While the webcast cameras were trained on Sunset Beach, which was hosting the World Cup of Surfing, the photographers were burning up the megapixels down at Pipeline. The first west swell of the season - or to be more accurate, west/north-west - was just right at Pipe and everyone who wasn't in the Sunset comp was opening their seasonal account at the Pipeline.

Notable amongst the regulars (John John, JOB, Flynn Novak, each pictured in this gallery) was Mick Fanning getting as much field practice as possible before the title showdown starts on December 8th.

All photos Matt Dunbar.