<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;*For a better user experience, click onto a photo then click onto the magnifying glass icon.&lt;\\/em&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kieren Perrow Wins The Pipe Masters; John John Takes Home The Vans Triple Crown &lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;The third and final day of the 2011 Billabong Pipe Masters In Memory Of Andy Irons lacked the third reef clean up sets that we\\u2019d been seeing here the previous two days but packed more drama and excitement than anyone could have imagined.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Stiff trade winds made for blustery conditions and despite a drop in the swell, Pipe and Backdoor were as ferocious as ever. The day kicked off with Jamie O\\u2019Brien matched up against Joel Parkinson. Despite the fact that those are two of the best in the business out there, it was a slow heat with Parko taking the win over JOB. The highlight of that he would have to be Jamie inviting the entire world via the webcast to a party at his house on the sand at Pipe.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_1000141498\\\" style=\\\"width: 640px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption aligncenter\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"size-full wp-image-1000141498\\\" title=\\\"2011 Billabong Pipe Masters champion Kieren Perrow\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.grindtv.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2011\\/12\\/Kieren-Perrow.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"2011 Billabong Pipe Masters champion Kieren Perrow\\\" width=\\\"640\\\" height=\\\"459\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;2011 Billabong Pipe Masters champion Kieren Perrow. Photo: Checky&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Up next was a matchup for the ages\\u2014John John versus Kelly Slater. John John started off with a good Pipe wave and backed it up with a couple long barrels at Backdoor but made a crucial mistake when he took off on an average wave at Backdoor, thus giving up priority with just a few minutes left. At that point John John had the 11-Time World Champion combed. But this is Kelly the dream killer and as time wound down he managed to snag two foamy barrels at Backdoor that got him past the crowd favorite. John John\\u2019s Pipe Masters run was over just like that.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Moving into the semifinals I snagged a front row seat on the porch at the Quiksilver house as Parko and Slater paddled out. Right when the heat started Quiksilver CEO sat down next to me and began rooting for his star team rider. That\\u2019s when the debate started. \\u201cWho do you think won that exchange?\\u201d he asked me after Parko and Kelly both has back-to-back rides. \\u201cParko for sure, he got way deeper.\\u201d McKnight scoffed at my words but admitted that he\\u2019s biased as all hell. \\u201cGod damn it!\\u201d were his words as Slater went down to Parko. I left with a \\u2018told you so\\u2019 smirk. Kelly was slapping the water and pissed as he felt he was underscored, but that wasn\\u2019t the case and Parko moved into the final along with blue collar Aussie workhorse Kieren Perrow who dispatched Michel Bourez from Tahiti.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Just as the final paddled out, a rainsquall belted the lineup and beach, making the surf messier and the crowd on the beach scrambling for cover. KP nailed a couple good ones at Backdoor right off the bat and Parko was never able to catch up. For Kieren it marked his first WCT victory in a career that has spanned nearly 20 years. It couldn\\u2019t have happened to a more respected and hard charging surfer\\u2014the guy is a gladiator!&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;As for the Triple Crown, it was up in the air and between John John and Michel Bourez until Kieren beat the Tahitian and the second most sought after title in surfing went to John John Florence. Congrats to both KP and John John, those two smashed themselves off the reef, took out a few of the best ever, and most importantly, probably had Andy Irons cheering for them both from heaven above.&lt;strong&gt;\\u2014Justin Cot\\u00e9&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_1000141499\\\" style=\\\"width: 640px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption aligncenter\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"size-full wp-image-1000141499\\\" title=\\\"John John Florence\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.grindtv.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2011\\/12\\/John-John-Florence.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"John John Florence\\\" width=\\\"640\\\" height=\\\"435\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;2011 Vans Triple Crown winner John John Florence. Photo: Checky&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ASP Press Release:&lt;\\/strong&gt; BANZAI PIPELINE, Oahu\\/Hawaii (Saturday, December 10, 2011) \\u2013 Kieren Perrow (AUS), 34, has won his inaugural ASP World Tour event, taking out the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons over fellow countrymen Joel Parkinson (AUS), 30, in four-to-six foot waves. John John Florence (HAW), 19, also found his way to the podium as the overall winner of the 2011 Vans Triple Crown.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Perrow, who finished runner-up to Jeremy Flores (FRA), 23, in last year\\u2019s Billabong Pipe Masters, returned to form again this year and charged the massive Pipeline conditions on the opening two days of competition to solidify his position on the 2012 ASP World Tour. The Australian was equally deadly in the smaller conditions on the final day and commanded the Final against Parkinson in a backdoor shootout to secure his maiden ASP World Tour victory.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cIt took me up until now to get over getting second to Jeremy last year\\u201d Perrow said. \\u201cIt\\u2019s so good to get back here. I just felt so comfortable the whole time. I\\u2019ve had such a great event anyway and coming in to today, it was just amazing. The waves have been phenomenal. I haven\\u2019t surfed Pipe like that in my entire career. This is pretty much the pinnacle for me.