The demi-gods over at Nike 6.0 have upped the surf film ante again. Having seen what companies like Red Bull have done as far as pushing the envelope in creativity and production value, Nike is hopping on board. Not only do they have what is destined to be the best Girl's Surf FIlm ever, LEAVE A MESSAGE, coming out shortly, but now they have released this mysterious gem, with the full feature coming out June 2nd. CHOSEN stars Julian Wilson, Alejo Muniz, Laura Enever, Monyca Byrne-Wickey, Michel Bourez, Kolohe Andino and Malia Manuel. The teaser looks like a scene out of Apocalypse Now, with fire, smoke, motors buzzing, all under the cloak of night. Can't wait to see this.

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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)