Yadin Nicol, 10 point Backdoor rinse-out, Hawaii

With so much vivid action on the final day at the Billabong Pipe Masters, it’s hard to remember every dazzling moment. Each heat that hit the water would somehow play a role in who would be world champ. Josh Kerr bolted to hospital with a pinched nerve in his shoulder. Kelly Slater and Shane Dorian surfed the day’s best Backdoor heat. Joel Parkinson was unstoppable, won the event and his first world title. And one of the event’s best darkhorses, Yadin Nicol (pictured here), toed the requalification line. On his way to the quarters, Yadin took down Matt Wilkinson, Taj Burrow and Gabriel Medina. He was stopped by eventual contest runner-up Josh Kerr. But, in that heat, he posted a unanimously-judged 10 point ride (pictured here). Unfortunately he couldn’t find a backup, and that was the end of his 2012 world tour. Unfortunately, Yades needed to progress to requalify, and had no such joy. He’ll now spend next year as WCT replacement in the event of an athlete withdrawal. The quarter against Josh was telling of Yadin’s year. While it wasn’t consistent, there was certainly brilliance there. See you in 2013, Yades.