Surfersvillage Global Surf News - The final event of the 2009 ASP World Tour season, the Billabong Pipe Masters culminated the Vans Triple Crown (an ASP Specialty Series), and provided non-stop, high-caliber action from the outset.
Burrow wasted little time in putting Slater on the ropes in the 35-minute Final, racking up a 7.00 out of a possible 10 on his opening ride for an electric air reverse followed by some solid forehand maneuvers. With deteriorating conditions, Burrow stayed busy before collecting a 5.83 for an incredible full-rotation alley-oop, putting the pressure on Slater as time ran out.
“There were perfect backdoor waves this whole event and then for the Final it went onshore,” Burrow said. “It was strictly turns. It was all about turns and hopefully doing a few airs and I ped down to my shortboard and my plan was to just to let loose. It was tough because I knew Kelly (Slater) could do anything. Even when there was 20 seconds to go and I had priority, I was still scared. I just had nothing to lose and tried to let loose.”
“This win is an excellent springboard into next season,” Burrow said. “There is nothing but confidence to take from this and I’m excited for the Gold Coast. It comes around really fast. It feels like we’re on holiday now, but the Gold Coast sneaks up on us pretty quick and I’m excited for it. Hopefully I can win some more events, but this is the number one that I’ve ever dreamed of winning.”
Slater looked near unbeatable throughout the Billabong Pipe Masters, deftly maneuvering his 5’11” craft through one incredible tube after another before running into Burrow in the Finals. While his opponent stayed busy throughout the bout, Slater waited patiently for scoring opportunities that never manifested. “Unfortunately the Final had the absolute worst conditions of the contest, but there are still fun waves out there,” Slater said. “You could go out for a free surf and have a good time. It’s difficult to transition when you’re already expecting one thing. I had already had a couple of heats with barrels and then all of a sudden it’s completely different conditions. Still, there’s a shallow reef there, so you’re expecting one to throw out and barrel, but it just didn’t happen.”
The former nine-time ASP World Champion was in the hunt for an unprecedented seventh Pipe Masters title, but the conditions didn’t cooperate for the Floridian, despite finding the only barrel of the Final, scoring a 3.93 out of a possible 10. “I thought the wave would be more than a three,” Slater said. “I still needed two waves, basically. There really weren’t any nine-point rides out there and had that been only a six I would have needed a seven. I thought the judges put me in a weird situation there, and in the end, nothing else came. Well, that’s not entirely true. I caught that last wave and did an off-the-top and Taj (Burrow) took off on it and just kicked off the side. He almost stood up too late and could have got an interference. Had he done that he would have only been judged on one wave. Had I landed that air reverse I could have gotten a score, but it was a long shot.”
