07: Chile

"They're the best trophies – they're epic," Irons said. “They're my favorite trophy and I've got one for the living room and one for the mantle now.”

The former 3X Foster’s ASP World Champion bested Hobgood 16.84 to 8.67 in the four foot (1.3 metre) waves off Ex Isla Alacran.

"It was a battle," Irons said. "I was hitting the reef and getting worked, but I tried to play it smart and catch the inside waves. Damien was waiting for the sets and it was almost better to not have priority because I caught whatever came in. You can never count Damien out though; he has beaten me before in Tavarua so I knew I had my work cut out for me. With two minutes to go, I was still nervous."

Irons held the heat lead throughout the 35-minute bout, but cemented it with a 9.17 late in the game.

"It was a set wave and kind of bumpy," Irons said. "Damien was paddling out and I got in just underneath it. When I was coming out, I did an extra stall to make sure that I got behind the hook. I came out with a bit of emotion to show them I liked it and it paid off."

Hobgood was happy with the 2nd place finish, but slight disappointed about losing the final.

"I'm super stoked but I would have definitely like to put on a bit better performance in the Final," Damien Hobgood said. "Andy was just too good though and he put the pressure on early. He’s such a good surfer; maybe I was thinking too hard out there. I never really got anything going and he kept building. I never really had a chance."

Damien met his twin brother CJ for the third time in man-on-man competition in the semifinals. Damien defeated CJ and now leads him 2:1 in brotherly bouts. The close heat went to Damien who scored an 8.00 and 5.13 to CJ’s 5.83 and 6.50.

"I think it came down to Damien falling on his first wave and me falling on my best wave," CJ Hobgood said. "I was trying to get deep, then got on my back foot, then couldn’t get back on my front foot. I didn’t come out and it was probably the score. I blew that wave and that’s what cost me the heat."

Also exiting the event with an equal 3rd result was current Foster’s ASP ratings leader Mick Fanning (AUS). Fanning had Irons on the ropes for the first half of their semifinal heat, but was shut out when eventual the winner put a 9-point ride (one of several he posted this event) on the board.

Fanning has had better success during the latter part of the tour in years past and will head into the next leg as the man to beat after a solid start to the season.

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH FINAL:
Final: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH CHILE SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Andy Irons (HAW) 16.33 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.33
SF 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.13 def. CJ Hobgood (USA) 12.00

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH CHILE QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.67 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 5.43
QF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.67 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 12.50
QF 3: CJ Hobgood (USA) 14.83 def. Dean Morrison (AUS) 10.17
QF 4: Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.17 def. Bruno Santos (BRA) 7.50