Slater loses to Wright in Quiksilver final

Owen Wright, all of 21 years old, showed his impatience in his final matchup with surfing superstar Kelly Slater. He took off on the first wave he saw.

Within 15 minutes, Wright had connected on two sensational moves for a 17.83 total (out of 20). It ended up being more than enough for the blond-haired Australian to pull off the upset over Slater to win the first Quiksilver Pro NY event at Long Beach on Friday afternoon.

"I really wanted this so bad," Wright said. "It just all seemed to work out for me."

For Wright, the win is his first on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour. He beat the 10-time world champion, Slater, 39, whom he considers his surfing inspiration.

"He definitely brings out the best in me," said Wright, who lost a little more than a week ago to Slater in the final in Tahiti. "He sets a high bar for everybody. I love to compete with him."

Slater, of Cocoa Beach, Fla., said he couldn't seem to settle in during his final matchup, and he may have wasted his most impressive moves in his quarterfinal and semifinal heats earlier in the day.

With three minutes remaining in his semifinal matchup with Taj Burrow, needing at least an 8.04 to advance, Slater scored a perfect 10 on a mind-blowing move to narrowly beat Burrow in one of the tightest heats of the week.

As he landed after a huge, leaping, spinning maneuver, Slater was hidden from view by the foam, leaving the crowd in momentary suspense. But he glided out of it, arms raised, knowing his move was going to score big.

There was really only one way to score it: perfection.

That Slater waited until the dying moments of the heat to surge past Burrow only added to its impressiveness. On display was the epitome of clutch surfing.

"I hit it just right," Slater said. "I was trying to find a section I could get air on. [Burrow] didn't have much to say about it afterward, he just kind of laughed."

In his quarterfinal heat at 8 a.m., Slater got redemption against Josh Kerr, who had beaten him in Round 4 on Thursday. But he couldn't top Wright, who was only 2 years old when Slater won his first professional tour event in 1992.

With the win, Wright takes home $300,000 -- the largest winner's prize in the history of professional surfing. The event's purse totaled $1 million.

After several days of unsettled weather, the sun and surf created an almost idyllic atmosphere Friday in the event's final day. The number of spectators totaled well into the thousands, filling the beach. And waves from Hurricane Katia pushed swells up to 8 feet.

"We didn't expect as good as this but we certainly hoped for it," Quiksilver Pro contest director Rod Brooks said. "We're very pleased with this event. There's a good chance we'll come back here."

Wright had never been to New York before arriving for this event. His first impressions are pretty favorable.

Wright said: "I'm just lapping it up right now."