Lexus Pipe Pro 2025: Day Three

A beautiful day at Pipeline which, according to Quarter-Finalist Leo Fioravanti, matched “those days in 2022 that were all-time,” provided an excellent sorting mechanism for those that could and those that could not deal with 8-10 foot Pipe.

No other wave on the planet sorts contenders from pretenders according to willingness, skill set, and courage. Given some of the huge discrepancies in competitiveness, the draw was as big a factor as the surf. Some heats were practically walk-throughs, some could have been finals.

A 52-year old retired Kelly Slater who looked pale and, by his own admission, out of shape, and who hadn't set feet into wax for over a month was able to aggressively eliminate a man half his age who is currently third in the world.

Rookies who less than twelve months ago were complete no names outside of their local boardriders were able to oust veteran tour surfers and Top Fivers.

It was magic from start to finish.

Joel Vaughan (WSL/Heff)

The crux of the matter was the quality of surf. On days like this at Pipe there are entry-level waves, experienced-apprentice waves, and expert-level waves that only a handful even at CT level can ride. With an easy draw, entry level rides were enough to squeak through heats and we saw that with back to back World Champ Filipe Toledo's win over Deivid Silva. Toledo spent the first half of the overlapping heat safely in the channel, then chipped into an easy Pipe wave which Ross Williams called 4-5 foot before emphasising the “psychological challenge” and how important it was to bite down on the fear.

It was perhaps as pointed a criticism of Toledo's failings in heavy surf as a WSL employee has ever mustered. The normal response is a noisy silence, where Toledo's presence in the heat without catching waves goes completely unremarked upon. Pip did follow up that clean entry-level tube with a deep double Backdoor tube on an experienced apprentice wave for a generous 8.

That put him on the glass where he was unrepentant towards his critics and surf fans. When asked how a good result at Pipe set him up for the title run he downplayed it's significance: “Lots of years when I got my worst result here I still fought for a World Title."

He claimed he felt no pressure and with regards to performing at heavy Pipe he had “nothing to prove to anybody”.

“Having fun,” he said, “is the number one priority."

Filipe (WSL/Heff)

The contrast between that attitude with others was stark. Some of the charging was reckless, bordering on kamikaze. While Pip was on the glass, Al Cleland Jnr and Jack Robinson were charging like maniacs. Jeremy Flores in the booth was adamant that fans wanted to see “people who go huge with that rock and roll attitude”. He himself, a two-time Pipe winner, said he had “had so much to prove” out there. Following his win Al Jnr underlined the point further and added a nationalist twist, “I'm Mexican. I go all out, all the time."

Jack Robbo's ten-point Backdoor bomb where he skittered like a mountain goat into a beyond vertical drop still lost him the heat. Focus will be on the priority half of the heat when Robinson was unable to find a back-up but it's hard to fault his performance. He went looking for the expert-level waves that were out there and got detonated on a Backdoor bomb in the non-priority half of the heat that would have been another high 9 or 10. A brutal 2.17 was awarded for the incomplete despite an incredible amount of work done on a wave very few could have even attempted.

Is that something the sport needs to look at? Some of the efforts judged incomplete where surfers survived insane drops and emerged from deep tubes only to get turned into crash test dummies by oncoming sections or collapsing lips seemed incoherent. A 2 for achieving what few could do on an expert wave while awarding a 5 to someone completing an entry level wave seems nonsensical. Insulting even.

Robbo (WSL/Heff)

Execution does matter, I concede. You have to make the wave. Otherwise any buffoon with an impact vest and a death wish could ride some hype train to undeserved glory, as we see in tow surfing. The beautiful thing about WSL surfing on days like today is its rigour. You can't fake it. You can't edit out the non-makes. While the commentators did not mention it, we could all see who sat deep and who was paddled around like a priority buoy.

After a subdued start to the day it was Joao Chianca who set the tone for reckless charging. He started with a helmet, one would think required for concussion protocols after his severe head injury at Backdoor. Bell-ringing wipeouts ensued, each one seeming to goad Chianca into even more brazen attempts. Finally, Chianca ripped the helmet off his head and tossed it into the line-up as he ripped into another heavy set. Perhaps that did affect his cognition as he was bundled out in a later heat after a clumsy interference on Miguel Pupo.

No-one was seriously injured during the day, which seemed astonishing, and can only be attributed to good luck or some sort of Pipeline angel guarding the lineup. Griffin Colapinto, World No 3 coming into the contest, was bested by Australian rookie George Pittar in a massive upset. It somehow seemed a victory though that Colapinto was able to maintain consciousness and get to the beach under his own power after enduring punishing wipeouts.

George Pittar (WSL/Heff)

Expert -evel waves at Pipe almost seem to have an hallucinogenic quality to them. Only a few surfers seem able to even see them, let alone ride them.

John Florence paddled out into the lineup and in a non-priority heat was able to extract two excellent rides from right in the middle of the pack. It was like they didn't exist for the others, only for him.

It was the kind of silky smooth performance only John can lay down at Pipeline. Everything looks so effortless, the incredibly difficult is made to look incredibly easy. The recreational surfer could be lulled into thinking: I could do that. Not that they could do it, but it is still nice to somehow know that it can be done in that way. John makes us feel good about surfing in a way no other pro can.

JJF (WSL/Heff)

The yang to John's yin, of course, is Kelly Slater. While John is basically normal, Kelly becomes increasingly surreal in the way only American celebrity can. What John imbues with effortless grace, Kelly seasons with theatre and drama. At 52 he still makes the heart stand still, forces the judges in thrall to his flourishes. Somehow creates an 8 out of what would be a 6 for most of his peers. 

