Frames: Best of Pipe Masters 2002 - Now

2002 marked Kelly Slater's full-time return to ASP's World Tour after three-year hiatus. When he returned, he finished third behind Irons and Shane Dorian (HAW) and ninth on the rankings.

Dorian took an early lead in the 2002 Pipe Masters Final, but Irons defeated him.

Irons made history once again in 2003, winning the ASP World Championship Tour title, the Triple Crown title, and the Pipeline Masters title -- for the second year in a row.

In one of the most dramatic Finals in competitive surfing history, Slater was defeated by Irons in their winner-takes-all death-match Final at Pipe. For Irons, the win cemented another record-breaking year. For Slater, the loss kept him from winning his seventh World Title.

Their high-stakes faceoff that year was the start of one of the greatest rivalries professional surfing has ever known.

In 2004 Kalani Robb (HAW) produced one of the best performances of his career at Pipe, eliminating Andy Irons in Round 3 and reaching his first ever Pipe Masters Final.

Jamie O'Brien (HAW) won his first-ever Pipe Masters Title as a wildcard in 2004, defeating Sunny Garcia (HAW), Robb and Bruce Irons in the all-Hawaiian Final.

Garcia, then 34, made history by winning a record sixth Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title, as well as his fifth runner-up finish at Pipeline in 2004.

In 2005 Andy Irons won the Pipe Masters, scoring a Perfect 10 in the Final to take the win over Mick Fanning, his brother Bruce and Kalani Chapman (HAW). This was a satisfying end to the season after Irons relinquished the World Title to Slater in Brazil.

Fanning placing runner-up to Irons, finishing the season at World No. 3.

Putting everything on the line, Irons secured another one of Pipeline's most memorable victories, defeating Slater with a pair of mind-blowing rides, including a Perfect 10.

Rob Machado (USA) surfed his way from the Trials into the main event as a wildcard. He made it to the Final, where he got to witness the epic showdown between Irons and Slater, firsthand.

In 2007 Bede Durbidge (USA) won the Pipe Masters. With sub-par conditions at Pipe, the event ran just west of the break, at Off the Wall.

In 2008, Chris Ward (USA) reached his second-ever WCT Final, where he finished second behind Slater in the first man-on-man Final at Pipe in eight years.

In 2008, Slater won his sixth Pipe Masters title in an uncharacteristically brown ocean. Heavy rain and soil runoff affected Oahu's North Shore that year.

Aussie Joel Parkinson) clinched the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title with an equal-ninth finish at Pipe and two equal fifths at Sunset and Haleiwa. But the real story was his Perfect 20 in Pipe's Round 3.

Dean Morrison (AUS) secured his best result of the season in 2009, finishing equal third at the Billabong Pipe Masters to cement himself at No. 16 on the year-end ratings.

In 2009, Dane Reynolds (USA) continued his impressive run through the back half of ASP World Tour season. He finished equal third at the Pipe Masters and cracked the Top 10 in the year-end ratings.

That year, Taj Burrow (AUS) clinched his first World Tour win since 2007 and his first-ever win at the infamous Banzai Pipeline by defeating Slater in the Final.

Slater, on a 5'11 at Backdoor in 2009.

In 2010, Jeremy Flores (FRA) won the Billabong Pipe Masters in a come-from-behind victory over Kieren Perrow (AUS), marking the first-ever WCT win of his career. Four years later, see what Flores had to say about the big show at Pipe.

Perrow dominated the tricky conditions at Backdoor Pipeline throughout the 2010 event, but the hard-charging Australian saw his Billabong Pipe Masters title slip from his grasp against in the Final.

Slater also fell that year, when a priority error against Flores in the Semifinals sent him packing.

In 2011 Perrow showed a return to form, winning his inaugural WCT event with the Billabong Pipe Masters and requalifying for the 2012 ASP World Tour.

Parkinson meanwhile, who had won the Vans Triple Crown multiple times, came close to clinching his first Billabong Pipe Masters Title. But he was unable to find his rhythm in the Final against Perrow, his opponent and fellow Aussie.

2011 was also a big year for then-up-and-comer John John Florence (HAW), who put on an amazing show. He scored the event’s only two Perfect 10-point rides, but fell to Slater in the Quarterfinals. Florence's overall effort, including a win at at Sunset Beach and a fifth place at Haleiwa secured his first Vans Triple Crown win, making him the youngest competitor in history to win the prestigious series.

The next year, it was Parkinson who came out on top at the Pipe Masters. He defeated fellow Aussie Josh Kerr in the Final and placed one higher than Slater, who was eliminated in the Semis. The win helped him secure his his first ASP World Title.

Kerr battled his way to the first WCT Final of his career. The road there had been a tough one: In Round 4 he suffered a heavy wipeout and took a trip to the hospital. But he overcame the setback and surfed all the way to the finish.

In 2013, Slater won the Billabong Pipe Masters for the seventh time in incredible 10-to-15 foot (3-to-4 meter) waves. He defeated Florence in a hard-fought Final by less than half of a point.