The 40th anniversary of the Billabong Pipe Masters is already being called one of the best surfing contests ever, and for good reason. The best Masters' swell in decades was pounding the North Shore of Oahu all week, making for an incredible climax to the 2011 ASP season.

The most anticipated match of the event was between 39-year-old Kelly Slater, the 11 time world champion, and his 19-year-old protege, John John Florence of Hawaii.

Florence, an ASP rookie, was born the same year Slater won the first of his six Pipe Masters crowns back in 1992. The famous wave breaks roughly 100 yards from John John's bedroom, and he started braving the ferocious conditions when he was 8. By the time he was 12 he was appearing on the cover of Surfer Magazine. Slater, meanwhile, has spent a good portion of his career surfing in Florence's backyard, and has played a big-brother role for years.

Many viewed this week's battle between them as the possible passing of the Pipeline torch, and perhaps more. Florence won back-to-back events at Pipeline earlier this year, and clinched the first of what many believe will be many Vans Triple Crown of Surfing titles Saturday, becoming the youngest surfer to ever win the prestigious Hawaiian crown.

On Friday Florence drew first blood on Slater in a Round Four match-up that pitted him against Kelly and CJ Hobgood. He beat them both handily thanks to a perfect 10-point ride.

But during Saturday's sudden-death quarterfinal heat, Slater came from 10 points behind in the final five minutes to slip past Florence in the final seconds. It was a remarkable comeback that seemingly only Slater could pull.

[Is Slater's 20-year reign worthy of a Sports Illustrated cover?]

"I'm just trying to hold John John at bay a little longer," Slater said afterward. "This kid is going to dominate here for the next 20 years. He'll have plenty of Pipe titles before he's done." Indeed, it was easy to see that defeating Florence at his home break meant a lot to Slater. Years from now Slater's last-minute heroics in 2011 are sure to be remembered as one of the finest in his remarkable 20-year career.

Pipeline is the planet's most celebrated wave thanks to both its beauty and fury. When massive swells finish their journey across the North Pacific uninterrupted, they hit the shallow coral reef sitting just 50 yards from shore and jump to the size of four-story buildings before heaving, twisting and detonating with enough force to shake the sand under the feet of fans and the gallery of photographers on the beach.

Meanwhile, brave surfers are vying for the ride of their lives, risking life and limb while trying desperately to avoid Pipeline's ferocious guillotine of glassy water.

"It's really heavy out there but this is as good as Pipeline gets," Slater said Friday.

While Slater and Florence stole most of the early headlines, the Pipe Masters is a career-maker-or-breaker for several others, but none more than veteran Kieren Perrow, who needed to make the quarterfinal this year just to remain on the ASP world tour. That was a tall order to be sure, but possible considering Perrow finished runner-up at Pipeline last year. His painful loss still haunts him, as he let the lead slip away in the final seconds.

Perrow managed to keep his career alive with a 10 point ride that got him to the quarterfinals on Friday. On Saturday he set out to right last year's wrong.

Wrapping his many battle wounds in Duct Tape, Perrow worked his way back to the final against fellow Aussie Joel Parkinson (who defeated Slater in the semifinals). This time Perrow didn't let his finals' lead slip. He nabbed the title that eluded him in 2010, finally got his first tour win, and took home what Slater calls "The best trophy in surfing."

[Video: amazing human feats of 2011]

Former Hawaiian State Senator Fred Hemmings, the 1968 world champion and founder of the Pipe Masters, was among those taking in the show. In 1971 he helped launch the sport of surfing with a card table and a bull horn. "We dreamed of surfing going global like this, but this has surpassed our wildest imagination. This is just an incredible show."

Above: Gabriel Medina threads the tube at Pipeline during his run to the quarterfinals of the Pipe Masters. Click photo for full Surfer Magazine photo gallery. Photo: Todd Glaser

Results of 2011 Billabong Pipeline Masters
1. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
3. Kelly Slater (USA), Michel Bourez (PYF)
5. John John Florence (HAW), Jamie O'Brien (HAW), Evan Valiere (HAW), Gabriel Medina (BRA)

Winner of Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
John John Florence (HAW)

PHOTOS: The Banzai Pipeline on Oahu's North Shore (top) is the world's most photographed wave for good reason. 19-year-old John John Florence (middle) has come of age under the microscope at Pipeline, where he grew up. These days the ASP rookie is the biggest threat to Slater; Last week Kieren Perrow (below) was pondering life after pro surfing, Saturday, after an emotional victory, his career is going strong. Photos: ASP/Kirstin/Cestari

For the second year running, Turtle Bay on the North Shore of Oahu played host to the biggest night in surfing, the 41st annual SURFER Poll Awards. The Top 10 men and Top 5 women--as voted by fans-- were honored.

