Three-time world champion Andy Irons is back on the world tour after his year-long self-imposed exile from competition. Irons pushed the reset button in 2009 after years of running at full speed and burning the candle at both ends.

He spent the time off doing his best to recharge the batteries. But during his Round One heat at the Quiksilver Pro there wasn't a whole lot of juice flowing in those batteries.

Historically, Irons has never been capable of turning in a half-ass approach. He's either all-in or he's folding. When he was racking up world titles his own version of hell was that lackluster place where one simply goes through the motions. That's never been his style.

While mentally Irons now looks refreshed -- even care free -- after his time off, down at the Quiksilver Pro, the animal instinct was undoubtedly missing on Saturday. After finishing in last place in his Round One heat, there were no visible signs of distress or anger during his post-heat interview. In fact, he looked more stunned than angry, as if he wasn't exactly sure how he arrived back at this place.

And therein lies Irons' biggest challenge -- which, by the way, is the same one he's always had. Mastering impulses is key to his success and failure. Knowing when to unleash the inner-beast, and when to tame it, is everything. After a year of keeping his competitive beast on lock down, Irons now has to release it, and give it permission to feast again, even if things get ugly and messy. Mr. nice guy will be finishing last against the likes Fanning, Parko and an increasingly angry Slater. Whether he knows this or not will become clear soon enough.

Alright, so the waiting period of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Cost starts tomorrow. This contest should be interesting, we've got the usual title threats, some highly billed new faces and the return of a three-time World Champion. The heat draws have been released and we have most of the Round 1 picture filled in, minus three wildcards to be announced. Of what we know so far, here are some heats to keep an eye on:

Heat 1: Dane Reynolds, Roy Powers and Brett Simpson. I picked this one because Reynolds is one of my title contenders for 2010, and we'll see how his "I'm not really a contest guy" attitude is this year. Plus, Simpson will make his ASP World Championship Tour debut.

Heat 5: Kelly Slater, Benn Dunn and Marco Polo. OK, so we all know Slater's going to wax both these guys, but the reason this heat is going to be interesting is one simple question. What is Slater going to ride? Conventional shortboard, experimental shorter wider Merrick-ation, three fins, four fins, etc. That's my favorite part of the Slater of late, he's pretty damn unpredictable. Plus, this heat is going to be the world's first glimpse of the competitive Slater of 2010, not to mention we're going to see how the ASP judges him. Let's not forget, he did threaten to go rogue last year with his own tour.

Heat 11: Jordy Smith, Dusty Payne and Drew Courtney. I feel bad for Drew in this heat. This one's going to be like having three movies playing at once, two on Blu Ray and on an HDTV, and one on VHS and on a black and white set. Not to say Drew's surfing is dated, but yeah it's dated. Surf contests are the only thing keeping this guy a pro surfer, no one wants to see a Drew Courtney video part. He's like the expired milk in the supermarket that is still on the shelf, while the acne faced 17 year-old, who's supposed dispose of it, is getting stoned in the parking lot. Then, on the other hand you have Jordy and Dusty, who, along with Dane Reynolds are the most exciting surfers on tour to watch, as far as modern progressive surfing goes. The only way Courtney is making it through this one is if Jordy absolutley can't find a wave, and Dusty gets the rookie jitters.

Heat 13: Andy Irons, Jay Thompson and Tom Whitaker. Now, this one should be interesting. You have two Aussies who have been poured into the molds of the muffin tray, and trained to make it through heats. And, you have one super-talented, three-time World Champion that's ready to give it another go.

Heat 15: Fred Patacchia, Owen Wright and Patrick Guadaskas. In this one we have two exciting rookies in Wright and Guadaskas against one semi-veteran. Freddy's not that old, but he's experienced. These two youngsters are experienced competitively, but not on the ASP World Championship Tour. Wright's debut is probably the most highly anticipated of this year's rookie class, remember he did take out Slater and make it to the Semis at Bells last year.

That's it for now, the rest of the heats are whatever, the same old same old. Stay tuned for the wildcard update.

A few weeks back we ran a story about the blatant lack of a sandbar on the Gold Coast of Australia where Snapper and the Superbank once stood. Well, thank your lucky World-Tour loving stars or the recent sand dumping the Australians have done, but the reeling right that has left surfers drooling for years is apparently back and better than ever.

In a recent interview on Surfline, ASP number three Bede Durbidge couldn't hold back his froth when talking about the newly banked right.

"Snapper was a massive hold five days ago...now it's back and it's perfect," said Durbo.

With the bank pumping and the inaugural Quik Pro just a few weeks away, there's already a bevy of hype surrounding the event. And with one of the world's most rippable waves showing her best face in years, it's easy to see why. Other than the wave, this year's tour is looking to be ripe with an array of legends, legends in the making, and upstarts dripping with potential.

