Photo: ASP / Kirstin
Kelly Slater pulled an alley-oop in his semi-final
heat to move onto the finals.

Kelly Slater is only 12 years away from being a member of the AARP. Nevertheless, the 38-year old from Florida collected his 44th ASP tour victory, besting current ASP World No. 2 Jordy Smith to take out the Rip Curl Pro Portugal in glassy three-to-five foot waves at Supertubos.

Event No. 8 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Portugal played a vital role in the hunt for the 2010 ASP World Title and was privy to some of the most high-performance surfing the world has ever seen.

Although composed and relatively under-the-radar throughout the Rip Curl Pro Portugal, Slater struck stealthily in the Final, locking in two solid backhand waves in the shifting conditions, and staving off a late charge from the young South African.

Photo: ASP / Cestari
Jordy had a great run but fell to King Kelly in the
finals."It was actually a pretty slow Final with neither of us getting any waves of consequence," Slater said. "I was trying to stay busy but neither of us could get a solid wave. Jordy (Smith) has all the talent in the world and he s capable of getting a score at any time. It wasn't over until the horn blew."

En route to an unprecedented 10th ASP World Title, the iconic Floridian moves one step closer to clinching, with a strong possibility of doing so in the upcoming event.

"It's obviously a very big deal for me," Slater said. "If it happens, it will be a major accomplishment for me in my life. I'm fortunate to have an amazing circle of friends around me: my girlfriend Kalani, Belly (Stephen Bell), Travis (Lee) and a bunch of others. Today's win puts me another step closer and we'll see what happens in Puerto Rico."

Photo: ASP / Kirstin
Travis Logie - man turn.Smith fought valiantly throughout the 40-minute Final, posting the highest single-wave score of a 7.10 of a 10 for a backhand Superman air, but was unable to find a worthy backup score.

"I guess I felt a little out of rhythm in the Final," Jordy Smith said. "I'm still happy with the result and the way my year has gone so I'm just staying positive and we'll see how we end up. I'm stoked to be in the race still with (Kelly). He's someone I've looked up to my whole life and it's an honor to be up there in the rankings next to him."

Photo: ASP / Kirstin
Portugal's famed surf spot of Supertubos.
Mick Fanning, current ASP World No. 3, bowed out of Rip Curl Pro Portugal competition in Round 3 of competition, and with Slater's victory today, has also bowed out of the 2010 ASP World Title Race.

The 2010 ASP World Title Race will head towards Puerto Rico for the next stop on the ASP Dream Tour from October 30 through November 10, 2010.

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL MEN'S FINAL RESULTS:
1. Kelly Slater 13.33
2. Jordy Smith 11.43

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL MEN'S SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1:Kelly Slater 16.03 def. Chris Davidson 12.20
SF 2:Jordy Smith 14.00 def. Jeremy Flores 10.57

ASP WORLD TITLE RACE TOP 5 (After Rip Curl Pro Portugal):
1. Kelly Slater - 58,000 pts.
2. Jordy Smith - 48,750 pts.
3. Mick Fanning - 41,250 pts.
4. Taj Burrow - 34,000 pts.
5. Adrian Buchan - 33,750 pts.