Kelly Slater took home his 17th SURFER Poll No. 1 in a year he won an unprecedented 11th world title. "The first one I won was in 1992," says Kelly Slater. "I remember the cover shot was me, and it said Curren, Carroll, Potts' names too. That was pretty mind-blowing at the time to win against those guys. Now I'm still inspired by the crew of guys coming up right now--Dane, Julian, Medina, John John."



Dane Reynolds, the man in which Slater urged fans to vote as No.1 came a close second, followed by current world number two Owen Wright. The fans let the surfing world know they have not forgotten fallen surfer Andy Irons, as they voted him the No. 9 surfer along with his brother Bruce 10. Watch the emotional acceptance speach by the Irons family.

Recently crowned ASP World Champ Carissa Moore ousted two-time SURFER Poll No. 1 Stephanie Gilmore to take the top slot continuing her magical year.

"I'm still grasping the situation," said a visibly shocked Carissa Moore, "but it's amazing to win this award. It's a great night in surfing and I'm so thankful for all my fans for voting for me."

After an amazing year that included two Pipeline event wins, World Tour qualification, and most recently, a win at the Vans World Cup at Sunset, Oahu's John John Florence was granted the prestigious Andy Irons Breakthrough Performer Award.

In the highly contested Movie of the Year category is was Globe's film Year Zero directed by Joe Guglielmino taking home the award. The Best Documentary award was won by Splinters directed by Adam Pesce and the Best Cinematography award went to Keith Malloy's Come Hell or High Water.

Everyone's favorite category Worst Wipeout was awarded to Rodrigo Koxa for his gnarly wipeout during Teahupoo's massive swell.

Here's the complete 2011 SURFER Poll Results

Top 10 Men
1. Kelly Slater
2. Dane Reynolds
3. Owen Wright
4. Julian Wilson
5. Taj Burrow
6. Mick Fanning
7. Joel Parkinson
8. Jordy Smith
9. Andy Irons
10. Bruce Irons

Top 5 Women
1. Carissa Moore
2. Coco Ho
3. Stephanie Gilmore
4. Alana Blanchard
5. Sally Fitzgibbons

Andy Irons Breakthrough Performer
John John Florence

Movie of the Year
Year Zero

Best Documentary
Splinters

Best Cinematography
Come Hell or High Water

Best Performance
Josh Kerr, for Kerrazy Kronicles

Heavy Water
Nathan Fletcher, for Teahupoo Uncut, Get-N-Classic, Rumors

Best Barrel
Alex Gray, for Teahupoo Uncut

Worst Wipeout
Rodrigo Koxa, for Teahupoo Uncut

Best Digital Short
Lost Interest

John Florence, 19, took another step up the legend ladder on Friday by winning the Vans World Cup at Sunset Beach in solid surf. In the final his familiarity with the lineup helped ease him into a several inside bowls. By the end of the heat he had the rest of the field comboed.

Friday's win, along with his solid showing at the Reef Hawaiian Pro last week, thrust Florence into the lead for this year's race for the Vans Triple Crown, and odds are now in his favor with the next event taking place in his backyard break of Pipeline.

Florence's dominance in Hawaii should come as no surprise. He's been the North Shore's most famous grommet since the age of 8, when he began surfing Pipeline as a tiny frizzy-haired tow-head.



Now, at age 19, Florence has assumed his role as the most dominant Hawaiian surfer of the day. He owned four of the Top Ten rides at Sunset Beach this week, and his victory is the third prominent one he's taken on the North Shore in 2011. Back in February he won the Volcom Pipeline Pro and Da Hui Backdoor Shootout at Pipeline.

"This means the world to me," Florence said afterward. "I've grown up here watching this event since I was a little kid...to think I can win the Triple Crown is just incredible. I wouldn't even know what I'd say if that happened."

Fact is, there wouldn't be much to say, but for "The best guy won."

