John Florence won at Pipeline. I am not surprised. On any given day there, he is a standout. Proving time and time again that he’s one of the best all-around surfers in the world, I am of the opinion that he is, in fact, the best surfer in the world right now. And he just won the Volcom Pipeline Pro for the third time in a row.
The waves were average and the swell was diminishing rapidly. The final heat saw head-high waves with more on offer from Backdoor, where John John took on Ola Eleogram, Chris Ward, and Josh Kerr. With four man heats in the water and less-than-perfect conditions, Florence’s experience in his backyard shone through.
In the first five minutes of the final, he hunted down two scoring waves, leaving the others to play catch up. Then, after biding his time, he got one more that would shut the door on the contest. On his final wave, John John dropped late into a little one at Backdoor. So late that it looked as though a clean exit was impossible, but in typical Florence fashion, he emerged unscathed and kicked out.
In the Round of 64, though, he did something almost unheard of. In one heat, he received a 9.3, 9.53, 9.73, and 9.97, which translates into a heat total of 19.7 out of 20.
So congratulations are in order for the young Hawaiian. He’s living up to the hype that’s surrounded him since he was just a kid.
RESULTS:
FINAL
1st: $20,000 – John John Florence – 16.33 points (8.43, 7.9)
2nd: $10,000 – Chris Ward – 14.8 (7.93, 6.87)
3rd: $6,500 – Josh Kerr – 13.83 (8.33, 5.5)
4th: $5,500 – 13.3 (6.87, 6.43)
Semi-Finals:
1st & 2nd advance; 3rd=5th; 4th=7th
H1: John John Florence (HI); Chris Ward (USA); Kolohe Andino (USA); Reef McIntosh (HI)
H2: Josh Kerr (AUS); Olamana Eleogram (HI); Conner Coffin (USA); Dusty Payne (HI)
Quarters:
!st & 2nd advance; 3rd=9th; 4th=13th
H1: John John Florence (HI); Reef McIntosh (HI); Bruce Irons (HI); Jamie O’Brien (HI)
H2: Kolohe Andino (USA); Chris Ward (USA); Kahea Hart (HI); Masatoshi Ohno (JPN)
H3: Olamana Eleogram (HI); Dusty Payne (HI); Dale Staples (ZAF); Jesse Mendes (BRA)
H4: Josh Kerr (AUS); Conner Coffin (USA); Alex Gray (USA); Sebastian Zietz (HI)
Round of 32:
1st & 2nd advance; 3rd=17th; 4th=25th
H1: Jamie O’Brien (HI); Kahea Hart (HI); Tanner Gudauskas (USA); Eala Stewart (HI)
H2: Bruce Irons (HI); Kolohe Andino (USA); Joel Centeio (HI); Nat Young (USA)
H3: Masatoshi Ohno (JPN); Reef McIntosh (HI); Ricardo Dos Santos (BRA); Pancho Sullivan (HI)
H4: Chris Ward (USA); John John Florence (HI); Cory Arrambide (USA); Perth Standlick (AUS)
H5: Olamana Eleogram (HI); Josh Kerr (AUS); Patrick Gudauskas (USA); Cory Lopez (USA)
H6: Dale Staples (ZAF); Alex Gray (USA); Wiggolly Dantas (BRA); Krystian Kymerson (BRA)
H7: Conner Coffin (USA); Dusty Payne (HI); Kaimana Jaquias (HI); Leandro Bastos (BRA)
H8: Sebastian Zietz (HI); Jesse Mendes (BRA); Marcus Hickman (HI); Ezekiel Lau (HI)
Round of 64, continued from yesterday:
1st & 2nd advance; 3rd=25th; 4th=49th
H13: Dusty Payne (HI); Marcus Hickman (HI); Stephen Koehne (HI); Mason Ho (HI)
H14: Conner Coffin (USA); Ezekiel Lau (HI); Granger Larsen (HI); Ian Gentil (HI)
H15: Jesse Mendes (BRA); Leandro Bastos (BRA); Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY); Sean Moody (HI)
H16: Sebastian Zietz (HI); Kaimana Jaquias (HI); Balaram Stack (USA); Joshua Moniz (HI)
