France’s Jeremy Flores took down two behemoths of the surf world Monday, but he barely made headlines by becoming the latest champion of the Pipe Masters in the 47-year history of the contest at the most famous break on the planet.

That’s because Haleiwa’s own John John Florence dominated all of the day’s storylines after he delighted most of the estimated 7,000 fans with his successful and pressure-filled journey to the top of his sport for the second year in a row with an edging of Brazil’s Gabriel Medina in the season-long points race.

And while Florence was sitting in a Jeep that he won for his efforts at a post-contest media photo shoot, Flores was standing around with some buddies and fielding some questions from reporters. Just then, one of his friends handed Flores a Coors Light, and he smiled and said, “Yeahhhhh,” as if he had just won a Mercedes-Benz.

Surely, if Flores for some reason couldn’t afford a sports car — or a Jeep for that matter — he can now after pocketing the $100,000 first-place Pipeline prize. It’s what happens to people who attract the frothy stuff, whether that frothy stuff is a winning Backdoor Pipeline barrel to upset newly crowned world champion Florence in the final 10 seconds of the Pipe Masters or the much more pedestrian Coors Light. He’s got what in his home country is called the joie de vivre, which translates to exuberant enjoyment of life or, in a word (not a pun), buoyancy.

While accepting his Pipe Masters trophy, Flores was almost apologetic for beating Florence and, one round earlier, for knocking off Medina, which not only eliminated Medina from the world-title race but also locked up the title for Florence.

“I didn’t want to be that guy,” Flores said. “Surfing is supposed to be all about good vibes.”

Those good vibes were also emanating from Florence, who talked about how his rival Medina and his newest nemesis Flores are such great competitors.

The hoped for head-to-head showdown between Florence and Medina didn’t materialize, but that didn’t take away from the drama of the final two days of the Pipe Masters. The two front-runners were both nearly knocked off in the third round on the second-to-last day.

“It’s been scary being that close in points to someone like Gabriel, who’s such a great surfer out here and a fierce competitor,” Florence said. “His comeback in Europe (winning events in France and Portugal) was amazing and then he was right there in the title race. Surfing with him out here has been nerve-racking, but it would have been cool if we had a final for the title.”

You can bet these two guys are steeling themselves for surfing supremacy in the long haul. It’s a little bit like the situation in the early 2000s, when Kelly Slater (now an 11-time world champ) had Andy Irons (who won it three times) nipping away at his legacy before his untimely death in 2010. One difference: Slater and Irons were six years apart; Florence is 25 and Medina is 23 and are likely to be the cover boys for the sport for at least the next decade.

The 45-year-old Slater, who lost to Medina in Monday’s fifth round but eliminated South Africa’s Jordy Smith from world-title contention in the third round, is aware of that aforementioned legacy in light of the continuing ascension of those two superstars.

“In that (final legacy) sense, it’s a good thing for me because John John and Gabe will be beating each other,” said Slater, who is a seven-time Pipe Masters champ. Florence and Medina have yet to win the year-ending event.

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing (the Hawaiian Pro, the World Cup and the Pipe Masters) turned out to be a breakout platform for Griffin Colapinto of San Clemente, Calif., who has that laid-back air of Jeff Spicoli (every landlubber’s definition of a surfer) combined with the classic great looks of Alfred E. Neuman. A cover photo on Mad magazine could be next. Colapinto made the semifinals of the Hawaiian Pro and finished fourth in the World Cup to take the Triple Crown trophy and the $50,000 first prize, despite not making it out of the Pipeline trials.

Not lost in all of this is Hanalei’s Irons, who is actually in the official name of the Pipe event (the Billabong Pipeline Masters in Loving Memory of Andy Irons). Every year, his wife, Lindy, brother, Bruce, and son, Axel, get up on stage for the awards presentation.

Axel, 7, got a special mention this year from master of ceremonies Joe Turpel, who is also a broadcaster for the WSL. Turpel said, “Axel’s been out there ripping.”

Yes, out there where winter storms from thousands of miles away send energy our way that transforms into waves so the surfers who gather here can prove that a little (or even enormous) bump in your path is fully rideable if you train yourself to negotiate it.

Out there is also where there were almost too many good vibes on the North Shore this winter to fully appreciate. It gave fans from all over the world watching in person and on live TV — as the Beach Boys sang — “Excitations.”