This is the event that could see Kelly crowned as the 2008 World Champ. As you’ll read below, there were only two people left standing in his way. Today, after Round 3’s conclusion, there’s only one person left. Wildcard Michel Bourez was happy to play the roll of spoiler, while Kelly was happy to survive another day and get that much closer to Number Nine. This thing’s wrapping up tomorrow—will Kelly be crowned, or will he have to drag this thing out to Spain? We’ll all know by tomorrow afternoon. Until then, chew on Round 3’s wrap-up:

Top Five Moments of Round 3:

1. Wildcard Michel Bourez beating Bede Durbidge takes the cake for the day. Even on the ASP website they gave Michel’s win top billing over Kelly.
2. And yes, Kelly won…again. By knocking out Joan Duru (who incidentally beat Kelly in Round 1) in Round 3, Kelly inched ever closer to Number Nine.
3. The Dane/Jordy showdown was a bit of a disappointment, as Dane had Jordy in a combo situation by heat’s end. And while we all would have liked to see a heat full of fireworks, Dane did strengthen his case for Rookie of the Year.
4. This one goes to Mother Ocean. After a lackluster start to the day, by the afternoon the swell kicked in and legit 6-foot sets were hitting the outer sandbank. If the swell stays the same for the final day, the comp could go off in classic French beachbreak conditions.
5. In back-to-back heats the Hobgood brothers advanced into Round 4. And while everybody has been intently focused on the world-title race, the Hobgoods have quietly gone about their business.

Most Defining Performance:
All eyes were on the Dane-versus-Jordy heat, and just like their initial matchup in Tahiti, Dane came out on top. In fact, Dane put Jordy in the hurt-locker by getting him in a combo situation. As the season rolls on, Dane’s looking more and more like “the next Slater”…if he wants to be, of course.

Upset of the Day:
Wildcard Michel Bourez eliminated Bede Durbidge today, and in doing so dashed any hopes Bede had of somehow miraculously catching Kelly. That leaves Taj as the only person capable of catching Kelly now.

Insight That Would Have Helped Your Team If We’d Only Known:
Who the hell even knew who Michel Bourez was before the start of this contest? The 21-year-old Tahitian eliminated Parko and Bede thus far, and Kelly reckons he put in the best performance yet in the contest. In fact, last year Michel actually beat Kelly here in France, so yeah, if you’d done your homework you’d have known that this dark horse is the real deal. He’s on the verge of qualifying for the WQS, and if he does, the rest of the world better look the f--k out.

Talk of the Beach:
This one can go in one of two ways: The day started with everybody speculating whether or not Bede and Taj would be able to interrupt Kelly’s march to Number Nine. And then there was the anticipation of a Dane/Jordy grudge-match. Both topics are definitely worthy of discussion, and will no doubt be talked about tomorrow as the comp wraps up.

Wildcard Report:
Seems like this whole story’s about Michel Bourez, but then again, considering who he’s beaten thus far, the dude’s earned the hype. He faces Kieren Perrow in Round 4, so he could very well face one of the Hobgoods in the quarters.

Round 3 Quiksilver Pro France Results:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.17 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 10.50
Heat 2: Dayyan Neve (AUS) 10.83 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 8.50
Heat 3: Ben Dunn (AUS) 14.00 def. Chris Ward (USA) 7.84
Heat 4: Bobby Martinez (USA) 14.67 def. Jihad Khodr (BRA) 12.83
Heat 5: Mick Campbell (AUS) 12.33 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 12.00
Heat 6: Luke Stedman (AUS) 12.56 def. Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 12.5
Heat 7: Taylor Knox (USA) 15.00 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 12.46
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.00 def. Joan Duru (FRA) 13.00
Heat 9: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.34 def. Gabe Kling (USA) 9.77
Heat 10: Dane Reynolds (USA) 17.26 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.50
Heat 11: Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 13.43 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 9.33
Heat 12: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.83 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 8.17
Heat 13: Michel Bourez (PYF) 19.57 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 10.67
Heat 14: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.00 def. Roy Powers (HAW) 7.57
Heat 15: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.17 def. Daniel Wills (AUS) 8.13
Heat 16: Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.17 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 6.73

Round 4 Quiksilver Pro France Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 2: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. Bobby Martinez (USA)
Heat 3: Mick Campbell (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 4: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Kelly Slater (USA)
Heat 5: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 6: Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 7: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 8: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Damien Hobgood

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