 |
| Spex throwing down for Team Saffa and retaining his Pipe DK Title. |
The
Dropknee division featured a hotly contested final, taken out by South
African Sacha Specker, defeating Hawaiian wave wizard and multiple DK
World Champion, Dave Hubbard in second, Australia's multi talent Dave
Winchester in third and Peruvian powerhouse and 2010 DK World Champion,
Cesar Bauer in fourth to claim his second IBA Pipeline Pro DK victory.
Specker
had a solid lead early in the final, but Hubbard and Winchester managed
to find some excellent barrel rides to keep them in contention. Although
Bauer never really found his rhythm during the final, he put on a
show-stopping performance, pulling into big barrel over the shallow
backdoor reef, keeping the beach spectators cheering on the edge of
their seats. Hubbard made a last ditch effort in the last five minutes
of the final, but it was speaker who managed to hold onto poll position.
Ben Player (AUS) has taken out the 2013 IBA GoPro Pipe Challenge in pumping 8-10 foot waves at the Banzai Pipeline today, defeating defending champion, Jeff Hubbard (HAW) in second, Pierre-Louis (FRA) in third and multi talented Dave Hubbard (HAW) in fourth in the dying minutes of the final. Player posted an excellent score of 8.75 early in the final for a deep set wave barrel on a left and finished it off with a looping roll. Hubbard answered back with a 7.75 and a 7.2 for two deep back to back barrels on draining left handers. The Frenchman and Dave Hubbard both managed to post a good score each 7.38 and 6.25 respectively, but were unable to lock in substantial second scoring rides. With only two minutes remaining, Player was searching for a 6.21 or better to take out the final. Scooping into a heaving Pipe set wave, the Australian negotiated his way through a long barrel and topped the wave off by launching an invert off the closeout to earn himself 7.38 out of a possible 10 points, rocketing him into first place as the buzzer sounded the end of the 2013 IBA GoPro Pipeline Pro. Victorious, Player was carried up the beach to the podium by good friends and past Pipe Champions, Ryan Hardy and Andrew Lester, accompanied by a cheering crowd of Australian supporters. Player has been competing in this pipe event for the past 19 years, claimed two world titles, and has several grand slam victories under his belt, but until today has never been able to claim a victory at the infamous Banzai Pipeline.
