Three decades after his first win at Pipeline, aged twenty, Kelly Slater snatches Billabong Pro Pipeline.
Thirty years after his first win at Pipeline, and in imperfect six-to-ten-foot waves, Kelly Slater has waltzed through the pack to win the Billabong Pro Pipeline, and take the number one slot in the world tour rankings.
Slater, who ain’t one to shirk from a confrontation, began the final against Seth Moniz in a manner reminiscent of his semi with Miguel Pupo where he nailed the Brazilian with a paddling interference; this time, Moniz figured discretion was the better part of valour if you’ll excuse the shameful use of Shakespearean English, and let Kelly own the Backdoor closeout.
It wasn’t the only closeout, with early exchanges ending with each surfer unable to find the holes in the bitch’s fishnets.
Ultimately, Slater, looking like an old-school bull dagger with his thick neck and shaved head, rimmed Backdoor for a pair of nines which would be the difference between the two.
“This is the most aggressive I’ve ever seen Kelly Slater for a long time… he looks like a young buck… bringing the pain,” said in-water reporter Strider “Attack Dog Tits” Wasilewski.
Between sobs Slater said, “I committed my life to this.
JP Currie’s analysis of the day to follow shortly.