John John Florence absolutely nailed it at the Pipe Masters on Friday and the ongoing process of his emergence as the undisputed best surfer in the world took one step forward.
In many ways, Florence is already the best on the planet at his craft. For instance, few of his peers would deny that the 22-year-old from Hawaii has the best combination of power, speed and flow — not to mention style — at the world’s most challenging breaks. But, then there’s that other scale, the numerical one where Florence is ranked just fourth in the world.
Surfing in the 6- to 8-foot pumping conditions at Banzai Pipeline on Friday, Florence patiently waited for things to come to him. Halfway trough his 30-minute morning heat went by without Florence catching a wave and then — boom — he delivered three huge scores. Not only did he make it look effortless, it’s doubtful he dropped any sweat into the ocean water.
"I waited for a while," Florence said. "It can be hard to pick ’em. So I kind of got the luck of the draw. Patience paid off."
Don’t let Florence fool you. Sure, he was fortunate to get the good waves, but he knew exactly where he needed to be in the lineup and which ones to take.
Florence nabbed two Backdoor Pipeline beauties before tucking in deep to a Pipeline barrel with a rail grab for a 9.23. He easily advanced into the third round with his 18.16 two-wave total that beat Australia’s Mitch Coleburn and Matt Wilkinson.
Eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater, who is unquestionably the most accomplished pro surfer of all time and considered by many to be the best ever to ride waves, directly followed Florence’s heat. Slater led it the whole way, but placed second to Australia’s Adam Melling, who caught a backdoor bomb in the final few seconds to edge Slater, 15.90 to 15.80.
So, how far along is the proverbial torch on its way from Slater to Florence? It’s debatable, and the question may be easier to answer when the Pipe Masters and the Triple Crown of Surfing ends. Slater certainly isn’t handing it to him, and he has acknowledged repeatedly nothing would get his fire going more than a matchup against Florence in the Pipe Masters final.
Asked if he saw Florence’s heat, Slater said, "No."
Told that Florence’s performance was very good, Slater, smiling and with eyes sparkling, said, "It normally is."
Florence, who lost to Slater in the Pipe final a year ago, said, "It would be a dream come true to face him in the final again."
One more sign of the changing of the guard: Last week, Florence broke Slater’s 10-year reign on Surfer magazine’s Surfer Poll awards.
Due to his second-place finish to Melling, Slater moved on to the third round, which could be as soon as Saturday, conditions permitting. Two more days of competition are needed between now and the end of the waiting period on Dec. 20.
Slater, the ASP’s third-ranked surfer, is going for his 12th world title, but he must win the Pipe Masters to do so.
"It’s not like that’s an easy feat," said Slater, who is one of three with a chance at the world championship that will be decided here at Ehukai Beach.
The other two in the chase are No. 1 Gabriel Medina of Brazil and No. 2 Mick Fanning of Australia, and both won their heats to advance to the third round. Fanning is a three-time world champ.
Maui’s Dusty Payne, who won the Reef Hawaiian Pro in Haleiwa and placed second in the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, finished his heat behind Melling and Slater. Payne leads the standings in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which will also wrap up simultaneously with the Pipe Masters, the series’ final leg.
Slater said he thinks he would have won the heat if he decided to go on a backdoor wave that was there for the taking.
"Dusty went left, but I thought he was going right, so I didn’t go," Slater said. "If I had gone right, I think it could have been a winning wave."
Melling was thrilled to get past Slater and Payne.
"It’s always good to beat the top guys. Kelly has won this event a bunch of (seven) times and Dusty has also done well out here. I hope to keep a good rhythm going and if the waves stay good, I hope to get some more big scores."
