Surfs 4′ at Pipe from the North with cloudy skies. We have 2 nice NW swells coming to finish the 2 days by Saturday, the last day of the holding period.
Slater Dominates Round 2 of Billabong Pipe Masters
North Shore, Oahu/Hawaii (Saturday, December 13, 2014) – Wild, giant surf shut down competition today at the Billabong Pipe Masters In Memory of Andy Irons, but not before 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) redeemed himself to keep his world title hopes alive in Round 2.
All Round 2 heats were completed before a rising swell with wave face heights of up to 30 feet washed out the competition zone, forcing an official “off” call at 1:45pm. Of the 16 heats completed, only two saw heat totals of more than 10 points out of 20 – a testament to the difficult conditions and minimal number of successful tube rides made.
Slater topped the scores with 17 points against Men’s Pipe Masters Invitational winner Reef McIntosh (HAW), closing the 40-minute heat with a near-perfect, deep and hollow tube that scored 9.57 points. He had the crowd cheering on their feet as he dropped into a deep pit, finishing off with a wraparound cutback and a chop hop for the highest single-wave score of the day. It was a satisfying result even though Slater had been skeptical about starting at all today.
Jadson Andre (BRA) surfed like a man possessed in his clash with Tiago Pires (BRA). He delivered a hefty drop on a massive wave before disappearing deep in the tube, then getting blasted out in a thick spit of spray, earning at 9.37. Pires struggled to find anything over 1.23 and is eliminated from the competition in equal 25th. The result means that Pires, who is currently sitting at 28th place on the Championship Tour rankings, will not qualify for the Top 34 in 2015.
“I was nervous before my heat because it’s really dangerous, it’s big,” said Andre. “I’m just stoked to make it. I know I’m safe for the next year as you guys said but I’m really looking for a big result over here. If I win three more heats I can be in the top 16, and that would be really nice. I’m just trying to surf heat by heat, and that heat was great because at first I was kind of nervous and I’m just going to go on the first wave that I see.”
Almost every heat included a snapped surfboard or leash, keeping Hawaiian Water Patrol busy as they patrolled the lineup. The last heat between Matt Wilkinson (AUS) and Aritz Aranburu (ESP) ended with a dramatic rescue of Aranburu in the impact zone. He was snatched at high speed from the clutch of a slamming closeout by the jetski as his snapped board ricocheted wildly behind them. The loss sees the Spaniard eliminated from competition and relegated from the World Tour in 2015.
Jordy Smith (ZAF) had to exit the water early during his Round 2 heat after a Backdoor closeout tube slammed him into the reef injuring his shoulder, leaving the door open for Vans Triple of Surfing ratings leader Dusty Payne (HAW). Payne managed to edge the win and moves on to Round 3.
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 2 Results (1st to R3, 2nd = 25th):
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.00pts def. Reef McIntosh (HAW) 7.00pts
Heat 2: Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.33pts def. Makai McNamara (HAW) 4.57pts
Heat 3: Dusty Payne (HAW) 4.30pts def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 4.30pts
Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) 8.50pts def. Mitch Coleborn (AUS) 4.77pts
Heat 5: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 7.17pts def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 4.13pts
Heat 6: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 7.64pts def. Glenn Hall (IRL) 7.07pts
Heat 7: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 3.47pts def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 1.30pts
Heat 8: Kai Otton (AUS) 7.16pts def. Brett Simpson (USA) 6.83pts
Heat 9 : Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 6.90pts def. Mitch Crews (AUS) 1.57pts
Heat 10: Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.70pts def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 2.73pts
Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS) 4.50pts def. Dion Atkinson (AUS) 0.84pts
Heat 12: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 4.13pts def. Aritz Aranburu (ESP) 3.24pts
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 3 Heat Draw (1st to R4, 2nd = 13th):
Heat 1: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 5: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Filipe Toledo (BRA)
Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 7: Kolohe Andino (HAW) vs. Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 10: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Sebastien Zietz (HAW)
Heat 11: Nat Young (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 12: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
The 2014 Title race scenarios are as follows:
– If Medina finishes 2nd or better at the Billabong Pipe Masters, he will clinch the 2014 ASP World Title.
– If Medina finishes 3rd at the Billabong Pipe Masters, Fanning will need to win the event and Slater will be out of contention.
– If Medina finishes 5th at the Billabong Pipe Masters, Fanning will need to win the event and Slater will be out of contention.
– If Medina finishes 9th at the Billabong Pipe Masters, Fanning will need to finish 2nd or better and Slater will be out of contention.
-If Medina finishes 13th or 25th at the Billabong Pipe Masters, Fanning will need to finish 3rd to win or 5th to send the title race into a one-heat “surf-off” between himself and Medina.
– If Medina finishes 13th or 25th at the Billabong Pipe Masters, Slater will need to win the event.
Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. to assess conditions and make the next call.
