With only two spots there for the taking, locals and hopefuls will duke it out for their rightful place in the Billabong Pipe Masters as the Pipe Invitational whittles a starting field of 32 down to just a pair of
With only two spots there for the taking, locals and hopefuls will duke it out for their rightful place in the Billabong Pipe Masters as the Pipe Invitational whittles a starting field of 32 down to just a pair of worthy competitors. The event could get the green light this morning as an increased swell has been expected to fill in overnight with Surfline calling for Pipeline to max out with 15 to 20-foot sets. Whether it’s suitable for competition will be decided bright and early.
No matter how massive it gets, Pipeline can always be a scary proposition and a reminder of that came just days ago. Florida’s Evan Geiselman, who finished 32nd this season on the Qualifying Series, was knocked unconscious during a free surf when he reportedly hit his head on the reef. Bodyboarder Andre Botha came to Geiselman’s rescue when he was held under for a set, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while they were still in the water being dragged by surf. Geiselman was taken to Queens and is now recovering, but it’s just another example of the possible pitfalls that can plague anyone charging the world’s most famous wave.
Those in the contest will have all eyes on them and water patrol at the ready, though I imagine it’s still just as frightening when they decide to drop.
Only four of the hopefuls are from somewhere other than Hawaii — Aussies Jack Freestone and Jack Robinson and Americans Dane Reynolds and Griffin Colapinto — with four Kauai surfers vying for a spot in the main draw. Gavin Gillette, Alex Smith, Kaimana Jaquias and Evan Valiere are all slated to compete.
Whoever comes out of the Invitational is going to have a chance to play spoiler against at least one world title candidate. There are still six surfers with a chance at the 2015 championship, though Mick Fanning, Filipe Toledo and Adriano de Souza have a better mathematical chance than Gabriel Medina, Owen Wright and Julian Wilson.
Fanning, who was also involved in the Geiselman rescue, must be considered the heavy favorite to earn his fourth world title. He’s coming off his first ever win in Hawaii at the World Cup of Surfing and reached the semifinals at Pipeline two years ago.
But Medina, last year’s runner-up and the defending world champion, would still give himself a good chance to repeat if he can win the event. While Toledo is in a much better mathematical position and just 200 points behind Fanning for the year, his skill set hasn’t shown to be as effective in heavy barrels. The same question marks surrounded Medina last year, but he responded loudly with an amazing performance to put those doubts to rest.
Fanning will get his event going in round one against Sebastian Zietz and one of the wild cards. A win would move him into round three and possibly just a few heats from another title. But everyone he faces as the top seed will be more than capable and very familiar with the subtleties of Pipeline. It’s normally an edge to be ranked number one, but this could be the exception.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
