World Tour: the results of the first day of the Lexus Pipe Pro

The waiting period of the Lexus Pipe Pro, the very first leg of the 2024 World Tour, kicked off this Monday, January 29 on Oahu’s North Beach in Hawaii. The contest was announced It is OFF Monday and Tuesday, with strong wind conditions affecting the Pipe line. But luckily, things were completely different yesterday, this last Wednesday of January, and the Lexus Pipe Pro was launched!

The 2024 CT season opener was launched yesterday at Pipe, marked by a most exciting day of competition. Onshore wind and solid barrels (1m80-2m50) were to celebrate the return to the water of the elite of the surfing world on the pro circuit. The popular North Shore area provided competitors with pure and powerful waves throughout the day, hosting the first two men’s rounds and thus, the first elimination of the season.

Men’s opening round

We didn’t have to wait long to see the best scores appear on the counter. Three-time world champion Gabriel Medina was the first to find one on the left side of the Pipe with a deep barrel scoring an 8.33 barrel from the start With good backup, the Brazilian looked in full control, but Callum Robson went even further deep on the back bomb, scoring 9 points which allowed him to regain the upper hand.

In the next heat, Kelly Slater and Jack Robinson, the big winner of the Pipe Pro 2023, tackled the waves between Backdoor and Pipe. Slater had the highest points of the series, but Robinson ultimately won the heat thanks to the highest backup, sending Rio Waida to the rebound. Griffin Colapinto, No. 3 in the world, took a little time to get going in the twenty-fifth minute of his heat, scoring an 8.50 on the bomb in the final minutes of his heat. The Californian emerged victorious in his first heat, sending his friend and Pipe finalist Seth Moniz out for a treat.

Ramzi Boukhiam, called up to replace Joao Chianca due to injury, in the Pipeline and Sunset events will also qualify for the next round. After missing last season, the Moroccan intends to make the most of these two stages in Hawaii.

The wonderful John John for his hundredth appearance in CT

The best total of the day was achieved by John John Florence, a Hawaiian who scored a total of 15.20 points at the end of heat 7 against Jake Marshall and Caio Ibelli. Marshall and Ibelli battled hard for second place but Pipeline Street could not be touched again in its backyard. John John’s wave selection was perfect and each of his drops and barrels looked like child’s play.

« That’s a lot of action, a lot of heat and a lot of sliding“said John John Florence.” I was very excited and I got a boost of confidence thinking about all this time spent in the heat of skiing. Sometimes at the beginning of the year you are nervous and you almost feel like a beginner, it’s like you are starting everything again for the first time. But no, I’ve been here a long time and maybe I don’t think about it enough.«

Rookies and wildcards put to the test

Hawaii’s wild card, Jackson Bunch distinguished himself in familiar waters with an unexpected victory on the first day of competition. Bunch was last in the final seconds of his heat, against world No. 2 Ethan Ewing and rookie Cole Houshmand, until he surrendered to a wide left at Pipe, scoring an 8.77 that allowed him to win his heat.

« I’m here to have fun and surf the Pipe and three in the water, it’s fun« , admitted Bunch. « I was really bad in this heat and the waves weren’t going my way. I knew there were 30 seconds left when Ethan left his wave. So I had to commit to the next, whatever happened, I had to try everything. Skiing this competition is every surfer’s dream from Hawaii.«

A tough day for the starters of this 2024 season that didn’t bother Eli Hanneman, the latter having another exceptional performance for the Hawaii side. He skated in heat 10 against Kanoa Igarashi, who finished in second place ahead of Connor O’Leary. His compatriot Crosby Colapinto had to face Barron Mamiya in good form, but he still managed to climb to second place in his series, while avoiding a painful rematch.

After a rough start, players Jacob Willcox, Kade Matson and Cole Houshmand risked elimination on this first day of the tournament. All, with the exception of Houshmand who lost to Jordy Smith and Liam O’Brien, turned things around by topping their comeback streak, qualifying for the next round in the process. After losing to Italo Ferreira and Miguel Pupo in the first round, Jacob Willcox redeemed himself in his comeback streak which saw him win against Ian Gentil and Caio Ibelli. In the next round Willcox will face the eternal threat Yago Dora, while Ibelli is eliminated. Hawaiian Shion Crawford, the event’s wildcard, scored a perfect 8.00 on a wave near Backdoor after suffering a few big wipeouts. Crawford struggled to get a good second mark and ended up in second place, sending world champion Filipe Toledo to the repechage.

Filipe Toledo, currently number 1 in the world, is retiring due to illness

Despite suffering from food poisoning, Filipe Toledo still participated in this first day of competition. Having been demoted after the first round where he won against Shion Crawford and Samuel Pupo, the Brazilian had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness. In his absence his opposition opponents, Deivid Silva and Seth Moniz, will qualify for the next round.

Men’s first round results

Repechage round the men

The next call is scheduled for Thursday, February 1 at 7:45 am local time.

All information can be found at WSL website.

Men’s next round

Women’s opening round

Tags: Championship Tour Filipe Toledo Griffin Colapinto hawaii John John Florence Lexus Pipe Pro North Shore WSL Pipe