Day one had its share of highs and lows, as do most winter days at Pipeline. Friday’s opening action saw some awesome rides and clutch finishes as the Volcom Pipe Pro moved through round one and 11 heats of round
Day one had its share of highs and lows, as do most winter days at Pipeline. Friday’s opening action saw some awesome rides and clutch finishes as the Volcom Pipe Pro moved through round one and 11 heats of round two, possibly continuing Monday with a new swell filling in.
Nobody made a bigger impression on day one than Koa Smith, who barely gave onlookers a chance to fully digest his picturesque Pipeline barrel before paddling into another and getting even deeper the second time. He bettered the first 9.00 with a 9.67 to run away with the heat win and send himself cruising into round three.
Smith had two of only three nine-point rides on the day. He remained humble afterwards, telling WSL that he was basically just in the right place at the right time, but he made a couple steep drops and got high above the foam ball with more cover than any other competitor was able to. It was certainly more than luck.
American Derek Peters was the only other surfer to throw a nine into his scoreline. He and Smith will be in the same round three foursome, along with Patrick Gudauskas and Brent Dorrington.
Bruce Irons didn’t have the epic waves roll through that Koa did, but he may have had the day’s next most exciting moment. After surviving his first-round heat with a second-place finish, he patiently waited for his opportunity in round two.
Makuakai Rothman and Seth Moniz were seemingly in control of the heat, while Irons and Torrey Meister each appeared headed towards a disappointingly early exit. But in the final minute, the pair split the peak and changed the story line. Needing only a 2.84, Meister took a small Pipeline barrel and remained within the tight confines for some nice cover, coming out cleanly and super high to leap into first with a 5.27.
Irons had a larger task and was up to it. He was looking for a 6.33 to move into the top two and saw his opportunity at Backdoor. Reading the wave perfectly, Irons headed right and completely disappeared before getting high on the face and exiting with a little shampoo job. It was clearly the heat’s best ride and earned him a 7.17 to move into second place, knocking Rothman and Moniz out of the event.
Irons and Mikey Bruneau will move into a third-round heat that features Joan Duru and Billy Stairmand.
While Irons and Chris Foster had each earlier made it through round one, Kamalei Alexander, Dylan Goodale and Evan Valiere could not advance into the Round of 96. Foster, Makai McNamara and Kalani Chapman were the standouts of the opening round.
Three Kauai surfers — Irons, Koa Smith and Gavin Gillette — advanced through their second-round heats, while Foster and Kaimana Jaquias were each eliminated. Alex Smith is still yet to surf in round two.
Sebastian Zietz will join them in round three, when he and the rest of the top seeds get into the action. Zietz faces Carlos Munoz, Brian Toth and Takayuki Wakita.
Kelly Slater, John John Florence, Jamie O’Brien and more will also open in the third round.
At least two more full days will be necessary to complete the contest and the upcoming swell appears solid for Monday and Tuesday. We’ll see how much is able to be completed within that window before they must wait for another opportunity.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
