Tuesday, December 17 (Pipeline, Hawaii) It all came down to the last three minutes of the year and Kauai’s Andy Irons dug deep to turn the final of the Xbox Pipeline Masters into his ultimate day of victory. Having claimed the world championship title two weeks ago, Irons had two more goals to achieve before calling it a year: to win the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series title ­ one of surfing’s most coveted crowns, and to settle a score with younger brother Bruce, who was the defending champion at Pipeline. He did both, winning $30,000 for the Xbox Pipeline Masters, $7,500 and a Ford Ranger FX4 truck for the Series win. Irons became the third surfer in history to win the world title, the Pipe Masters and the Vans Triple Crown in one winter.

The 35-minute final was held in solid six-foot waves predominately at Backdoor ­ the right-handers. For the first half it was looking as if 12-year ASP World Tour veteran and renowned Pipe charger Shane Dorian (Haw) might finally have his moment of glory on home sand. A finalist at Pipe on previous occasion, 30-year-old Dorian had a strong support crew pushing him for a win. He threw himself into the Pipeline, notching up a couple of great tube rides and successfully pulling off maneuvers usually reserved for more docile waves.

But it all unraveled in a matter of seconds when, with three minutes to go, Dorian took the first wave of the biggest set of the final, pulled in and got tubed, only to exit and see Irons behind him in a bigger, cleaner, deeper barrel. As Irons’ arms flew skyward in jubilation, Dorian’s hopes sank like a rock. Not another wave would be ridden in the final and Irons would win his fourth WCT event of the year and the Vans Triple Crown title. He had to win this event to take the Triple Crown title from Australian Joel Parkinson.

“I couldn’t have kept my arms down if they were dead-bolted. It was just pure emotion," said Irons.

“I wouldn’t have been able to write a finish this perfect. My friends are so stoked and as far as I’m concerned, they won too, and my family. They won with me and have been so supportive, psyching me up. It’s been unreal.

“The whole Triple Crown has just been amazing. We’ve had such good waves this winter and while it wasn’t incredible Pipeline today, it was good Backdoor and I love it there, so it worked out well for me.

"He’s been holding that Pipe Master in my face for about a year now," he added of his brother Bruce’s 2001 victory. "It’s good to have one now and to be carried off the beach by your buddies is always incredible. He can’t say he’s done anything I haven’t yet, so now it’s just his turn to get on the tour."

Dorian never thought the final was his. "I actually had no idea about the scores, but I thought Andy was in the lead the whole time. I went on a bad wave toward the end and there was a sick one right behind it and of course Andy was on it. That’s all it took and he surfed well. He did great all year, so I’m stoked for him.

"I’m just stoked to do well in Hawaii. It’s really important for me at Pipe. I surf here all the time and was just really pumped to make the final."

While Irons and Dorian dominated the show, the final was a four-man affair that third placed Kelly Slater (USA) and fourth placed Mick Fanning (Australia) barely made a dent on. A five-time master of the Pipe and a pacesetter throughout the rounds today, the ocean offered Slater little by way of good scoring rides when it mattered most. Fanning was similarly impressive en-route to the final, but kicked around in leftovers with Slater for fourth.

"It didn’t unfold the way I wanted it to at all," said Slater. "I got a couple that were all right and the best one I got didn’t work out. There wasn’t a lot to come by. I got out into the final and it didn¹t feel like my day at all (despite a perfect 10 earlier in the day). I wasn’t seeing it out there ­ usually you can see something happening. I was kind of waiting around for something to happen.

"Andy has turned everything around in his life and created something so great. I’m stoked for him."

For Fanning, all was not lost by his fourth place finish. His performance today saw him awarded the title of 2002 ASP Rookie of the Year.

"I wasn’t doing that well at the start of the year, but then I had a win at J-Bay (SAfr) and made final in Brazil," said Fanning. "To finish the year here and make the final at Pipe, I was just so stoked. To see Joel Parkinson win the other week and Sunset and Andy win the world title, it’s just been a great year."

Equal fifth place today were Cory Lopez (USA) and Damien Hobgood (USA), and equal seventh were Taylor Knox (USA) and Taj Burrow (Australia). These four were eliminated in the semi-finals. The highest placed Brazilian was Flavio Padaratz, eliminated in the quarterfinals by Hobgood and Burrow.

Perfect 10-point rides were scored today by Jake Paterson (Australia ­ round three), Slater (quarters), and Luke Hitchings (Australia) in his quarterfinal heat with Slater.

