Gabriel Medina vs. Kelly Slater - Round Five, Heat 3 - Billabong Pipe Masters 2017

And this is a very tough draw. We knew Kelly wanted to come in this contest just to play a part in this world title race. And he gets his opportunity now against Medina. It's going to be a lot of fun. Ronnie Blakey here with Peter Mel. Pete, what's going to go down here? Is that possible, Ronnie? 25 minutes to go here. A big heat on our hands. Slater up against Medina. And Slater getting another opportunity here on an insider. Just a small barrel but getting some distance in the tube. Driving down the line, looking for more here. A neat little re-entry and then throws the tail into reverse. Can he hang on to it? Wow, so this is where we start to see him push a little more, right? I mean, this is exactly what he was looking for in this event is, again, to be a participant in some way, shape or form in this world title race. You've really got to find some motivation, but Kelly seems inspired to do well here. Yeah, and again, we're man-on-man. Just the two of them in the lineup. The spotlight's on there. He is a complete showman. This isn't going to be a huge number, but look it. He is definitely going to be pushing that foot a little bit more in this heat. Beautiful over-the-top view. Again, not the deepest of barrels. As a matter of fact, this probably won't even break the three mark. But sure, getting the crowd involved on this beach. Loves the showman, and you've got two of them in the water right now. Well, this is their first head-to-head heat here at Pipeline. But Kelly has only wrangled two wins from Medina in their eight head-to-head heats in the past. Medina's so strong. But here we go. Something's standing up on the outside. Medina's committing. Grabs that rail to begin with. Gets a hold of it again to find the exit. And a bit going on as he rode out of that barrel. The wave kind of shot him up high. Always looks, and it is, when you come from that deeper position, that you kind of get bucked over the foam ball. So there could be some points in this ride that should be the best wave of the heat. Pretty deep. I guess the beach breaks that he grew up surfing, you know, you learn to barrel ride. Again, slows down. There's that foam ball. Glides over it. Steers his board down the face. Again, just such a great read in the barrel. Slater up with 20 minutes to go. Driving hard through this pit. He is deep in the barrel. It's going to shut down on him. That was looking to be an amazing wave. Medina, a slow start, but getting busy now. Just slides his way into this one. Rolling through it. A bit of foam on the face. No dramas for Medina. He dropped it at 8.9 on his first wave. He's backed it up well here, and he's going to push further ahead of Slater. And look at him paddling, too, trying to get that position away from Kelly. Again, priority is such a key element in these man-on-man heats. And Medina has his head down. Let's see what unfolds here. Well, Kelly, too, you've got to think about it. He hasn't been able to get a lot of free surfs in, so he doesn't have that surf shape, as well as Gabriel Medina, who's been putting in a ton of time in the water. Well, Medina, he has weight coming off him. Slater had that inside track, so just hugging the rail there and trying to get himself over the finish line to the takeoff zone. And both these guys, again, Kelly rides way less volume than Gabriel Medina does, so already at a disadvantage with the amount of board that he carries under his body. Well, this is going to be one of the most excellent heats that Kelly's going to ever have to do here in order to overtake him. I mean, we were first 12 minutes of this one, and he's comboed. But look at this skill. Again, the speed control in a barrel is so important in backdoor. One of the best at it on the backhand, Gabriel Medina. He is the best at it. On the championship tour, there's not a better backhand tube rider here at backdoor than Gabriel Medina. I mean, again, look at the technique. He shifts his weight up on the board. Again, rides a lot more volume, and I think that's really helpful for him to come across those sections with that speed and stability. Go over foam balls, and he would love that coming out of it. Well, Slater's going to use his priority on this one. Plenty happening in what is on paper the heat of the event so far, but we know that the quarterfinals are taking shape. We know John Florence is going to serve against Julian Wilson, who came into this event with a world title shot. It was a long shot. It's gone. Kelly wants another one. They're trying to bait each other in. He's driving. He's up under it. There's a lot going on out here in the water. Whoa, Slater. Spends an eternity behind that curtain, but can't find the exit. He's had a couple of rides like that now, but he's so good at identifying those reeling waves that, you know, that one was impossible, but he can find those ones that just have that really slight percentage of chance of coming out. This is one we've been anticipating. Kelly's girlfriend Kalani was in this crowd on the beach. So special to be standing on the sand watching this go down. Boys, what is going on in Milano? Back to you. Unbelievable. So a very interesting situation there, and this is going to be huge. You know, there's a lot to take in here, but Kelly Slater deep in the barrel. The best takeoff we've seen him make in this event so far. He found the exit, Pete. I mean, that's up to the judges to make that call. Look at this lake drop underneath it, completely barreled, and sees him coming down, and he steers at him. But there's also another rule, right? And that is when you've got priority, you can't sit down the line and take off on the wave to block someone and basically block the ride. It is to a point, but you do have priority. I don't think this situation's going to play here. I mean, he has free reign to be where he wants. I mean, you can do it once, you know. You can't just do it again and again, but that is going to be a unique. I mean, they literally touched, right? What about the effort for T6 Billabong Pipemasters, 45 years of age. And it's just been an honor to watch him serve this contest over the years. Man, I hope he's back in 2018. Wishing him all the best for the off-season and a speedy recovery with that foot. But Gabriel Medina getting the job done.