Moore breaks Gilmore’s Snapper streak
American Carissa Moore has won the season-opening World Surf League event on the Gold Coast, defeating Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore in the final.
The two-time world champion posted an incredible 18.44 out of 20 in Friday’s final to beat the hometown favourite by 2.93 points.
It’s the first time in six final appearances at Snapper Rocks that the six-time world champion hasn’t won the event.
• Medina outburst stuns surf tour
• Stephanie Gilmore’s surfing safari
The victory is Moore’s second Roxy Pro crown after she won the event in 2011, making her the second surfer behind Gilmore to secure multiple titles in the Gold Coast event.
The diminutive Hawaiian scored two nine-point rides in the final, with her combined score the highest of any heat in the tournament.
It was all too much for 27-year-old Gilmore who opened with an 8.33 but simply couldn’t match Moore’s mastery.
In the men’s event, Brazil’s Filipe Toledo has won the QuikPro surfing title to open the World Surf League season in magnificent fashion with his first tour event win.
The 19-year-old was too good for Australia’s Julian Wilson in Friday’s final at Snapper Rocks, scoring 19.60 out of 20 to win the decider by 4.90 points.
Toledo, the tournament’s form surfer, ended a dominant final display with a perfect 10 in an amazing performance.
The Brazilian picked up an 8.00 with his first wave and then backed it up with a 6 to have a 14.00 lead before Wilson even had a score on the board.