Keanu Asing Fails To Requalify Despite Winning A World Tour Event

Listed at 5’5”, Keanu Asing’s motto is “heart over height.” The same could be said for the Pipe Masters today. The waves weren’t big. They weren’t consistent. But they did provide some defining moments. One such instance came in Keanu’s round two loss. 

It’s often said one learns more from their loses than their wins. Keanu knows that. His old man’s probably said it to him a thousand times. So swallowing his pride and resigning to his fate, which after winning a CT event in 2016 will take him to the QS next year, Keanu noted, “I had a lot of ups and downs this year. It’s just tough, I’m not a top five contender where I have all the support, y’know… it’s tough. I had a lot of mixed emotions this year. Halfway through the year, I remember feeling that maybe this is it for me, and then I won France.”

“It’s been lot of mixed emotions,” (besides falling off the CT this year, Keanu also lost his sponsor when Fox dropped its surf program). “Next year I’m looking forward to being with people that actually support me, people that really care about me. I mean, there’s nothing I can do, it is what it is. It’s always hard, if it was easy then everybody would be doing it. This sport is only made for tough people. I fell, but it’s not about how you fall, it’s about how you get back up and keep trying.”

Speaking of still swinging, going into the Pipe Masters Ryan Callinan had only logged three heat wins all year. Sitting at a lowly 36th in the ratings, even if he wins the event he doesn’t stand a chance of qualifying for the tour in 2017. He put a nice heat together in round two against Caio Ibelli (who won Rookie of the Year honours when Kelly Slater beat Conner Coffin). But Ryan came alive in round three against Gabriel Medina, handing the Brazilian world champ a stinging, and unlikely loss. 

“It’s nice to win a heat against those guys every once in a while,” said Ryan. “I don’t think I’ve won one all year. I didn’t really have much to lose, but I’m stoked to make a couple heats finally.”

“Now, it’s time to relax,” said Medina, who appeared to already be booking a flight home in his head. “I’ll go back to Brazil, relax a little, then pretty soon it’s time to start training and get going again.”

The end of the year’s been weighing heavy on a lot of guys, but maybe none more than Kanoa Igarashi. He’s already safe on the QS and will be back on the CT next year, but if he can make a few heats at Pipe, his housemate, Quik team member and Hawaiian heavy Zeke Lau, gets the CT call up.

“A lot of people around me told me that winning it for Zeke would be sick, but that I have to go out and want to win it for myself,” said Kanoa, who did his part by beating Julian Wilson to move into round four. “The last time I made it out of round three was the first event of the year, and now I did it again at the last event of the year.”

To end the day, a call that we can debate. Kelly Slater was running the table on Conner Coffin until the last minute of their heat. Conner needed a 9.14 to turn the heat. The judges threw him a 9.07. Then Conner threw them two flipped birds.

“It was a really good wave and I was really jealous,” said Kelly afterwards. “The only thing I could think was that he needs a 9 right now, but it was one of those perfect ones on the end that you look for.”

“I was talking to John John yesterday and saying that Backdoor is one of the great air waves in the world,” continued Kelly, still clearly buzzing from the freesurf session that WSL commentator Martin Potter called one of the best all year. “When the wind goes southwest and there’s these little hooky ramps on the end. Yesterday we were talking about it and there were ramps everywhere.”

“There’s still a lot to learn,” surmised Kelly. 

After today, that’s a sentiment everybody on tour can probably agree with.

Billabong Pipe Masters Round 2 Results:
Heat 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.50 def. Gavin Beschen (HAW) 3.60
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.67 def. Bruce Irons (HAW) 11.30
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.74 def. Finn McGill (HAW) 11.00
Heat 4: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 12.76 def. Frederico Morais (PRT) 8.17
Heat 5: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 8.29 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 5.17
Heat 6: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 12.16 def. Caio Ibelli (BRA) 4.43
Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.50 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 7.00
Heat 8: Kai Otton (AUS) 4.93 def. Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 2.73
Heat 9: Conner Coffin (USA) 15.10 def. Jack Freestone (AUS) 13.93
Heat 10: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 5.93 def. Davey Cathels (AUS) 5.90
Heat 11: Nat Young (USA) 11.27 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 6.00
Heat 12: Keanu Asing (HAW) 10.50 def. Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 8.26

Billabong Pipe Masters Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.84 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 7.43
Heat 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 10.44 def. Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 4.13
Heat 3: Kolohe Andino (USA) 10.83 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 10.07
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.10 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 8.74
Heat 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) 12.16 def. Itala Ferreira (BRA) 10.34
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) 15.27 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 9.94
Heat 7: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 15.34 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.43
Heat 8: Josh Kerr (AUS) 7.33 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 2.94
Heat 9: Nat Young (USA) 8.00 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 3.34
Heat 10: Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 7.50 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 3.60
Heat 11: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.27 def. Conner Coffin (USA) 15.20

Upcoming Billabong Pipe Masters Round 3 Match-Ups:
Heat 12: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Alex Ribeiro (BRA)

Billabong Pipe Masters Round 4 Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Kolohe Andino (USA), Filipe Toledo (BRA), Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 2: John John Florence (HAW), Michel Bourez (PYF), Joel Parkinson (AUS)
Heat 3: Ryan Callinan (AUS), Josh Kerr (AUS), Nat Young (USA)
Heat 4: Kanoa Igarashi (USA), Kelly Slater (USA), TBD