Here's a quick list of a few to watch out for at the Quik Pro:

Andy Irons: He's back, shed some lbs., and has been said to be ridiculously focused and primed for a comeback. You don't win three world titles and smoke Slater by being a slouch. It's safe to say that Andy will have plenty of attention at the event.

Joel Parkinson: Parko's the defending event champ and a hometown hero. He also eager for a bit of redemption after he so famously faltered his world title hopes at Pipe. It'll be interesting to see what kind of Parko shows up for the tour this year.

Owen Wright: One of the most anticipated rookies since Dane and Jordy joined the scene. But make no mistake, Owen is not cut from the same cloth as his American and Zaffa counterparts. He's a competitive animal and thrives on singlets and heat horns.

Kelly Slater: Duh. Like you really need to know why to watch Slater.

The Quik Pro begins on February 27, so stay locked to GrindTV.com for all the highs and lows.

Both Bruce and Andy Irons were upset at perfect Pipeline on Saturday--their losses were considered an upset because both are former Pipeline Masters. In fact, Andy's got four of the Samurai helmets stashed somewhere.

But when conditions are as perfect as they were today, Pipeline is no mystery. And when it's not a mystery their home field advantage disappears. Suddenly it becomes about playing the hand your dealt, and the fact is Damien Hobgood and Taj Burrow have been spending a lot more time at the ASP poker table of late.

Andy lost to Damien Hobgood, while Taj Burrow got the better of Bruce today. Go ahead and chalk those losses up to rust growing on the Irons. Both retreated from competition in 2009.

Bruce won't be coming back, but Andy Irons has vowed to return to ASP competition next year. The former 3-time world champion is certainly looking refreshed, but if he's to take anything away from today's loss, it should be that nothing is going to come easy. After all, Andy Irons is always at his best when there's a good challenge in front of him.

Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson will begin their ASP World Title showdown Saturday in what's expected to be epic conditions at Pipeline. But it's obvious they've got a lot more to worry about than each other, because the threat from this year's trialists and wild card entries is more lethal than ever.

Andy and Bruce Irons, John John Florence and Shane Dorian will be relishing their spoiler roles. And they're just the tip of a long Hawaiian spear that has already impaled a number of ASP stars struggling to survive. Torrey Meister, Hank Gaskell, Liam McNamara, Flynn Novak and Gavin Gillette have crushed more than a few dreams already. And the casualties are likely to keep mounting.

Yesterday, Bruce Irons closed the door on Timmy Reyes, who is now headed back to the minor leagues after a lackluster season.

Today, Andy Irons dealt Australia's Drew Courtney a similar fate. Both Reyes and Courtney needed only to advance out of one heat to stay above the line and make next year's tour.

Hawaiians Flynn Novak and Hank Gaskel, who qualified via the WQS contest at Pipe last winter, knocked out Tahiti's Michel Bourez and Australia's Ben Dunn, who, coming into the final event of the season, were sitting 21st and 22nd respectively. Luckily for both, almost everyone in their vicinity was knocked out too, so they stand a good chance of survival. But Roy Powers and Ace Buchan are hoping to pounce.

And one of the most talked about threats now is 16-year-old grom, John John Florence, who, while playing in his back yard out at Pipe, held a clinic today at Backdoor---undoubtedly stoked to be sharing the lineup with only three other surfers. "There are so many perfect waves coming in it was just crazy," he said, "It was really fun out there." Of course, his fun was somebody else's pain. Heitor Alvez's 2010 tour chances were ended by Florence.

With new ASP seeding rules going into effect in 2010, there's much more at stake at Pipeline. Making the Top 10 will earn surfers a late round seed all year. Making the Top 16 will earn a late round seed through the first half of the season. But everyone who qualifies will be instantly put on notice, since the field of 48 will be reduced to 32 by mid-season. The better your seed now, the better the your chances of survival.

Oh yeah, then there's that little title race thing. Mick Fanning has a clear advantage over Parko at this point. At last check Parko has to make it to the semifinals even if Fanning bombs. Both will have tough draws; Fannign will face Meister while Parko is up against Gavin Gillete, so anything is possible.

Stay tuned...This is going to get good.

BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Torrey Meister (HAW)
Heat 3: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 4: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. John John Florence (HAW)
Heat 5: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Flynn Novak (HAW)
Heat 6: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Michael Picon (FRA)
Heat 7: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Chris Ward (USA)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Hank Gaskell (HAW)
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Liam McNamara (HAW)
Heat 10: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 11: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Bruce Irons (HAW)
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Phillip MacDonald (AUS)
Heat 14: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Shane Dorian (HAW)
Heat 15: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Gavin Gillette (HAW)
Heat 16: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)