Slater still in the hunt

With unruly and heavy waves with up to 30-foot faces, the Billabong Pipe Masters made it all the way through the second round on Saturday, and 42-year-old Kelly Slater is still in the chase for his 12th world title.

But instead of pushing on into the third round while strong winds were washing things out, organizers decided to call it a day at 1:45 p.m. The contest could continue Sunday, and a call on whether to run it will be made at 8 a.m. The Sunday forecast calls for even stronger winds, with the swell pushing in from more of a northerly direction instead of the optimal westerly that has been coming in.

Slater was the only one of the world-title contenders who surfed in the second round, and he made the most of it, catching a deep barrel and finishing it off with a cutback and a chop hop for a 9.57 in his victory over Kauai’s Reef McIntosh.

"That wave came after failing on so many waves I was paddling for and I wondered if I should even go," Slater said. "When I bottom-turned, I saw this huge foam ball right in my line and I just went, ‘God, I hope that thing disperses as it pitches,’ and luckily it did and had a nice little face on it afterwards."

To win a world title, Slater — the ASP’s third-ranked surfer — must capture the Pipe Masters for the eighth time.

The ASP’s No. 1 surfer, Gabriel Medina of Brazil, has the best shot at the world championship, and he can eliminate Slater by winning his heat against Maui’s Dusty Payne.

Medina can wrap up the world crown if he can make it past the semifinals. No. 2 Mick Fanning’s world-title chances will increase the longer the Australian stays in the competition that will need two more days to finish.

Payne has the inside track for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series championship, and Tahiti’s Michel Bourez and Australia’s Julian Wilson have outside chances for that title, which goes to the best surfer in the three North Shore winter events combined (Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa, Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, and the Pipe Masters).

According to Jodi Wilmott of ASP media relations, there’s a possibility that a world champion and a Triple Crown champ could be decided on the next day of competition, leaving just the Pipe title to be decided on the final day.

The North Shore’s John John Florence, the ASP’s No. 4 surfer and one of the favorites to win his first Pipe Masters, is scheduled to open the third round in Heat 1 against Adam Melling of Australia.

In other compelling upcoming matchups, Medina and Payne go at it in Heat 6, Fanning and France’s Jeremy Flores go head-to-head in Heat 9, and Slater meets Brazil’s Alejo Muniz in Heat 12.

When he hit the reef on a closeout Backdoor tube, South Africa’s Jordy Smith injured his shoulder and exited the event. Later, in Saturday’s final heat, Spain’s Aritz Aranburu was rescued by a jetski in the impact zone.

"There’s so much backwash, there’s waves coming back at you that are the size of the waves you’re trying to take off on," Payne said. "I just hope Jordy is OK."