This year the Victoria contest at Aliso got moved to late August in the hopes for better waves and boy was that a good move. With record temperatures, light winds and a 3-5 foot swell in the water, it was perhaps the best conditions seen at the event in at least a decade.
42 pros entered this year's event as the points tour draws near the end. Current #1 Sam Stinnett looked like a favorite throughout but then got second in his pre-quarterfinal heat which set him up for a man on man with #2 Blair Conklin. In a dramatic quarter final heat Blair came out on top opening the door for Blair to gain some ground on Sam in points. Next up was a man on man with Austin Keen and this time Austin came out on top. Meanwhile on the other side of the bracket Tim Fulton was winding his way through his man on mans to set up the final with Austin. Austin had some big scores throughout the weekend reaching the seemingly unreachable waves out the back that defied explanation. He started off the final with just such a wave. As the heat progressed he tried valiantly to score two more, but big reward comes with big risk and he never found the big scores he was looking for. Meanwhile Tim skimmed a textbook heat bypassing some of the larger ones but racking up score after score on head high shorebreak. This proved to be the smart choice as his consistent solid performance throughout the event made him winner of the 39th annual Victoria event.
Film/Edit by Scott Stinnett
Drone by Tony Liuzi
Music by Austra - "Painful Like"
2 сен 2015