A women’s Billabong Expression Session was held between the semi-finals and the final, offering a break for the men and a showcase of women’s surfing at the Pipeline. Recently crowned five-time consecutive world champion Layne Beachley (Australia) and Rochelle Ballard (Hawaii) paddled out for a 20-minute exhibition.

"It’s pretty amazing to be able to go out at Pipe with nobody out," said Ballard. "Kind of one of those dream experiences just to be out there with one other girl. The opportunity was unbelievable. I admire the guys so much for what they do and look up to them for everything they do out there."

The Vans Triple Crown Series features the world's top athletes competing in three championship events in each of the following sports: Skateboarding, Wakeboarding, Surfing, Snowboarding, BMX and Freestyle Motocross. The Series is made possible through proud sponsors Vans, Xbox, Mountain Dew, Ford Trucks, Right Guard Xtreme Sport, Fox Sports Net, Surfing Magazine and NBC Sports.

Official results of the Xbox Pipeline Masters
1st Andy Irons (Haw) 17.65 – US$30,000
2nd Shane Dorian (Haw) 16.1 – US$16,000
3rd Kelly Slater (USA) 9.55 - US$11,000
4th Mick Fanning (Aus) 9.0 - US$9,000

Semifinals (1st/2nd>Final; 3rd=5th receives US$8,500; 4th=7th receives US$7,500)
SF1: Andy Irons (Haw) 16.5; Mick Fanning (Aus) 15.75; Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.3; Taj Burrow (Aus) 3.25
SF2: Kelly Slater (USA) 12.25; Shane Dorian (Haw) 7.6; Cory Lopez (USA) 5.25; Taylor Knox (USA) 1.5

Quarterfinals (1st/2nd>semifinals; 3rd=9th receives US$5,500; 4th=13th receives US$4,500)
QF1: Damien Hobgood (USA) 16.0; Taj Burrow (Aus) 10.15; Flavio Padaratz (Brz) 9.5; Lee Winkler (Aus) 7.7
QF2: Andy Irons (Haw) 17.0; Mick Fanning (Aus) 14.65; Daniel Wills (Aus) 14.25; Brian Pacheco (Haw) 10.1
QF3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.9; Taylor Knox (USA) 17.15; Luke Hitchings (Aus) 12.25; Kieren Perrow (Aus) 8.65
QF4: Cory Lopez (USA) 15.4; Shane Dorian (Haw) 14.0; Joel Parkinson (Aus) 9.7; Jake Paterson (Aus) 2.2

Remaining Round Three heats (1st/2nd>quarterfinals; 3rd=17th receives US$4,200; 4th=25th receives US$3,800)
H5: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.2; Taylor Knox (USA) 16.15; Luke Egan (Aus) 13.5; Bruce Irons (Haw) 10.75
H6: Kieren Perrow (Aus) 17.1; Luke Hitchings (Aus) 15.85;Kalani Robb (Haw) 13.05; Renan Rocha (Brz) 7.9
H7: Jake Paterson (Aus) 17.1; Joel Parkinson (Aus) 15.75; Paulo Moura (Brz) 11.25; Sunny Garcia (Haw) 10.4
H8: Cory Lopez (USA) 13.75; Shane Dorian (Haw) 12.25; Russell Winter (UK) 8.0; CJ Hobgood (USA) 6.85

Official 2002 Top 10 WCT Ratings after Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters
1 Andy Irons (Haw) 8,102
2 Joel Parkinson (Aus) 6,556
3 Luke Egan (Aus) 6,396
4 Taj Burrow (Aus) 6,198
5 Mick Fanning (Aus) 5,944
6 Michael Lowe (Aus) 5,824
7 Kieren Perrow (Aus) 5,690
8 Daniel Wills (Aus) 5,674
9 Kelly Slater (USA) 5,576
10 Mark Occhilupo (Aus) 5,564

For updates, status and other information: www.triplecrownofsurfing.comm & www.aspworldtour.com

Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters Hotline: +1-808-638-5024

Jesse Faen, ASP Int’l Media Director: jesse@aspworldtour.com
On-site media trailer in Hawaii: Jodi Young: +1-(808)-258-8533; oceanpromotion@earthlink.net
Mainland Media Inquiries - Mike Kingsbury (MKM): +1-(714)-375-2188
Digital images will be available free of charge from Pierre Tostee/ASP: tostee@aspworldtour.com