DEAN MORRISON FINISHES 2ND AT THE BILLABONG PIPELINE MASTERS

Spy Optic’s Dean Morrison finished 2nd in the Billabong Pipeline Masters, the final event on the 2007 Foster’s ASP World Tour and the last of the Van’s Triple Crown of Surfing Series at the world’s famous Banzai Pipeline, Hawaii. Morrison finished inside the Top 10 at World No. 9 with his 2nd place result.

It all came down to Dean competing in the four-man final with Bede Durbridge (AUS), Pancho Sullivan (HAW) and Joel Parkinson (AUS). The new ASP ‘Dual Heats’ format was used from Round 2 through the Quarterfinals and conditions at Pipeline, Backdoor and Off the Wall – the breaks within the contest zone today –were small and in the three-foot (one metre) range.

The lack of waves coming through during the final heat and the cramped lineup set the stage for the Australian Bede Durbridge to pull away from the crowd and position himself strategically to score another wave to further secure his lead and the winning title. Despite the crowded conditions and the shifty peaks, Dean was able to post a 7.8 score late in the final to withhold his strong second place finish.

Durbidge’s year end rating is World No. 5. He scored one of the highest single wave scores of the event, 9.50 out of 10.00, to run away with an unassailable lead into the Final.

"I don't think any of us expected that Pipe would go down like this when we packed our bags for Hawaii,” Morrison said. “It really did end up being more of a maneuver event rather than a barrel-riding event, and I was stoked to make it through to my first final of the year. Congratulations to Bede - he was absolutely ripping all day."

The ASP World Tour will now break until February TK when the 2008 tour kicks off on the Gold Coast of Australia.

For more information please visit www.aspworldtour.com and www.triplecrownofsurfing.com.

Billabong Pipeline Masters Final Results:
Bede Durbidge (AUS) 16.67, Dean Morrison (AUS) 13.00, Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 9.60, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 7.43

- Surfeyes.com