Perfect at Pipe
Parko Steals The Show During Day Two Of The Billabong Pipe Masters
by Jake Howard
Yesterday the swell was pumping and everybody that surfed had no choice but to push themselves. Today, with the swell on the decline, the show was more based around ability and technique. You could make the argument that nobody in the world combines ability and technique better than Joel Parkinson, and if you were looking for something to support this argument all you had to do was watch his Round 3 heat against Dusty Payne. Read on to find out what the hell I’m talking about:
Story of the Day:
Up until he actually picked up his jersey, walked down the beach and paddled out the Lord only knew if Kelly Slater was going to show up for the Pipe Masters. He’s been down in the Caroline Islands chasing swell the past few days, and rumor had it he was going to stay down there for the next round of swell. Obviously the rumor was wrong. Kelly did show…just in time to watch Joel Parkinson rack up a perfect 20-point heat score.
Worst Wipeout:
Umm, not too many poundings to speak of today. Both John John and Dean Morrison broke boards, but with the swell on the decline and Pipe/Backdoor lingering in the 3- to 4-foot range, the boys had it a bit easier today. Down the beach at Off The Wall people were taking the usual beatings—and worthy of note would be Gavin Gillette’s Malloy-esque escapade on a kickboard—but all in all, it wasn’t nearly as spine tingling of a day as yesterday was.
Most Inspiring Surfer:
John John Florence lost to Kieren Perrow in one of the first heats of the day, but that doesn’t make him any less inspiring. On one particularly clean wave at Backdoor the young regular-footer got barreled all the way across the reef, came out, did a huge hack, then followed it up with a solid little punt at the end on the close-out section. It was a proper display of exactly how good the kid is. Like I said, he may not have beat the cagey veteran, but he certainly put the world on notice that his arrive on the scene is not a long time off.
Best Performance:
What else can you say about what Joel Parkinson did out at Backdoor today. You can’t get much better than two perfect 10s. With the winner of the Triple Crown title essentially being decided in his Round 3 heat against Dusty Payne, Parko was, well, perfect. “I couldn’t have done anything,” told Dusty, about 30 minutes after their duel. “It’s hard to get 11s.” By the looks of things Parko will claim the Triple Crown title, but more than that, he’s now more of a contender to win Pipe than he’s ever been before.
Billabong Pipeline Masters Round 2 Results:
Heat 9: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 17.50 def. John John Florence (HAW) 14.83
Heat 10: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 16.24 def. Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 15.84
Heat 11: Tim Reyes (USA) 8.60 def. Mark Healey (HAW) 3.94
Heat 12: Marcus Hickman (HAW) 11.83 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 9.80
Heat 13: Bruce Irons (HAW) 17.54 def. Torrey Meister (HAW) 13.37
Heat 14: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 15.10 def. Makuakai Rothman (HAW) 12.67
Heat 15: Shane Dorian (HAW) 13.00 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 9.43
Heat 16: Dean Morrison (AUS) def. Jesse Merle-Jones (HAW)
Billabong Pipeline Masters Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Marcus Hickman (HAW) 14.56 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.83
Heat 2: Luke Stedman (AUS) 7.34 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 5.50
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 20.00 def. Dusty Payne (USA) 15.16
Heat 4: Tim Reyes (USA) 14.83 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 10.56
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.77 def. Ezra Sitt (HAW) 7.90
Heat 6: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.83 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 10.50
Heat 7: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 11.50 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 6.60
Heat 8: Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 16.50 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 9.86
Heat 9: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 18.26 def. Daniel Wills (AUS) 17.94
Heat 10: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.83 def. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 12.16
Heat 11: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 16.24 def. Bruce Irons (HAW) 16.10
Heat 12: Kamalei Alexander (HAW) 12.56 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 9.00
Heat 13: Chris Ward (USA) 17.27 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 13.83
Heat 14: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.93 def. Shane Dorian (HAW) 12.63
Heat 15: Evan Valiere (HAW) 18.13 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.60
Heat 16: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.37 def. Dean Morrison (AUS) 13.17
Billabong Pipeline Masters Round 4 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Marcus Hickman (HAW) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Tim Reyes (USA)
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 4: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) vs. Jamie O’Brien (HAW)
Heat 5: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Tom Whitaker (AUS)
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Kamalei Alexander (HAW)
Heat 7: Chris Ward (USA) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)
Heat 8: Evan Valiere (HAW) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
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Location: Pipeline, Hawaii
Check out photos from day two.
Watch Parko's perfect wave of the day.
Best Thing Heard All Day:
“Now I’m f*cking depressed, I’m going to go down to Rocky Point and drop in on everybody. Maybe that will make me feel better.” Mark Healey sarcastically venting after losing in less than life-threatening conditions.
Worst Call:
You could make the argument that actually holding the event today was the worst call. As a disheartened Mick Fanning said after losing his heat: “It’s like the D-Bah Masters out there or something.” Mark Healey felt the same: “This isn’t Pipe. Shouldn’t the Pipe Masters be held at proper Pipe?” All that being said, there’s bad weather on the way and the swell forecast isn’t looking all that promising, which put organizers in a tough spot.
Best Eats of the Day:
Generally I’m not a fan of hot dogs unless I’m at a ballgame, but after a day in the sun and not much to eat, grabbing a dog from the family that’s grilling them up at Off The Wall definitely hit the spot…and at three bucks a dog, it’s hell of a lot cheaper than the ballpark.
Performer of the Day:
Parko was perfection personified. |
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