2-0. That‘s Kelly Slater's previous record against Mick Fanning in heats out at the Quik Pro Gold Coast. While we're crunching the numbers, Kelly's got six Championship Tour wins on the Gold Coast; Mick's got two. World Titles? Kelly: 11. Mick: 3. And heat wins over their careers between the two men? 12-11 in Kelly's favor. That is, until today.
Yes, in a virtual Clash of the Titans-style matchup in Heat 7 of Round One at the Quiksilver Pro today, we got to see the two World Champions square off -- with an impressive Jeremy Flores in the mix with them, too, of course.
All three were surfing on point, with Flores jumping out front midway through. There was no question we were watching a fully committed Kelly Slater and visibly fired-up Mick Fanning. Slater's board looked significantly better under his feet than last year and Mick's flow was lightening quick. As usual.
But just when it looked like Flores had the two Champs beat, Fanning got a wave literally on the buzzer, needing a 7.04 to win and posting a 7.13.
Thus, as it stands, Mick and Kelly are now 12-12 in career matchups against each other. It's going to be interesting to see how that record shifts over the course of their 2017 Title campaigns.