![\"kelly](\"http:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/uploads\/dfcf1c19-8c79-a945.jpg\")
\nPictured: Kelly Slater (USA), 38, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, netted the day\u2019s only Perfect 10 for an incredibly deep barrel followed by a searing cutback.<\/p>\n
Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons
\nStop No. 10 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour
\nPipeline, Oahu, Hawaii
\nDecember 8 \u2013 20, 2010<\/p>\n
High Drama at Billabong Pipe Masters – Perfection, Qualifying Heroics and the Vans Duel for the Jewel<\/p>\n
\nPictured: Kelly Slater (USA), 38, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, netted the day\u2019s only Perfect 10 for an incredibly deep barrel followed by a searing cutback.<\/p>\n
Credit: \u00a9 ASP \/ CESTARI<\/p>\n
PIPELINE, Oahu\/Hawaii (Wednesday, December 15, 2010) \u2013 The Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons, the final stop on the Vans Triple Crown (an ASP Specialty Series), roared back to life today with Pipeline delivering clean four-to-six foot (2 metre) Backdoor barrels for one of the most electrifying days of competition this year.<\/p>\n
The final stop of the 2010 ASP World Tour season, the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons rampaged through Rounds 3, 4 and 5 before capping the day with the Vans Duel for the Jewel, a four-woman battle royale being held (for the first time) at the infamous Pipeline.Kelly Slater (USA), 38, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, continued to assert his dominance amongst the world\u2019s best surfers today by posting the event\u2019s only Perfect 10, weaving through a bombing backdoor barrel en route to a Round 4 win and advancing directly through to the Quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are really good waves when they come,\u201d Slater said. \u201cThere\u2019s only one or two in a set, but they\u2019re 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.\u201d <\/p>\n
With Slater\u2019s 10th ASP World Title having been decided in Puerto Rico, the six-time Billabong Pipe Masters Champion is taking a more light-hearted approach to competition in the final event of the year. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point, I\u2019ve had a great year and I\u2019m happy,\u201d Slater said. \u201cI\u2019m happy to make it through heats, but if I don\u2019t, this is a fun event for me now and hopefully we\u2019ll get some good waves.\u201d <\/p>\n
Slater will surf against Adrian Buchan (AUS), 28, in Quarterfinal No. 2. <\/p>\n
Buchan locked into amazing barrels on both his forehand and backhand today to advance though to the Quarterfinals, and is now the only surfer who can overtake current Vans Triple Crown leader Joel Parkinson (AUS), 29, for the prestigious Hawaiian series title. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to win the Triple Crown,\u201d Buchan said. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge prize, but I have a lot of work to do. I do have a chance though and that\u2019s all I need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buchan needs to win the Billabong Pipe Masters to clinch the 2010 Vans Triple Crown.<\/p>\n
For the first time in history, the Vans Women\u2019s Triple Crown of Surfing culminated at Pipeline today, with reigning four-time ASP Women\u2019s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 22, Hawaiian powerhouse Coco Ho (HAW), 19, and 2011 ASP Women\u2019s World Tour qualifiers Tyler Wright (AUS), 16, and Alana Blanchard (HAW), 20, battling it out in classic Pipeline conditions.<\/p>\n
When the dust settled, it was Gilmore who navigated the treacherous conditions to earn her third Vans Triple Crown title by winning the Vans Duel for the Jewel at Backdoor Pipeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would trade it all to have another session out there with no one out,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cIt was just exciting to be out there with the girls. I got pretty smashed on my first wave, but you just get in to a zone where you want the biggest and best waves and I got that one nice barrel.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the high scores and Vans Triple Crown race, today\u2019s Billabong Pipe Masters provided the final chance for surfers looking to qualify for the 2011 ASP Dream Tour.<\/p>\n
Maui\u2019s Dusty Payne (HAW), 21, issued the upset of the day by eliminating two-time ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS), 29, in an astonishing comeback with a near-perfect heat to requalify for the 2011 ASP World Tour. <\/p>\n
Payne, who was in need of a combination of 17.94 to overtake Fanning to advance out of his Round 3 bout, rose to a historic comeback in the last 10 minutes of the heat by capitalizing on his intimate knowledge of Backdoor Pipeline. The talented natural-footer navigated through two amazing barrels on his forehand in an impressive barrel-riding duel against fanning to net a 9 and a 9.87 (the day\u2019s highest heat total) in the dying seconds of the heat to eliminate the Australian Champion while simultaneously solidifying his position on the 2011 ASP World Tour. <\/p>\n
\u201cMick (Fanning) is not a guy you want to draw anywhere in the world,\u201d Payne said. \u201cI knew whoever I had was going to be tough and that I just had to make it through the heat. I was out there thinking \u2018this is how you\u2019re going to lose, you\u2019re going to get comboed at your own spot?\u2019 Then I got that 9. Then with 20 seconds left there was another one. I got so weak because I knew I had to catch that wave and make it. I was filled with emotions and thought I was off tour, and then I saw that last one and knew it was a 9.\u201d<\/p>\n