Results of the Vans World Cup at Sunset Beach
1 John Florence - Hawaii
2 Michel Bourez - Tahiti
3 Adam Melling - Australia
4 Hank Gaskell - Hawaii

High tides, rip currents, onshore wind, and lull-y swell have forced contest director Miky Picon to call off competition today after running only 5 heats of round 2.

This is the second day in a row where ideal swell and conditions have failed to produce the proper grinding tubes we've come to expect. The sand bank at La Graviere is stellar by all accounts, with a defined peak offering long rights and lefts, but the tide always seems too high, and the backwash has made tuberiding difficult.

Even with the jet ski assist, competitors are doing an awful lot of duck-diving. Joel Parkinson snapped a board in his round 1 heat and with 8 minutes to go, was unable to make it back out through the rip to get one more score.

Obviously I'm not in France, but this is one of the best beachbreaks on earth, with ideal conditions, and yet we are seeing a lot of single digit heat totals. Is there perhaps a better bank for these tides down the beach? I think we'd all like to see a repeat of last year's meat-grinder barrels.

The weekend is shaping up to be an incredible one in terms of waves, so say tuned for the contest to be back on shortly.



QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 4: Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.10 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.76
Heat 5: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.00 def. John John Florence (HAW) 11.86
Heat 6: Kai Otton (AUS) 12.60 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 12.13
Heat 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.43 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 7.60
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.57 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 11.50

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE REMAINING ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 9: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 10: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 11: Brett Simpson (USA) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 12: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)

Round Three of the Hurley Pro was a showstopper Tuesday at Lower Trestles. While there were plenty of key matches, nothing topped the battle between Owen Wright and the ASP's newest rookie, John Florence.

In the end, Owen survived a huge challenge from the flaring Florence with some fireworks of his own. And with that, the last of the super-rookies were removed from the competition. All three in very painful fashion.

Owen started off with a few mid range scores, holding the lead until John John found his footing and blasted a series of air-reverses on zippery right-handers for a pair of well-deserved 8.5's. Suddenly Owen was needing a 9.06 and staring down the barrel of a throw-away result, with five minutes to shake the nerves and drop a bomb.

The ocean cooperated, sending a solid one-wave set right to Owen, who was able to connect the dots with two massive inverted backsie turns and a floater. While it lacked the variety and flair of John John's waves, it really seemed to tickle the judging panel's pickles, as they gave it a near perfect 9.77 to take the heat from Florence. The debate about that score will likely never be settled.

Gabriel Medina suffered a similar, albeit less impressive, defeat this morning in heat five at the hands of Josh Kerr. The waves were a bit lully during this clash, with both surfers struggling to break into the "excellent" range on any of their scores, and both surfers lacking the aerial consistency that they are generally renowned for.

As the heat wound down to the 1 minute mark, Gabriel held the slight lead with a 5.5 and a 6.5, Josh needing a 6 with priority. Luckily for Kerrzy, a one wave set came right to him. He is on a brand new board after putting his foot through the tail of his favorite stick on his previous wave.

Noticeably shaky, Kerr tags a few turns, nothing spectacular, but he is able to keep momentum through the inside and uncork a frontside air-reverse to finish off with a 6.5 and Gabriel was forced to sit out the back and watch Josh walk up the rocks to sign autographs.

Miguel Pupo suffered possibly the most heartbreaking of the three deaths, in Round Two yesterday against fellow Brazzo Heitor Alves.

The heat started slowly, but would end in a shootout, with both surfers trading air reos and fist pumps. Heitor even threw out Jordy Smith's 'autograph-signing' claim after what would be his winning wave.

The heat came down to the final exchange as Pupo held a 7.5 and a slight lead. Alves would unleash a series of turns capped with a rotating air reverse on a lumpy left for a 7.87, putting him in the lead. Pupo's answer was basically the same as Heitor's except for one small bobble between turns that would cost him the heat. Despite still launching and landing an air reo to finish the wave, he would get a 7.30, losing by 0.07.

You can watch all the heats here.

I guess the lesson here is that rookies have to pay their dues in the big leagues. Even though none of them made it out of the third round, they all put in great performances here and it took heroic performances to take them down. Thankfully France begins in less than two weeks, so the boys don't have too much time to dwell on their misfortune before getting another chance to blow up.