Kieren Perrow on a backdoor wave. Photo: ASP/Cestari
Kieren Perrow won his first ASP World Tour event today at the Billabong Pipe Masters. The 34-year-old Australian, who placed second in last year’s event, not only took the coveted title of Pipe Master, but also secured his place on the tour for next year.
In a final against Joel Parkinson, Perrow dropped the hammer quickly, scoring a 7.0 and a 6.17 early in the heat. With a mid-heat rainsquall blowing the waves into chunky closeouts, Parko couldn’t manage to return fire with enough force to stand on the top of the podium. Perrow, who for the last few years has embodied the term “always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” was finally carried up the sand in his first WCT win. “I’ve had such a great event anyway and coming in to today, it was just amazing. The waves have been phenomenal. I haven’t surfed Pipe like that in my entire career. This is pretty much the pinnacle for me,” he said in a post-win interview.
In the previous day’s huge conditions, Perrow managed to combine one of the contest’s steepest drops with one of the hardest bottom turns on a bomb wave, scoring a 9.83 at the last minute in a heat against Shane Dorian and Taj Burrow to clinch his spot on the 2012 circuit.
One of the main standouts of the Pipeline event – and the entire Triple Crown – was John John Florence, whose amazing backhand barrel riding looked to be a favorite for the win. Unfortunately for the Hawaiian, he drew a quarterfinal match up against Kelly Slater, who managed to come from behind and continue through to the semis when he scored a 9.70 and a 7.83 in the dying minutes of the heat. John John did, however, manage to come away with the best average heat points and a Vans Triple Crown win, making him the youngest to win the series.
Billabong Pipe Masters Final Result:
1 – Kieren Perrow (AUS) 13.17
2 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 7.00
Billabong Pipe Masters Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.23 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 16.83
SF 2: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 12.00 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 4.07
Billabong Pipe Masters Quarterfinals Results:
QF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.00 def. Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 9.43
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.53 def. John John Florence (HAW) 16.70
QF 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) 7.70 def. Evan Valiere (HAW) 3.66
QF 4: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 17.23 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9.26