Payne eventually fell to ASP World Tour veteran Kieren Perrow (AUS), 33, in a Round 5 Backdoor barrel shootout.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always been a dream of mine to win the Pipe Masters, so I just want to keep focused on that,\u201d Perrow said. \u201cIf that comes through that\u2019d be special and it\u2019d definitely help me on the ratings. It was a slow year for me. I had a really poor start and I got some results through the back half of the year. It\u2019s good to enter this event not needing a result to stay on tour and I just want to keep getting barreled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owen Wright (AUS), 20, continued to prove himself among the elite ranks, taking out heat wins over stylish natural-footer Joel Parkinson (AUS), 29, before relegating defending Billabong Pipe Masters Champion Taj Burrow (AUS), 32, to Round 5 in their Round 4 bout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it was going to be a really tough heat against Parko (Joel Parkinson),\u201d Wright said. \u201cHe\u2019s 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\u2019t 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\u2019m pretty stoked to get through that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ASP Dream Tour rookie also displayed his impressive backhand barrel-riding skills by driving through several racy waves at Backdoor. <\/p>\n
\u201cI found the conditions on my backhand really tough,\u201d Wright said. \u201cA lot of the barrels, I\u2019d get right to the end and the waves would have this backwash fold to it and clamp you right at the end. I would just get so slowed down, but there are some great waves out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7am to assess conditions for a possible 8am start.<\/p>\n
When competition resumes, up first will be Owen Wright (AUS), 20, up against Jeremy Flores (FRA), 22, in the opening Quarterfinal heat.<\/p>\n
Highlights from the Billabong Pipe Masters will be available via http:\/\/triplecrownofsurfing.com\/billabongpipemasters\/<\/p>\n
Surfline, official forecasters of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, are calling for the current swell to hold throughout tomorrow morning before slowly fading in the evening.<\/p>\n
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 3 Results:
\nHeat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.00 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 8.33
\nHeat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 7.40 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 7.40
\nHeat 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.33 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 3.27
\nHeat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.66 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 11.50
\nHeat 5: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 17.10 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.00
\nHeat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.90 def. John Florence (HAW) 14.23
\nHeat 7: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 17.10 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.87
\nHeat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.50 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.10
\nHeat 9: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 10.93 def. David Wassell (HAW) 10.66
\nHeat 10: Dane Reynolds (USA) 13.43 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.66
\nHeat 11: Taylor Knox (USA) 14.66 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 14.34
\nHeat 12: Dusty Payne (HAW) 18.87 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.94<\/p>\n
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 4 Results:
\nHeat 1: Owen Wright (AUS) 13.66, Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.40, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 4.97
\nHeat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.17, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 10.23, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 8.17
\nHeat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.27, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.03, Damien Hobgood (USA) 6.67
\nHeat 4: Taylor Knox (USA) 12.33, Dane Reynolds (USA) 11.54, Dusty Payne (HAW) 6.60<\/p>\n
Billabong Pipe Masters Round 5 Results:
\nHeat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 16.30 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.60
\nHeat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.34 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 9.43
\nHeat 3: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 17.90 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 17.67
\nHeat 4: Dane Reynolds (USA) 11.23 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.84<\/p>\n
Billabong Pipe Masters Quarterfinal Match-Ups:
\nQF 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
\nQF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
\nQF 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
\nQF 4: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)<\/p>\n
Vans Duel for the Jewel Final:
\n1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.50
\n2 \u2013 Tyler Wright (AUS) 7.50
\n3 \u2013 Coco Ho (HAW) 6.86
\n4 \u2013 Alana Blanchard (HAW) 1.50<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons Stop No. 10 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii December 8 \u2013 20, 2010 High Drama at Billabong Pipe Masters – Perfection, Qualifying Heroics and the Vans Duel for the Jewel Pictured: Kelly Slater (USA), 38, reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, netted … Continue reading “High Drama at Billabong Pipe Masters – Perfection, Qualifying Heroics and the Vans Duel for the Jewel”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asp-surfing-news","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13901\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}