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| On the Charge |
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 Pancho Sullivan relishes in another North Shore victoryEvent: WQS 3-Star Monster Energy Pipeline Pro Presented by Billabong Date: Jan. 30 & 31, Feb. 5 & 6 Location: Pipeline to Off The Wall Conditions: 2- to 4-foot and rippable Once again this winter season, the ASP has been dealt an ironic hand that had almost no one (except for the local boys) laughing. The prestigious Pipeline Masters got skunked in December, the final going down at Off The Wall. Pancho Sullivan could hardly find a wave with enough push to do a turn, let alone get barreled. Two weeks later an epic swell rolled in just in time for Da Hui to take advantage of perfect Pipe for their local event. Unable to emerge from an eerie fog of small-wave de ja vu, the WQS Monster Energy Pipeline Pro found itself swimming against the same undercurrents of lack of swell and less-than-stellar conditions. For the local Pipeline specialists that rely on this barrel-focused event as a springboard into the Pipeline Masters at the end of the year, they would have to rely on a combination of cover-ups and small-wave tactics and maneuvers to post the highest scores. 
Since only the first day of the event actually went down at Pipeline in 3- to 4-foot surf, no one was pretending that this wasn’t turning into a beachbreak event. The judges were awarding big points for critical turns, like Pancho’s 7.5-point power hack, and perfect 10s to the lucky surfers who could find a long barrel. Andy Irons seemed to carry over his odd-luck and loss of focus from the last WCT event at Pipe to this event, turning heads with possibly his lowest heat total ever, a 2.51, instead of the radical surfing he is known for. Rob Machado looked good in his first couple heats, but lost his rhythm as well, missing out on the coveted “golden ticket” to the Pipeline Masters. On the final day, surfer were destroying the rippable peaks from Off The Wall to Backdoor, dodging dry reef after blasting last minute, point-boosting turns over the inside closeout sections. Pancho, who won the event back in 2005, was on fire throughout the week and posted the highest single-wave score of the entire competition, a perfect 10-point barrel, and the highest heat score of the event, an 18.75, all in the finals. Not only that, he pulled a Tom Curren. Instead of being seeded into a later round, Pancho surfed from the first round of the event all the way to the top spot on the podium, a challenge he personally requested for the sake of honing his competitive skills on the infamous stretch of reef. In addition to the ‘CTers on the winners podium, Dustin Barca, Makua Rothman, Marcus Hickman, TJ Barron, Ian Walsh and five other Hawaiians have good reason to be stoked, having earned their meal ticket into the Pipeline Masters. And following suit, Mother Nature delivered a perfect 8- to 10-foot west swell with sunny, flawless conditions the day after the holding period and event had concluded. So it goes. —Kevin Whitton  2008 MONSTER ENERGY PIPELINE PRO PRESENTED BY BILLABONG RESULTS 1) Pancho Sullivan (HAW), $7,000 2) Fred Patacchia (HAW), $3,500 3) Roy Powers (HAW), $2,500 4) Dustin Barca (HAW), $2,000
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