Most people when talking about this event have mentioned 2 words, airs and tubes. But take one look at the photo of Jordy Smith above and just let it sink is a little – the Oakley Pro Bali at Keramas could well be won by big monster turns! So lets look at who the favorites are…
Kelly Slater sits atop his number 1 throne once again after Cloudbreak and lets be honest, he is always going to be a threat in perfect right handers. Not much more needs to be said on this one.
Taj, Mick and Joel are all threats. They have surfed these waves in bali for years and they all have lethal forehand attacks made for perfect tube to wall right handers.
Jordy Smith has slowly been building momentum, doing the biggest turns on tour and with plenty time in the water in Bali over the years he is my number 1 pick. He has it all from the tube, to the air to the gouge! Make no mistake, no one on tour wants Jordy in their heat at this one. He has the eye of the tiger at the moment, is super relaxed and you can see how much he wants to win.
John John, Gabriel Medina, Kerr and Julian Wilson are all good picks, as is Adreano if you can stomach that style of his on a perfect canvas. I watched some warm up surfs online and it is not pretty. The underdogs to keep an eye on will definitely be Kohole Andino, who has plenty contest experience at Keramas and has been slowly getting better each event this year. Dusty Payne has alot of time in at Keramas, just search online for footage, and lets be honest its about time he did something on tour. Sebastien Ziets is going to rip it and Nat Young always looks so good on the backhand, he could go really far. Lastly, keep an eye on Travis Logie – no joke, that backhand snap of his could go to town out at 4ft Keramas! (Oh and Yadin, he rips this kind of wave.)
All in, this should prove to be one hell of a contest!