Leo was visibly displeased during the heat when the scores came in. Photo: Tony Heff//World Surf League
With a heat as tightly contested as the men’s final at the 2025 Pipe Pro, everyone will naturally have an opinion about the outcome. And the three-time world champ Gabriel Medina is no exception.
As he recovers from a pectoral muscle tear, Medina watched at home in Brazil and posted a video on Instagram analyzing the top-scoring waves of the final that finished with a tie of 17.97 between Barron Mamiya and Leo Fioravanti. Mamiya took the tiebreaker since he owned the highest wave score, but Medina drew a different conclusion: Leo Fioravanti should have won.
Here’s how Medina described the best waves.
Barron Mamiya wave 1: 8.17 points
“I thought it was a short wave for Pipeline,” said Medina. “It had a nice drop but not a lot of difficulty. But since it was the first wave of the heat, that has to be what the rest of the waves are compared against.”
Leo Fioravanti wave 1: 8.87 points
“I thought Leo’s wave was at least one point more than Barron’s first wave simply for the fact that he rode over the foam ball two times,” explained Medina. “When (there is a foam ball) you have to have more stability and it’s more technical. It was a longer wave than Barron’s first wave. I would give it at least one point more, but the difference ended up being less than one point.”
View this post on Instagram
Barron Mamiya wave 2: 9.80 points
“It was a really good wave and he did everything right,” said Medina. “It was a fast tube and he was able to pass the foam ball. It had more difficulty. The score was 9.80, which I thought was fair compared to the scores they had given so far.”
Leo Fioravanti wave 2: 9.10 points
“I don’t think this wave was the best of the heat,” said Medina. “Maybe a little less than the 9.80. I would give it a 9.50 for the difficulty though. He rode over the foam ball two times. He used a lot of technique, having to slow down. He waited for the foam ball, the wave sped up, he let go, and rode over the foam ball again. The wave was just as long as Barron’s 9.80 and his previous 8.87. For the simple facts of the distance traveled and difficulty, Leo’s two scores could have been a little higher, which, of course, would have changed the result.”
Medina was very careful to avoid saying that Leo should have won – but in not so many words, that’s exactly what he said. Fioravanti commented on the video with the “thank you” emoji and told Medina, “Come judge, my bro.” The two-time world champ Filipe Toledo also chimed in saying, “You know a lot! Do more of these.” Lucas Chumbo commented, “You spoke the truth.”
At the end of Medina’s video, he acknowledged that it feels “weird” to be playing the role of judge and that it’s very “difficult.” He also announced that there is more of this to come because he’s going to be on Globo’s Portuguese commentating team for the upcoming Surf Abu Dhabi Pro.
