Six Big Heats To Watch When The Billabong Pro Pipeline Resumes

We've seen history being made with the opening rounds of the fist full-length women's Championship Tour event at the Billabong Pro Pipeline, and what many are saying is the best conditions in a Pipe competition day ever when the men's opening rounds ran in perfect, hollow waves.

When competition resumes with the men's Round of 32 and the women's Round of 16, there will be intergenerational battles, rekindled rivalries and some edge-of-your-seat match-ups as the swell fills back in at the Banzai.

Kelly Slater vs Jake Marshall

This will be an intergenerational battle as 49-year-old Kelly Slater is up against the 23-year-old Jake Marshall in Heat 2. Slater is the winningest surfer at Pipe and the most accomplished surfer in pro surfing history, while Marshall is one of the most promising up-and-coming surfers from California in his Rookie year on Tour.

Marshall had a slow heat in the Opening Round with one of the more brutal wipe outs of the day but clawed his way out of the Elimination Round with a solid 11.67 two-wave total. Slater, meanwhile, reminded everyone why he's the GOAT with two excellent-range scores at Backdoor in his Opening Round heat.

Marshall is squarely cast as the Rookie underdog in this one, but it will nonetheless prove exciting with the 11-time World Champion competing against yet another generation less than two weeks away from his 50th birthday.

He's almost 50 years old, but Kelly Slater is still the surfer to beat at Pipeline. He will be up against Rookie Jake Marshall when the event resumes - WSL / Tony Heff

Tatiana Weston-Webb vs Moana Jones Wong

Reigning World No. 2 Tatiana Weston-Webb will come up against North Shore local Moana Jones Wong in Heat 3 of the Round of 16. This particular match-up has a few eyebrows raised as Weston-Webb and Jones Wong were involved in a heated conversation on the beach at Pipeline last year after crossing paths in the lineup during a freesurf.

Jones Wong is a regular at Pipe and has built a solid reputation at what is one of the most intense, dangerous waves on the planet. Meanwhile, Weston-Webb is one of the fiercest competitors on Tour, and coming off a runner-up finish in the Rip Curl WSL Finals last year, she will be looking to make a statement at this event.

Moana Jones Wong has more experience at Pipeline than most of the women on the Championship Tour, but she's going to face one of its fiercest competitors in Tatiana Weston-Webb in the Round of 16 - WSL / Tony Heff

Zeke Lau vs Seth Moniz

This is a local surfer superheat. Ezekiel Lau and Seth Moniz are both specialists on their home island of Oahu, and this is a pairing that guarantees nothing is going to be left on the table.

Lau is back on the Championship Tour after falling off at the end of 2019, while Moniz blitzed through his Opening Round heat with four beautifully surfed waves and two excellent scores, showing how comfortable he is at Pipe. When the buzzer sounds on this one, we will get to see two of the most talented, experienced Hawaiian surfers on Tour give it everything they've got.

Seth Moniz bagged two excellent scores during the men's Opening Round and will meet fellow Oahu resident Zeke Lau in the Round of 32 - WSL / Tony Heff

Sally Fitzgibbons vs Malia Manuel

During her Opening Round heat, Malia Manuel locked in the first excellent score of the first full-length women's Championship Tour event at Pipe.

When she paddles out for her Round of 16 heat against Australia's Sally Fitzgibbons she will be looking to do it again, after proving she's more than comfortable in waves of consequence. She foreshadowed this last year, in Margaret River, when she bagged herself a heavy barrel out at The Box during a freesurf.

Fitzgibbons, meanwhile, while finding some cover at Backdoor on her incomplete first wave, scraped through her Opening Round heat with a 4.90 two-wave total. As one of the most competitive surfers on Tour, she'll be looking to up the ante in this heat, and show everyone what she's capable of.

Malia Manuel secured the first excellent-range score of the event during the Opening Round, and will now come up against Australia's Sally Fitzgibbons - WSL / Tony Heff

Filipe Toldeo vs Ivan Florence

It's no secret that Pipeline is not Filipe Toledo's strongest venue on Tour. While he's arguably the fastest, most exciting surfer in the world in high-performance waves, there has been room for improvement when it comes to surfing heavy barrels like Pipe.

Though in his Opening Round heat on Day 1, Toledo looked comfortable, sending it on some hollow, draining waves. But he's going to have his work cut out for him in Heat 9 of the Round of 32, where he's up against Wildcard and Pipe local Ivan Florence.

Ivan, John John's younger brother, looks so comfortable and smooth at Pipe, that there were justifiable comparisons made of him to Pipeline Pioneer and style master Gerry Lopez. Without the pressure of competing for qualification points, he's going to be a hard adversary for Toledo, the 2021 World Title runner-up to overcome.

Ivan Florence isn't going to make things easy for FIlipe Toldeo in their Round of 32 heat - WSL / Brent Bielmann