The King Is Dead! Long Live the King!

Photos: Volcom

Winners are grinners ... and losers are bitter.

All hail the new King of Pipe! John John Florence is a freak. Cool under pressure, with an effortless style that would look more at home cutting laps in Blackcomb’s terrain park rather than deep under the lip of a 10-foot Pipeline mega-monster. And it all came together for the 19 year old in what will possibly go down as the best surf contest final of all time. Hell, it might even be the best individual heat of all time!

Jamie O’Brien wanted to stamp his authority on a wave he has totally owned over the last few years, posting a 9.0 and 8-something then a 9.43 in the first few minutes to have the three other finalists combo’d and seemingly out of the picture. Maui’s Kai Barger had posed the biggest challenge with a 9.33, but a second wave eluded him. San Clemente’s Nate Yeomans was a distant third with 7.57 points total. Florence’s score line wasn’t much better: 9.93 total.

JOB held the lead for 34 minutes and 45 seconds of the 35-minute final… and then it evaporated before his eyes. With five miutes to go two waves in the 8-10 foot range pushed through. Florence got the first: an unbelievable backside tube at Pipe that was deep, critical, and near-impossible. He blasted out with the spray and scored a perfect 10.

Right behind him, O’Brien swung, pulled in deep and blew out in front of Florence’s face for a 9.93 – further extending his lead.

JOB must have thought he had the final all sewn up after this epic 9.93 wave.

One minute to go… Florence paddled over and congratulated O’Brien. Then a dark line on the horizon caught his eye. One last wave stacked up on the Pipeline reef. Fifteen seconds to go…

Florence clawed his way past a frantic O’Brien who could see the writing on the wall of the wave. Florence clawed his way past Jamie, over the ledge, under the lip and into the heat-winning tube ride – a 9.93 – to claim the $20,000 first prize.

The final of the Volcom Pipe Pro.

“I wrote myself off half way through,” said John John. “Kai and Jamie both had nines. I can’t believe it. Here at Pipe anything can happen.”

“With 40 seconds to go I wasn’t even thinking about it. I was like, yeah Jamie, congratulations, I won last year and I’m stoked for you. Then I turned around and there’s a peak. I didn’t even know if he was going. I was going to go left and backdoor the peak, then I ended up having to fade, go right, and barely got under it. It was a wild ride.”

But JOB didn't count on JJF scoring a 10 then a 9.93.

“(Winning the Volcom Pipe Pro) last year this gave me so much confidence going into the year," John John continued. "This is the first contest of the year and I’ve got confidence again. So much has gone down in the last year, qualifying for the tour, changing my whole way of surfing and trying to get into the contest thing. I’m so happy right now.”

Back on the beach, O’Brien and Florence shook hands and O’Brien shook his head. “Man, I feel like you just threw me out of the car before we got home,” said O’Brien. “I’m going to come and steal that trophy from you in the middle of the night,” he laughed.

Nine years John John’s senior, O’Brien has long been the man to beat at Pipe, having won at Pipe Masters, Backdoor Shootout, and multiple Volcom Pipe Pros. But Florence is quickly levelling the scores.

How 'bout the poise of this kid - still fully composed sitting beneath 20 feet of crumbling, crunching Pipeline lip.

“It hurts,” said Jamie, holding onto the runner-up $10,000 check. “You think you’re going to win and you don’t. It’s OK. I got some really good scores and I felt I put on a great performance. To me that means everything. I had a great time. I finally got in a good rhythm my last couple of heats. I enjoyed myself and it was a good day.”

Take a look at the final scores posted in the final and ask yourself how much better could it possibly get. John: John 19.93, JOB: 19.4, third-placed Kai Barger: 18.20, and fourth-placed Nate Yeomans: 7.57.

Worthy mentions include top Australian finisher Mitch Coleborn, and former Pipe champion Bruce Irons, who showed a fantastic return to form this week and lost out in the semis.

From today’s results, the following surfers have won a spot in the first round of next December’s Billabong Pipe Masters: O’Brien, Barger, Billy Kemper, Flynn Novak, Fred Patacchia, Kalani Chapman, and Bruce Irons. Florence is an automatic starter at the Pipe Masters as he is on the elite ASP World Tour.

For full results, video highlights and heats on demand go to the Volcom Pipe Pro webpage.

Definitely not where you want to be at Pipeline.

Back-to-back 2012 ASL coverboy Bruce Irons ruling on his way to the semis.

There were five 10-point rides at Pipe during the Pro ... and each surfer scored a cool 'G.

Too young to drink in America, JOB gives JJF a champage shower instead.

2012 Volcom Pipe Pro Results:
FINAL
1st - John John Florence (HAW) 19.93pts, $20,000
2nd - Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 19.40pts, $10,000
3rd - Kai Barger (HAW) 18.20pts, $6,500
4th - Nathan Yeomans (CA, USA) 7.57pts, $5,500

SEMI FINALS
H1: Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 17.77pts ; Kai Barger (HAW) 17.10pts ; Billy Kemper (HAW) 7.90pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 5.10pts
H2: John John Florence (HAW) 13.56pts ; Nathan Yeomans (USA) 12.83pts ; Bruce Irons (HAW) 12.40pts ; Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 7.44pts

QUARTERS
H1: Billy Kemper (HAW) 12.00pts ; Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 11.87pts ; Tim Reyes (USA) 9.10pts ; Gabe Kling (USA) 6.63pts
H2 : Kai Barger (HAW) 14.66pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 14.50pts ; Flynn Novak (HAW) 10.83pts ; Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 3.63
H3 : Nathan Yeomans (USA) 13.27pts ; Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 12.50pts ; Carlos Munoz (CRI) 11.50pts ; Kalani Chapman (HAW) 4.77pts
H4: John John Florence (HAW) 16.34pts ; Bruce Irons (HAW) 13.00pts ; Alexander Grey
(USA) 8.40pts ; Mitchel Coleborn (AUS) 4.84pts

For all the latest World Tour news head to ASL's Air Asia World Tour Page.