkinson all need to fail to make it to the finals. 

Even if Fanning doesn't clinch the title in Portugal, Slater still has to make it to the finals at Pipeline to stay in contention. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, but as of now Fanning is looking like the potential champ this year.

Taj Burrow defeated Julian Wilson in the finals of the Hurley Pro at Trestles. It came down to wave selection. Most of the day was mushy waist to chest high sets, but Taj choose the good ones and ended with a high scoring wave. Late in the heat an outside set that broke early, Julian Wilson had to duck dive under it, but Taj was still able to catch it as it reformed and threw 2 fins out, frontside snaps securing his victory.

Mick Fanning now leads the ASP Tour with 41,900 points and Kelly Slater is in second place with 40,700. The Quiksilver Pro in France starts on September 26, let's hope Slater wins in France just like he did last year and takes back that #1 spot.