This is Parko’s year, the shadow of mighty Mick has faded for the season and the consistent Mr. Parkinson is going to waltz under the ASP Crown.

With Fanning’s title hopes dashed by Shane Dorian, a huge weight has probably been lifted from Parko’s shoulders and instead placed squarely behind him pushing him toward the championship. The “Cooly” kids have been friendly rivals since their youth, running neck and neck their entire world title careers. Up till now it was Fanning who was always, barely, a step ahead, but in 2012 Parko has taken the lead.

But what of Slater? The King is still the king and his experience and mettle at pipeline are unmatched. He’s fought all season, many times uphill and won three events to Parko’s zero. But for some reason the criteria has centered around Parkinson, some would probably argue, because his surfing has been “safe.”

So what does that mean? Parko has set the criteria because of his consistency, he can perform all the maneuvers (so can everyone else) but he does it with power, finesse and speed. His wave choice has him in the “excellent” range half of the time and thirty percent of the time in the “good” range. When parko stands up, there is nearly an 80% chance he is going to get the score he needs. And while Slater’s stats are nearly identical, the actual heat performances are starkly contrasted by Slater’s penchant for mystical acrobatics to save heats and boost his stats. Parko is the competitive machine of 2012, adapting to every stop on tour and making it a Quarterfinal finish or better all season. Parko is the ASP judging model and being such his performance, regardless of the wave conditions, is going to be overwhelmingly good.

But does this matter at Pipe? Slater fans would argue no, the king has made his stand at Pipe many times and this year and this challenger will be no different. For Parko it will be different because he’s been building his entire season around the final showdown. His performance all season has him peaking in the final rounds, his equipment is completely dialed, he knows Pipe and Backdoor and most importantly Fanning is out of the picture.

So all that remains are the heats and the waves, Parko is already into the Quarterfinals with Slater still to surf his round 4 heat. Slater must place higher than Parko to win the title. Barring dark horse victories, all indicators point to a Slater vs. Parko final. Who will win? It always comes down to who rides the best waves, but for 2012 consistency counts.