Surfing legend Slater loses final

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

Within 15 minutes, Wright connected on two strong moves for a 17.83 total (out of 20). It was more than enough for the blonde-haired Australian to pull off the upset and win the inaugural Quiksilver Pro NY event at Long Beach on Friday.

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

It worked out for just about everybody at Long Beach. After several days of unsettled weather, the week culminated with an idyllic atmosphere of sun and surf. The number of spectators totaled well into the thousands as waves from Hurricane Katia pushed swells up to 8 feet.

That was the stage for a pressure-packed final, with rising star Wright upstaging 10-time world champion Slater for his first career win on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour.

"He definitely brings out the best in me," said Wright, who lost to Slater, 39, in the finals in Tahiti little more than a week ago. "He sets a high bar for everybody. I love to compete with him."

Slater said he couldn't seem to settle in during the finals and he may have wasted his most impressive bullets in his quarterfinal and semifinal heats earlier in the day.

With three minutes remaining in his semifinal against Taj Burrow and Slater needing at least an 8.04 to advance, he scored a perfect 10.0 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.

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.

"We didn't expect as good as this but we certainly hoped for it," Quik 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."