Albee Layer is the 2015 Red Bull Unleashed Champion

Red Bull Unleashed Goes Off in Wales

September 19, 2015
Author: Chris Binns

Albee Layer on his path to victory at Red Bull Unleashed. Photo: Olaf Pignataro

Albee Layer is your 2015 Red Bull Unleashed champion after sustained spectacular displays carried him to victory at Surf Snowdonia in North Wales. The Hawaiian powerhouse Layer beat New Zealand’s Billy Stairmand 3–1 in the final battle in front of a raucous 2,000-strong audience.

After a long hiatus from the surfing arena, wave pool technology is very much back in the game, and the last three days of high performance surfing in Snowdonia had the assembled crew of superstar talent buzzing about not only the state of things to come, but also the situation as it currently stands.

Billy Stairmand on the first wave of the final heat at Red Bull Unleashed. Photo: Olaf Pignataro

“How good is this event going to be next year?” competitor Ian Crane was asked. “What do you mean?” he roared, “It’s insane right now! Can I sign up for 2016 yet? After this year everyone’s gonna want to come, I want to lock my entry in already!”

Crane need not worry about his invite getting lost in the mail. He was one of the surfers who made the pool their own this week, though it was consistently Layer who looked the man to beat.

Ian Crane Performing for the Crowd at Red Bull Unleashed. Photo: Red Bull Media House

Not only was the pool a novel concept, the competition format was a refreshing break from the standard 30-minute best-two-waves heat scheme. The competitors and capacity crowd revelled in the man-on-man duel concept, which saw pairs of surfers go head-to-head, with a coin toss determining who surfs first. After each surfer has ridden a wave, the best score took the points. Best of five waves won, and once a surfer hit three wins the bout was automatically over and the next pair hit the water immediately.

As opposed to traditional half hour heats, there were no second chances at Red Bull Unleashed, every wave counted and falling was a curse. “It’s cool!” said keen spectator Jordy Smith, “You both have an equal opportunity, and there’s no two ways about it, the best surfer always wins. You can’t afford to fall so you really have to walk the fine line between pushing it to the limit and pushing it too far.”

Second place Billy Stairmand and event winner Albee Layer celebrate after Red Bull Unleashed in Surf Snowdonia, United Kingdom, on September 19, 2015. Photo: Olaf Pignataro

Throw in an audience 10-feet away and a DJ pumping out the surfer’s chosen tracks, and Red Bull Unleashed had a stadium-worthy spectacle. “The crowd’s right above you, as close as you can possibly get to someone on a wave,” said Smith, “some guys thrive off it, other don’t. It’s an arena for those who can feed off the energy of the crowd.”

Layer was consistently the fan favourite, picking up on the nuances of the tricky waves early on and mixing-up his moves to to keep the crowd and judges entertained. His musical selections were as sharp as his surfing, and between his 80s metal and pop shuvits it was clear from the early rounds that Layer was the man to beat, despite being one of the bigger surfers in the draw.

Aside from Layer and Jack Freestone, the WaveGarden proved to be the domain of the lighter surfers this week, and Stairmand, Crane, Mitch Crews, Kai Hing, Ian Gouveia and Hiroto Arai were but a few of the fleet-footed ninjas who left their mark on Surf Snowdonia.

Jack Freestone performs during Red Bull Unleashed quarter finals in Surf Snowdonia, United Kingdom, on September 19, 2015. Photo: Olaf Pignataro

In the semi-finals, Layer had to come from 2–0 down to beat Crews 3–2 on his final wave, in what will be remembered as the best duel of the event. In the second semi-final Stairmand accounted for Freestone 3–0, before rolling on to the ultimate duel with Layer, who carried the momentum of his epic win over Crews into a 3–1 defeat of Stairmand.

Sprayed with champagne on the podium, Layer, who notoriously does not normally compete, couldn’t help but beam with pride. “I didn’t know what to expect coming here,” said the Maui local, “It’s been incredible. Surfing so close to so many people, music playing, heaps of energy in the air, to get the win is crazy. If more events were like this, I’d do them!”

Say no more, see you next year.

See the full event site at RedBull.com