Once the swell swung a bit more west at Pipe, perfect A-frames set the stage for a huge Round Five battle between Jordy Smith and Nat Young. With requalification on the line, the goofyfooted Young found some solid scores on the lefts at Pipe while the big South African stuck to his guns at Backdoor. And although Nat maintained the lead for most of the heat, the Californian made a critical error when Smith snuck a wave under his priority in the dying minutes. Jordy's win put Nat's job in serious jeopardy as he opened the door for Kanoa Igarashi to double-qualify in later rounds.