Concurrent with the differences in the types of waves available at pumping Pipe, there are levels to the game in how they are ridden. Kelly remains at the top of the pile in that regard. His 8-point winning ride against Rio Waida was a masterclass in getting in under the heaving wedge without being shot to the shoulder. Contrast with Liam O'Brien who netted a similar looking Pipe set for a 7.13. That 8-pointer had a tinge of the old Kelly manufactured score. His Backdoor bomb against Ethan Ewing, No 5 in the world, was just a pure heart-stopper. 

LOB (WSL/Heff)

After thirty years of being sandbagged by Slater, a certain scepticism is warranted with regards to what he says. For instance, when he said after beating Waida that he “didn't go out there to compete,” an eyebrow could be legitimately raised.

When he spoke about the Backdoor 9-pointer a more authentic Kelly, genuinely stoked off his gourd, came through. He claimed it was a “kind of a blur”. That after positioning himself deep, “all I had to do was stand up and it was there."

Maybe for the first time ever, Kelly seemed entirely cracked open. He claimed the stoke of seeing Tom Carroll and Jeremy Flores going nuts on the beach was the highlight of the experience.

“To see the stoke on your friend's face. Nothing beats that."

Asked what the performance meant he said, “It means retirement's great!”

And in the first declaration that he had let go of the obsession with competitive surfing as the sole meaning in life he teared up when he said he was, “obsessed with my baby and learning how to be a dad”.

It would defy all plausibility and probability to even consider Slater could claim another Pipe title at this age, but we will tune into watch him try.

Slater (WSL/Heff)

That should be the end of the recap but we can't go without mentioning the JJF/Mamiya heat, a rematch of last year's Pipe Final.

Barron Mamiya is another who can identify the hallucinogenic expert waves, perform what Tom Carroll called “seeing without our eyes.” Mamiya had described in a pre-recorded piece how, whilst getting spat out of a Pipe barrel he had an intense visual hallucination that he would win Pipe last year. With four experienced Pipe surfers in the water, Mamiya was able to position himself under the heaviest of horseshoes and get blown out for a 10. He followed up with more excellent Backdoor surfing and John looked lost at sea in heavy combination as the non-priority elapsed and they went deep into their allotted heat. No problem for John. He wasn't choking, he wasn't asleep. He was simply waiting for expert level waves. When they came, he executed perfectly. Less than a point behind as the clock ticked down.

I know they have tinkered with seeding but this still seems in error. The two best guys in the event meeting in the Round of 16..?

That will cloud Finals Day tomorrow.

It's a strange looking Finals Day draw. Rookies who this time last year were unknown, a retired GOAT, Brazilian journeymen, an Italian born and raised in the surf industry who now finds himself an outspoken critic of it, a quiet American who has solidified his place on tour.

In the absence of John and Medina and in the non-surf star era where an emaciated surf industry is no longer able to hype its next big things, results seem less predictable than ever. In the end though, Pipe experience counts, a relationship with the world's deadliest wave has to be long term and for those reasons only two surfers are legitimate contenders.

It has to be a Mamiya/Slater Final, with the GOAT claiming his most famous victory.

// STEVE SHEARER

Men’s Round of 32 Results: 
HEAT 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.00 DEF. Edgard Groggia (BRA) 5.93
HEAT 2: Seth Moniz (HAW) 11.60 DEF. Cole Houshmand (USA) 6.17
HEAT 3: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 5.83 DEF. Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 3.33
HEAT 4: Joao Chianca (BRA) 8.16 DEF. Marco Mignot (FRA) 4.80
HEAT 5: John John Florence (HAW) 17.30 DEF. Jackson Bunch (HAW) 6.50
HEAT 6: Barron Mamiya (HAW) 11.37 DEF. Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 8.40
HEAT 7: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.00 DEF. Deivid Silva (BRA) 1.43
HEAT 8: Jake Marshall (USA) 12.26 DEF. Ian Gentil (HAW) 9.50
HEAT 9: Alan Cleland (MEX) 12.83 DEF. Jack Robinson (AUS) 12.17
HEAT 10: Ian Gouveia (BRA) 14.66 DEF. Ryan Callinan (AUS) 10.83
HEAT 11: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.83 DEF. Rio Waida (INA) 12.83
HEAT 12: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 13.27 DEF. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 5.50
HEAT 13: George Pittar (AUS) 12.50 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 8.10
HEAT 14: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 14.34 DEF. Liam O'Brien (AUS) 14.30
HEAT 15: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 14.10 DEF. Connor O'Leary (JPN) 13.00
HEAT 16: Joel Vaughan (AUS) 12.16 DEF. Jordy Smith (RSA) 9.77

Men’s Round of 16 Results: 
HEAT 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 14.40 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 11.83
HEAT 2: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 10.00 DEF. Joao Chianca (BRA) 6.33
HEAT 3: Barron Mamiya (HAW) 17.97 DEF. John John Florence (HAW) 17.06
HEAT 4: Jake Marshall (USA) 13.20 DEF. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 10.84
HEAT 5: Ian Gouveia (BRA) 16.50 DEF. Alan Cleland (MEX) 12.83
HEAT 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.16 DEF. Ethan Ewing (AUS) 14.83
HEAT 7: George Pittar (AUS) 14.10 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 13.83
HEAT 8: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 13.50 DEF. Joel Vaughan (AUS) 6.20