The Pipe Masters got underway today. Nine heats were held in slightly unorganised six foot waves, the wind spinning around the clock before settling in from the west and halting proceedings.

Of the title contenders, JJF advanced while Gabs was relegated to Round 2. Of course there are a couple of outside contenders and of those Jordy easily progressed, in fact he got the highest heat total of the day, while Julian Wilson had a brain explosion and scored a priority interference and finds himself in Round 2.

The surf is expected to drop further tomorrow, and with a suspect wind forecast we may be looking at a layday, while an XL swell is forecast for the following day plus at least one more till it settles again.

Mig Pupo dropped into this wave, a 9.93 which was the highest of the day, and then played the waiting game as Gabs and Benji Brand exchanged the lead. Mig backed it up on his very last wave and sent title-contender Gabs to Round 2.

The other World Title contender - putting aside the rank outsiders for the moment - had an easy win over Wiggolly and Dusty Payne and skips to Round 3.

Despite winning at Sunset, Connor Coffin didn't make the Top 10 on the QS and he's sitting at 21st on the CT, which makes him a bona fide bubble boy. Coffin needs a big result at Pipe. In Round 1 he faced off against an injured Stu Kennedy, a careless Julian Wilson (chalked up an interference), but also controlled his own destiny with big end section turns like this.

Filipe Toledo's heat was the last before the comp was called off due to the sou-westerly. Both Toledo and Bourez scored 2.00 points on the back of wind affected closeouts, while heat winner Lau found the exits.

By his own admission, Kelly Slater was surfing at 65%. He took a light-footed approach, relying on experience and a touch of gamesmanship rather than explosive surfing.

On this wave Julian Wilson dropped in on Stu Kennedy and it was hard to explain why. Kennedy had priority, Wilson had a clear read on the wave, and yet he went anyway. Jules' already difficult shot at the title just got harder.

Josh Kerr is one of the few surfers who can't requalify even if they win the contest, which is a pointless bit of trivia anyway as he's already announced his retirement. It does, however, lend itself to some pressure-free comp surfing. Kerr easily advanced over Wright and Igarishi.

Pipe Masters Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 10.17, Jadson Andre (BRA) 6.33, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 4.67
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.17, Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 6.10, Owen Wright (AUS) 3.37
Heat 3: Conner Coffin (USA) 10.56, Julian Wilson (AUS) 6.57, Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 1.50
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.57, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.43, Ethan Ewing (AUS) 3.00
Heat 5: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 14.83, Benji Brand (HAW) 12.64 Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.43
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) 13.50, Dusty Payne (HAW) 6.83, Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 5.63
Heat 7: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 12.83, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.27, Jack Freestone (AUS) 7.04
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) 12.47, Joan Duru (FRA) 11.90, Kolohe Andino (USA) 7.60
Heat 9: Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 10.50, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 2.00, Michel Bourez (PYF) 2.00

Pipe Masters Remaining Round 1 Match-Ups:
Heat 10: Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Ian Gouveia (BRA)
Heat 11: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Connor O’Leary (AUS), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Heat 12: Mick Fanning (AUS), Frederico Morais (PRT), Italo Ferreira (BRA)