Pipeline has come down to three world title contenders. While everyone’s eyes are on the spectacle that is Pipeline, their minds are on the world title and the impending match up. Although Slater, Medina, and Fanning are the three names, there is always a fourth when it comes to Pipe. John John Florence. And today, more so than many other days in his back yard, John John Florence made his intentions crystal clear.
Florence was looking at a slight possibility of a World Title until Portugal. Pressure hasn’t always been something that Florence has thrived on, and it seems that now, once the pressure is off, he’s got his head solidly in the game. In his heat with Matt Wilkinson and Mitch Coleborn, JJF rounded out the heat with a two wave total of 18.16, the highest heat score of the day.
When the morning horn blew, conditions at Pipeline were nearly flawless: double overhead, no wind, and perfectly a-framing barrels folding over the reef at Backdoor and Pipeline.
“Oh, it’s amazing,” said Florence in a press release. “It’s my favorite time of the year. It’s the last event of the season. It’s been a really long year and to finish it off at home is the best feeling in the world.”
Each of the world title contenders surfed in Round 1 today. Slater ran into an early speed bump when Dusty Payne and Adam Melling put him in Round 2. Melling took the heat with a 15.80.
“I just really wanted to get barreled today, it looked so fun out there,” said Melling to the ASP. “All the guys were getting pretty good tubes this morning. I just wanted to have a free surf and half way through the heat I hadn’t had anything and I was pretty bummed. But after I got that first one in the last five minutes I got the ball rolling and got lucky – I had a 5 minute heat.”
After a long stint out of the water, Slater felt a little rusty this morning. “I’m just getting the rust and dust off a little bit,” he said. “I had 36 days out of the water and I’ve had 4 days back, so I’m stoked to be in the water.”
Men’s Pipe Masters Invitational Final Match-Up:
Reef McIntosh (HAW), Jamie O’Brien (HAW), Makai McNamara (HAW), Hank Gaskell (HAW)
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Julian Wilson (AUS), Glenn Hall (IRL)
Heat 2: Michel Bourez (PYF), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 3: John John Florence (HAW), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Mitch Coleborn (AUS)
Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA), Adam Melling (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS), Aritz Aranburu (ESP), TBD
Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Dion Atkinson (AUS), TBD
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Jadson Andre (BRA), Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 8: Kolohe Andino (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 9: Josh Kerr (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS), Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 10: Owen Wright (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Mitch Crews (AUS)
Heat 11: Nat Young (USA), Filipe Toledo (BRA), Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 12: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Tiago Pires (PRT)
Women’s Pipe Masters Invitational Heat: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Tyler Wright (AUS), Carissa Moore (HAW), Bethany Hamilton (HAW)
ASP Heritage Series Heat: Gary Elkerton (AUS), Tom Carroll (AUS), Derek Ho (HAW) and Sunny Garcia (HAW)
