He could have come in after 20 minutes of the 40 minute final. Jeff Hubbard, from Hawaii, won his second Pipe title in a row -in flawless six to eight foot waves- his career fourth, after he dominated his rivals in the final of the IBA Pipe Challenge today. He left them all needing to replace their two best scoring waves until the final hooter.
“I’m on top of the world. I kept thinking all day, back-to-back, it’s possible to win two in a row”, said Hubbard.
Mike Stewart has lifted more winner’s trophies at Pipe than anyone else in the world. If it weren’t for an unstoppable Hubbard, he would have raised his 12th.
The nine times world champion came closest to toppling Hubbard, but was still two points shy of first place. “The waves were awesome. I’m super stoked to be a bodyboarder today”, said Mike Stewart.
Had he not caught his ten-point ride in the quarterfinals, Dave Winchester, from Australia, may not have made it all the way to the finals.
In last place, with less than a minute remaining in the heat, he took off deep on six foot Backdoor wave, pulled in, got spat out, turned for the approaching lip, launched a perfect invert and landed out in the flats. The crowd erupted as they heard the perfect score announced over the speakers.
Sam Bennett, from Australia, paddled out late for the first heat of the morning and won it. He made the final, his first at Pipe, and exhibited the patience of a seasoned Pipe finalist, as he waited for the best looking sets to come to him.
His final heat score- 16.25 out of a possible 20- would normally not have left him in fourth place.
