Glassy morning conditions and 6-to-8-foot surf greeted the wave warriors at the Volcom Pipe Pro on Thursday as they battled above the reef-encrusted playing field.

Before the day was called, many great rides went down and perennial Pipeline favorites Jamie O’Brien, Reef McIntosh and Bruce Irons came out with guns blazing.

O’Brien, a former Pipe Masters champion, started things off by slide-slipping into a clean 6-foot Pipeline tube, emerging with the spit and straight into a tricky 360 spin. He was unsuccessful in the spin attempt, but the points were in the bank. Two minutes later he dropped out of the sky straight into a perfect backdoor barrel and emerged with a plume of spray into first place. The back half of his heat was a polar opposite, which saw him take two wipeouts in a row.

"That last left I popped out the back within half a second, but that last right, I ate it really bad because I hit a foam ball and did a backflip in the barrel," O’Brien said. "I was spinning around and hit the reef. When I popped up I was looking at the beach disoriented and I was like ‘holy, that is a huge wave.’ But it was just a bunch of trees and a big blur and then I looked back and took another wave on the head."

Former Backdoor Shootout champion McIntosh was on point in his heat, posting the highest combined total of the day with a 14.4 out of 20.

McIntosh posted an 8.9 out of 10 for threading the needle on a fantastic backdoor barrel. The wave saw him drop in from the top and pull in behind the glass curtain only to see it section several times before exiting with style.

"It was kind of a split-second decision," McIntosh said. "I was almost going to go left just to play it safe but you know everything is coming at you so fast. I remember the last look at the right, I was like ‘it’s going to be a good right, maybe just go right. First wave, get a good score on the board. If you don’t make it, you still have plenty of time,’ so I went right and there was that little kind of chandelier and I plowed through that and popped out. It felt good."

Although McIntosh has won several events out at Pipeline he still holds the Volcom Pipe Pro in high regard.

"Winning any event at Pipeline is pretty insane, but to win the Volcom event would be really prestigious because the field is real big, everyone is so talented," McIntosh said. "It’s so international and we always get good waves for this event so it would mean the world to me, like having my baby pretty much."

A specialty heat in the event called "the last man standing" pitted selected surfers known for surfing Pipeline a chance to get into the contest without any points. The surfers competed against each other with only one wave counting and one moving on to the main event. Makua Rothman, Kawai Lindo, Gavin Beschen, Derek Ho, Bruce Irons, JD Irons, Alex Gray, Kaimana Henry and Alex Gray made up the heavy list of hitters. This heat saw the best waves of the day with numerous high scores, but in the end Pipe Masters champion Bruce Irons took out the heat with a giant backdoor barrel. He will join John John Florence in round 3 when competition resumes.

The afternoon saw conditions deteriorate with a north wind flowing through, causing contest directors to call the event at 2 p.m.

The event is broadcasted live at volcompipepro.com on the next day of competition.