World Tour: day 2 packed with action for Lexus Pipe Pro

After several days OFF, the Lexus Pipe Pro, the very first stage of the 2024 Championship Tour, was launched yesterday morning on Tuesday February 6, 2024 at Pipeline. It was a big second day of competition which saw the launch of the men’s round of 16 and the round of 16 specifically on the Backdoor side, in the 1m-1m50 waves. But it was also a day full of contrasts and action-packed inside back-to-back, with great surprise for some and complete dominance for others. Although the line was a little messy at first, it cleaned up throughout the day and allowed the world’s best surfers to throw down some magical moments at Pipeline. The trend was impressive for the men’s round of 16, with early exits from some of the competition’s favorites and champions as well as exciting performances from emerging talent and more experienced riders from CT.

John John Florence’s figures continue to defy the odds

The two-time world champion of Hawaii, John John Florence, yesterday showed another strength at the Pipeline Stadium, showing the unique relationship he has with the farmer. Having grown up skiing Pipeline, the 31-year-old has developed a unique comfort level in one of the world’s strongest areas. His choice of waves and his way of moving on the right and on the left, looking for more deep for each of them remained unmatched and he posted an amazing total of 17.34 including a near perfect 9.17 in his first heat of the day. John John then found himself facing Callum Robson. Earlier in the day, the Australian scored a competition-best 9.33 on the strong barrel at Backdoor. The two players fought a fierce battle and John John Florence emerged victorious from this great heat.

« This series is the one I’m always happy to fly because there aren’t many waves and it’s hard to fight the kind of battles you want to fight,” Florence said. ” In the beginning, Callum got that 9 as soon as I passed my heat and he’s really scary in those situations. All I had in mind was that I needed a better wave. I am very happy this year. I feel good in my head and very good in my body. Mentally I feel better than last year.«

Pipe carefully removes some of the CT headers

In the first slow heat of the day, world number two Ethan Ewing overcame a major obstacle to maintain his pace from last year at the start of the season. The Australian eliminated Kelly Slater thanks to two incredible barrels at Backdoor, without the American champion escaping. Ethan Ewing then took out Liam O’Brien in the round of 16 and landed another strong combination on his best two waves, which saw him reach the quarter-finals for the first time in his Pipe career.

« It’s always surprising but also very exciting to face Kelly“, Ewing said.” He has always been one of my favorite surfers and probably the greatest surfer to ever ride this wave. I tried to spend as much time here as possible. This wave is very difficult, it has many different faces that I try to learn as much as I can.«

The main winner of the event, Jack Robinson met the same fate as Kelly Slater against Ramzi Boukhiam, the latter managing to turn things around against the Australian. The first crucial heat then took place between Pipe Pro 2019 winner and champion Italo Ferreira and CT veteran Jordy Smith. Although the match was close, the South African unearthed the treasure at Backdoor, turning the tide seconds from the end and eliminating Italo Ferreira at the same time. Ramzi Boukhiam and Jordy Smith met in the round of 16 and this time the South African left nothing behind, scoring a best total of 16.50 to reach the quarter finals. Rookie Crosby Colapinto also caused a surprise by eliminating three-time world champion Gabriel Medina, but was eliminated by Imaikalani deVault in the round of 16.

Part of the Hawaiian team advances to the quarterfinals

Despite the early success of Hawaiian wild cards Jackson Bunch and Shion Crawford on the first day of competition, they were all eliminated in the round of 32 by Tour stars Griffin Colapinto and Connor O’Leary. Young player Eli Hanneman also fell during the round of 16, but other Hawaiians held on and joined John John Florence in the quarterfinals.

Imaikalani deVault and Ian Gentil respectively defeated Griffin and Crosby Colapinto in the round of 16 and will meet in the quarterfinals. This is deVault’s first appearance in the quarter-finals at CT, after defeating the much-improved Miguel Pupo in the round of 16 and eliminating Crosby Colapinto in the round of 16. North Shore’s Barron Mamiya adds his name to the quarter-final draw after an amazing day of competition. Barron Mamiya first took out Frederico Morais before facing the eternal Yago Dora in the round of 16.

« I wanted to make the right decisions. I knew Crosby had a very good score and had knocked Medina out in the previous round, he looked very good. I knew it would be a matter of wave selection and I was lucky that my good wave took priority and didn’t go away, so I’m very happy. » said deVault.

Get all the information on WSL website.

Men’s round of 32 results

Round of 16 results for men

Upcoming men’s quarterfinals

The first round of women to come

Tags: 2024 CT Hawai’i Championship Tour John John Florence Jordy Smith Kelly Slater Lexus Pipe Pro Ramzi Boukhiam WSL