Mitch Crews (AUS), 23, leads the true rookie class onto the 2014 ASP World Championship Tour.
LOS ANGELES, California/USA (Sunday, December 15, 2013) – With the completion of the Billabong Pipe Masters in Hawaii yesterday and the crowning of Mick Fanning (AUS), 32, as the 2013 ASP World Champion, this season’s ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) has drawn to a dramatic close.
In a year that witnessed the world’s best surfers compete at Snapper Rocks, Bells Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Tavarua, Keramas, Teahupo’o, Trestles, Hossegor, Peniche and the Banzai Pipeline, 2013 not only hosted an incredible battle between Fanning and 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 41, for the world surfing crown, but also a fierce fight in terms of qualification and requalification for next year’s elite tour.
The 2014 ASP Top 34, the most elite surfers on the planet, will be comprised of the Top 22 finishers on the 2013 ASP WCT rankings, the Top 10 finishers on the ASP Qualification Series (QS) rankings (barring surfers who have already qualified through the Top 22 on the ASP WCT rankings) and two ASP wildcards.
2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) Top 22:
1. Mick Fanning (AUS) 2. Kelly Slater (USA) 3. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 4. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 6. Julian Wilson (AUS) 7. Kai Otton (AUS) 8. Nat Young (USA) 9. Josh Kerr (AUS) 10. John John Florence (HAW) 11. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12. Michel Bourez (PYF) 13. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 17. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 19. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 20. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 21. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 22. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
2013 ASP Qualification Series (QS) Top 10 (barring double qualifiers):
- Adam Melling (AUS)
- Kolohe Andino (USA)
- Alejo Muniz (BRA)
- Jadson Andre (BRA)
- Mitch Crews (AUS)
- Aritz Aranburu (EUK)
- Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
- Travis Logie (ZAF)
- Dion Atkinson (AUS)
- Brett Simpson (USA)
ASP Wildcards:
- Owen Wright (AUS)
- Tiago Pires (PRT)
ASP Replacement Surfers:
- Glenn Hall (IRL)
- Mitch Coleborn (AUS) – next in line on 2013 ASP QS rankings
- Patrick Gudauskas (USA) – next in line on 2013 ASP WCT rankings
- Willian Cardoso (BRA) – second in line on 2013 ASP QS rankings
The ASP Wildcards for the 2014 ASP WCT have been allocated to Owen Wright (AUS), 23, and Tiago Pires (PRT), 33.
Due to the large number of deserving surfers requesting wildcards for the 2014 season, the ASP Commissioner’s Office has allocated the first replacement spot for next season to Glenn Hall (IRL), 32, who sustained a significant back injury last June in Fiji.
The first stop on the 2014 ASP World Championship Tour will be the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast from March 1 – 12, 2014.