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Parkinson, a multiple Vans Triple Crown Winner, came close to clinching his first Billabong Pipe Masters Title, but was unable to find a rhythm in the Final against Perrow. \\u201cIt\\u2019s a hard one to lose because you\\u2019ve only got one guy to beat and you\\u2019ve beaten so many, but it\\u2019s the hardest one to win,\\u201d Parkinson said. \\u201cI couldn\\u2019t think of anyone more deserving than Kieren (Perrow). He\\u2019s a true Pipe Master and one of the best guys out there and I\\u2019m so glad he won.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Parkinson battled his way into the Final with a hard fought victory over Kelly Slater (USA), 39, in their Semifinals clash. After a series of exciting exchanges, the Australian was in need of an 8.21 with just minutes remaining and Parkinson drove through a barrel on his backhand to secure an 8.60 and his Final berth. \\u201cI knew my work was cut out for me,\\u201d Parkinson said. \\u201cSurfing against Kelly (Slater) is the biggest thing you can do. After he got that 9, I thought, \\u2018here we go.\\u2019 I thought he peaked against John John and he was just at it again. That wave just came to me. It was one of those situations where you forget about everything else, am I in the right position, am I doing anything right. Conditions are not perfect at all, but there are some really good waves.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Kelly Slater took an amazing come from behind heat win in his Quarterfinals matchup against lethal Pipeline local John John Florence (HAW), 19. The Floridian was in need of a combination of 16.70 to overtake Florence with just three minutes remaining on the clock, and maintained his composure, threading the needle on two back-to-back backdoor barrels for a 9.70 and a 7.83 to surpass the young Hawaiian en route to the Semifinals.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cI was just going to try and have some fun because I didn\\u2019t want to run and I thought we\\u2019d find another day,\\u201d Slater said. \\u201cI figured I\\u2019d try and get in that head space and I\\u2019d ride a short board and I actually got a really good left and my board was wrong for it. I thought it was going to cost me the heat. It just came to me in last three-or-four minutes. I\\u2019m just trying to hold John John (Florence)at bay because he\\u2019s going to rule Pipe for the next 20 years. I just want to get a couple before I\\u2019m done. He\\u2019s been the man to beat out here. He\\u2019s had two 10s and a couple of high 9\\u2019s.\\u201d Slater put on another strong effort in his Semifinals clash against Parkinson, but was unable to surpass the Gold Coast native and finished equal 3rd overall.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cJoel controlled it from the beginning with a 7 to start,\\u201d Slater said. \\u201cHe was holding position from there. I got the 5 and we were in the cycle where he had priority besides that one that I got that 9 on. I\\u2019m super surprised that he got both of his good scores on the lefts because we\\u2019re usually looking at the right on days like today. He was just in sync with it and there\\u2019s not much you can do about that.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Michel Bourez (PYF), 25, who was rated 3rd on the Vans Triple Crown ratings entering the Billabong Pipe Masters, needed to advance to the Final to surpass Florence on the ratings, but finished painfully close when he lost to Perrow in the Semifinals. Despite falling short of the Vans Triple Crown Title, the equal 3rd place finish marks the Tahitian\\u2019s best result of the year. \\u201cIt was a painful way to lose, especially when there weren\\u2019t many waves out there,\\u201d Bourez said. \\u201cI wish I won the Triple Crown, but it happens sometimes. It\\u2019s good for the confidence and a good result for the end of the year. It\\u2019s good to make the Semifinals, but I just wanted one good barrel out there and it never happened.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;John John Florence put on an amazing show at this year\\u2019s Billabong Pipe Masters, taking the event\\u2019s only two perfect 10-point rides, but fell to Slater in the Quarterfinals. Florence\\u2019s overall effort including a win at the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach and a 5th place at the Reef Hawaiian Pro secured his first Vans Triple Crown win, making him the youngest competitor in history to win the prestigious series.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cI\\u2019m so stoked to be here, I\\u2019ve been surfing these waves my entire life and watching everyone over the years,\\u201d Florence said. \\u201cI\\u2019m so happy that I won this and to have my name with everyone else who has won over the years. I just want to say thanks to my Mom and Pancho Sullivan and John Pyzel and all my sponsors. Thanks to everyone.\\u201d For highlights of the 2011 Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons log on to &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com\\/billabongpipemasters2011\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;billabongpipemasters2011&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Billabong Pipe Masters Final Result:&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n1 \\u2013 Kieren Perrow (AUS) 13.17&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n2 \\u2013 Joel Parkinson (AUS) 7.00&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Billabong Pipe Masters Semifinals Results:&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nSF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.23 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 16.83&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nSF 2: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 12.00 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 4.07&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Billabong Pipe Masters Quarterfinals Results:&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nQF 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.00 def. Jamie O\\u2019Brien (HAW) 9.43&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nQF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.53 def. John John Florence (HAW) 16.70&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nQF 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) 7.70 def. Evan Valiere (HAW) 3.66&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nQF 4: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 17.23 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 9.26&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.grindtv.com/surf/kieren-perrow-wins-the-pipe-masters-john-john-takes-home-the-vans-triple-crown/?show=gallery&pid=59448>