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| Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters |
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In dramatic fashion Kaua‘i’s Andy Irons won the 2006 Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters, and was chaired up ‘Ehukai beach by his younger bruddah, Bruce and good friend Kai Borg. “You can’t win a contest better than that,” said Bruce while waiting for Andy to officially start the celebration at the Volcom House. “Especially against Kelly.” On top of the picture-perfect Pipe Masters victory, AI also captured his fourth Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Championship. The three-time world champ won four of the last five Triple Crowns. Andy had his 2006 Vans Triple Crown title in the bag during the quarters when Mick Fanning was taken out by Chris Ward and Cory “Lopey” Lopez. Lopey and AI would go on to dispose of Wardo and Jamie O’Brien in the semifinals. O’Brien and 15 other wildcards competed in 2006 Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters when contest officials extended the field of competitors from 48 to 64, making for the toughest Pipe Masters field in history. Jamie made it the farthest out of the wildcards, but narrowly missed advancement into the final. In the other semi, Luke Steadman and Damien Hobgood fell victim to the “momentum” of Kelly Slater and Rob Machado. It was like the 1995 Pipeline Masters out there, with Rob going left and Kelly going right. Both getting shacked out their minds. The only difference is there was no high five and no world title on the line. BFFs Kelly and Machado met up with WCT travel partners and good buddies, Andy and Cory in the 35-minute final. The surf hovered in the 4- to 6-foot range throughout the day, coupled with 25mph trade winds, conditions were nowhere near classic Pipeline. But, thanks to the wave gods, the finals saw hollow, well-groomed tubes rolling into the lineup. The finalists flourished in the bounty of barrels. Slater drew first blood, grabbing two high scores early on. “Kelly had me beat really bad at the beginning,” admitted Irons. Machado fell victim to a broken board during the final and the 2000 Pipe Master was relinquished to fourth place. Lopez stayed in the mix, dropping in to some nice Pipe pits, but was unable to match Slater’s high scores. Cory would end up with a bronze metal finish, and the dual between Kelly and Andy went down. The eldest Irons is undefeated at Pipeline Masters finals. He beat Slater in 2003 at Pipe for his second world championship. Unlike their previous battle, this year’s Kelly and Andy match-up no longer possessed the good versus evil aspect. It was more like watching Magic Johnson and Larry Bird drop dimes on the hoops court. Or, like seeing Joe Montana and John Elway throwing bombs on the gridiron. But unlike the NBA Finals and the Super Bowl, nature comes into play at the Pipeline Masters. With eight minutes left in the final, AI needed a combination of two scores to claim the lead from Slates. Mother Ocean obliged. Irons grabbed a 6-foot Pipe dream, dropped in late, pig-dogged through the tube and landed an ankle breaker floater over the monster sand bar in front of the judges stand: 9.87! Two waves later, while Kelly was getting back to the lineup from an 8-point-something Backdoor ride, the final came to a climax. “I was paddling back out and I was trying to snake on the side of [Andy],” said a disappointed Slater. “But I made him go a little deeper and, actually, if I wouldn’t have done that he would probably wouldn’t have gotten a 10.” Andy didn’t back down from Kelly’s intimidation, and Irons’ perfect ride was a right-handed screamer that put the 2006 Triple Crown champ deep. Super deep. Pumping past three sections, Andy emerged out of the green room with both hands in the air. “That was clutch, if [Kelly] would have got that wave he would have had a 10,” said an ecstatic Irons after the comp. “Most guys would let him go all day and I don’t know why they do that.” Because Andy stood his ground, he was awarded the big ‘W.’ Kelly was forced to settle for second place and missed out on breaking Tom Curren’s record of 33 WCT victories. “It would have been really nice to finish off with a win after an unbelievable year,” said the eight-time world champ. “I would have pulled ahead of Curren for all-time wins, so it was little a frustrating.” Andy’s come from behind victory is proof that the Kaua’i boy is the only surfer in history to consistently rival Kelly. In fact, every time the two have met at Pipe, Andy comes out the victor. “To come back and beat him at the end of the year, I got the last laugh, so I’m stoked,” said Irons. “This is huge because I went from fifth to second [in tour rankings] so to end the year on a high note is all the more motivation for next year.” Andy’s win was the stuff he dreamed of as a Pinetrees grom. As Kai Borg and Bruce patiently waited for AI to finish the interviews, Borg’s words put Andy’s win into perspective: “Does it get better than that?” We think not.¬¬–Daniel Ikaika Ito 2006 Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters Results: 1) Andy Irons (HAW) $30,000 2) Kelly Slater (USA) $16,000 3) Cory Lopez (USA) $10,250 4) Rob Machado (USA) $9, 500
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