If you’re going to win, you should try and win with almost no time left on the clock. Photos: Screenshots
Well, Kelly Slater did it again. He won the Billabong Pipeline Pro (née Pipe Masters) in classically Slaterian form: getting the wave of the day in the dying seconds of a heat. It’s weird, isn’t it? How often it seems to happen to him? Like he’s got some sort of magnet that attracts the wave he needs exactly when he needs it. That’s the thing about surfing — you could be the best surfer in the world, but it doesn’t matter if you’re not getting the waves you need. And Kelly gets the waves he needs when he needs them more often than anyone else. Of course, he’s nearing 50 now and he’s surfed more heats than most, so the law of averages come into play, but still… it’s weird. Is there anything in pro surfing more exciting than a buzzer beater? Maybe. But they’re pretty dang exciting, so here are five buzzer beaters from the last few years.
1. Kelly Slater, Pipeline.
Slater’s most recent buzzer beater came with just ten seconds to go at firing Pipeline. Slater needed a 7.18 to win against Barron Mamiya. The horizon darkened. He paddled in casually, disappeared under the hood, planted himself as far back in the barrel as on possibly could, and then emerged triumphant, arms splayed. It was clear to everyone watching that he got the score, and the judges agreed. A 9.23 appeared, and the GOAT won Pipe another time.
2. Adriano de Souza, Teahupo’o, Round of 32, Heat 5.
Adriano de Souza, owner of an often-forgotten about 2015 World Title, is no stranger to doing what it takes to win. His entire career was dedicated to the grind. Starting famously with a $7 surfboard and moving up the ranks of pro surfing until reaching the apex in 2015. In 2019 at Tahiti, he came up against Italo Ferreira. With two minutes left on the clock, ADS needed an 8.14 to advance. He stroked into the deepest barrel of the event and was rewarded with a 9.17 for his efforts.
3. Zeke Lau, Sunset Beach, Quarter Finals, Heat 1.
Zeke Lau’s surfing is made for Sunset Beach. He’s a Hawaiian power surfer, through and through, and there’s no wave quite like Sunset where power surfing comes into play. This was a big one for Lau — his dream, of course, was to make it to the CT, and this win solidified that dream. With a little under two minutes to go, he had priority. A set rolled in and Zeke needed a 5.55. It was a close call — just a 5.74 — but it was enough.
4. Miguel Pupo, Fiji, Round 1, Heat 5.
The first round is an important one to win. On a semi-lackluster day in Fiji, Miguel Pupo came up against Italo Ferreira and Alex Ribeiro, both solidly difficult surfers to match up with. In the dying seconds, Ribeiro was comboed, so it was a down to Ferreira and Pupo. Ferreira was in the lead, but an 8.10 on Pupo’s scoreboard would send him through to Round 3. He just squeaked through with an 8.23, but hey… whatever works, right?
5. Kelly Slater, Trestles, Round 5, Heat 4.
We’ll end with another one from Slater. It was 2014 at the Hurley Pro Trestles. On a classically sunny Californian day, Slater ran into Taj Burrow. If Slater lost, he’d be eliminated, and a heat against Burrow is never an easy one to win, even for Slater. Burrow had priority with 30 seconds on the clock and could have played the game a little better. A set came through, Burrow buried himself under the cap, and Kelly took off. He needed a 7.23 and wouldn’t you know it? He got it.
