Photo: Jamie O’Brien // YouTube
He had a turbulent journey to get there, but Jamie O’Brien is in the Pipe Masters. Now, just two days into the event, he’s claiming to have landed the best wave so far.
It all started when the invitees to Vans’ annual invitational competition sent out, and Jamie O’Brien realized he had not gotten the call, instead having been relegated to an alternate spot. Soon after that, Josh Moniz took to Instagram to lay into Vans for the snub, as well as accuse them of ruining the good Pipe Masters name. Fellow pros and surf fans flocked to Jamie’s defense – including O’Brien himself, who loudly proclaimed that, “To say I’m upset and disrespected is an understatement. It’s sad to see such a prestigious event being run by kooks who clearly don’t understand the reality of the lineup at Pipeline.” Eventually, Vans capitulated and gave Jamie a full spot, though that didn’t stop him from continuing to roast the company both in interviews and a series of Instagram posts.
Now, we’re two days into the competition and Jamie seems to be using that energy to fuel an impressive start. After a top-scoring 27.2 ride in round two, he jumped up to 11th place and striking distance of the final. “I’m psyched to get the best wave so far, it’s definitely going to go a long way later in the contest,” he said in an interview on the beach.
