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Tension rises at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons. Waves got back to the last jewel of the Triple Crown of Surfing and nerves too.
The four-to-six foot Backdoor barrels delivered a few surprises. Taj Burrow, Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning are out of the surfing competition. Kelly Slater showed why he has conquered 10 world titles. He is through to the quarter finals and he even scored a Perfect 10.
“There are really good waves when they come,” Slater said. “There’s only one or two in a set, but they’re really good when they come. That 10 was a long one. It had that good north corner on it and the right was just growing. That one hit the reef really well”.
Slater is surfing pretty relaxed and everything can happen. “At this point, I’ve had a great year and I’m happy,” Slater said. “I’m happy to make it through heats, but if I don’t, this is a fun event for me now and hopefully we’ll get some good waves.”
The Australian surfer Adrian Buchan still dreams of conquering the Triple Crown of Surfing. If he wins the Pipe Masters, he will take home the crown. “I’d love to win the Triple Crown,” Buchan said. “It’s a huge prize, but I have a lot of work to do. I do have a chance though and that’s all I need.”
Another top performer is Owen Wright. The 20-year-old continues to surf well, combining fluid movements with new school learnings.
“I knew it was going to be a really tough heat against Parko (Joel Parkinson),” Wright said. “He’s such a good barrel rider and I knew he was going for that Triple Crown, but I want to end my year with a bang as well. I knew that going in to the heat and I wasn’t going to give him an inch. We had a great tussle and were battling for position that whole heat. I was pretty lucky to get that score right at the end. I’m pretty stoked to get through that one.”
When competition resumes, up first will be Owen Wright (AUS), 20, up against Jeremy Flores (FRA), 22, in the opening Quarterfinal heat.
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.00 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 8.33
Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 7.40 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 7.40
Heat 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.33 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 3.27
Heat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.66 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 11.50
Heat 5: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 17.10 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.00
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.90 def. John Florence (HAW) 14.23
Heat 7: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 17.10 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.87
Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.50 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.10
Heat 9: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 10.93 def. David Wassell (HAW) 10.66
Heat 10: Dane Reynolds (USA) 13.43 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.66
Heat 11: Taylor Knox (USA) 14.66 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.34
Heat 12: Dusty Payne (HAW) 18.87 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.94
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Owen Wright (AUS) 13.66, Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.40, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 4.97
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.17, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 10.23, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 8.17
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.27, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.03, Damien Hobgood (USA) 6.67
Heat 4: Taylor Knox (USA) 12.33, Dane Reynolds (USA) 11.54, Dusty Payne (HAW) 6.60
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 5 Results:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.30 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.60
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.34 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 9.43
Heat 3: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 17.90 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 17.67
Heat 4: Dane Reynolds (USA) 11.23 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.84
Billabong Pipe Masters Quarterfinal Match-Ups:
QF 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
QF 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
QF 4: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Vans Duel for the Jewel Final:
1 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.50
2 – Tyler Wright (AUS) 7.50
3 – Coco Ho (HAW) 6.86
4 – Alana Blanchard (HAW) 1.50
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