John John Florence stole his fourth Volcom Pipe Pro title, after defeating Mason Ho, Kelly Slater and Sebastian Zietz at Backdoor.
The young talented Hawaiian was able to seal the deal early in the game by posting wave scores of 9.2 and 8.43 points. The 25 mph side-offshore wind helped keep the Backdoor barrels and aerial opportunities open to everyone in the final."This morning it was really fun, the wind was pretty clean and just really long, little barrels. Then the wind picked up and started putting this chop in it and it made it really difficult out there. But it was so fun. It was just whoever was in the spot for the good double ups," expressed Florence.
"Getting two scores in the beginning of a heat that's 35 minutes long, you sit for so long... like, 'Oh my God, I've got 20 minutes here to just think about it!'"
With Florence's high scores, Ho, Slater and Zietz had to share what was left to ride. After posting a 10-pointer for a deep and weaving barrel ride in the quarterfinals, Kelly didn't find the gems he needed.
He also won the inaugural Todd Chesser Hard Charger Sportsmanship Award, in honor of a much-loved North Shore big wave rider who passed away charging big waves on February 13th, 1997.
"Todd was one of my great friends; we were all devastated by his passing. What Todd meant to us was he exemplified a guy who was totally fit and driven to charge and go surf big waves all the time. He pushed all of us," added Slater.
"Todd's pretty much a part of our everyday life still. We have a get-together every Thanksgiving for him, there's probably not a week that goes by that we somehow don't have a conversation about Todd, and it's been 18 years since he passed away."
2015 Volcom Pipe Pro | Final
1. John John Florence (HAW), 17.63 points (9.2, 8.43)
2. Mason Ho (HAW), 15.9 points (8.6, 7.3)
3. Kelly Slater (Florida, USA) 9.0 points (6.7, 2.3)
4. Sebastian Zietz (HAW), 8.47 points (7.0, 1.47)
