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Some of the best tube riders on the planet are already in Mecca for the new edition of the Volcom Pipe Pro, an event that rewards balls and class par excellence; to go down Pipe you have to be well prepared and you need talent to achieve it.

This year's edition features a large number of Spanish-speaking warriors, out of the 14 participating in the tournament.

With at least one of them having reached a semi-final in the last five years, two finals (one win and one fourth place), it remains to be seen whether one of these 14 will take home the champion's horseshoe.

These are the 14:

Leandro Usuna (ARG)

Usuna has had many shining moments at Pipe and also at this event. In 2012 he surfed one of the best waves of the season and in 2017 he was a semi-finalist (in the heat he lost he beat none other than John John Florence in fourth place) and last year he beat Gabriel Medina in a bet that he could surf a bomb on a rough day there. If he is in tune, he can make a lot of progress in the event.

Tomas Lopez Moreno (ARG)

He had his best moment at last year's Volcom Pipe Pro after beating Mason Ho with two good pipes at Backdoor. He won that heat by a fair amount, leaving everyone else in the dust, he did 15,97 and Ho was the closest to finish with a 6,93.

After that, he seemed to have gained confidence for the rest of the year; in Arica he lost a lot of weight and in Indonesia too.

For this year's championship he arrived early to Hawaii, surfing Pipe a lot and training with a physical trainer there.

He is motivated.

Guillermo Satt (CHI)

At home he has the South American Pipeline that is El Gringo and although he has not achieved a good result in this championship over the years, he knows that he has the talent to get the tubes when Pipe shows his teeth (in five presentations his best placement was a  25th in 2014).

He has just won the first stage of the Chilean national championship and performed well at ALAS. He also surfed some good summer tubes at El Gringo a few days ago.

It's sharp.

Manuel Selman (CHI)

Manuel is another who, despite having had good performances in places like El Gringo and Puerto Escondido, has not achieved a significant result in seven participations in the event, although in 2018 he placed 33rd, which he obtained in 2018. On that occasion when he advanced to round 4, he lost by a very narrow margin against the Basque Aritz Aranburu.

Nicolas Vargas (CHI)

Nico is already in Hawaii, he has already done some sessions at Pipe and taken some tubes. In August he fractured his ankle but recovered quickly and won the trials at Punta de Lobos in big and heavy waves. Before that he had won the Rip Curl The Search in the south of Chile.

Like his two compatriots, he has experience and talent on the pipes but has not achieved expressive results in Pipe where he competed only once, last year, and placed 97th, losing in his debut in an incredible way by 1,63 to 1,60.

Aritz Aranburu (ESP)

Aritz is Mr. Consistency at the Volcom Pipe Pro; in the last five editions of the tournament he has placed ninth three times, seventh once and 25th once. He likes this sea and knows that he excels in it, he just needs the hammer blow to be able to get on the podium.

He is in a very good moment because he has just won the Atlantic Pipe Masters, the Quemao Class in a  one of the best editions in the history of the event.

He arrives sharp and with everything to make it to the end.

Alan Cleland (MEX)

The young Mexican has spent more time than ever in Hawaii this season. He left for the beginning, then traveled to compete in the junior world championship in Taiwan and then returned to the archipelago where he was the highlight of free surfing sessions with his sponsor's team who did not hesitate to place him as one of the best juniors in several sessions.

On his social media he has shown that he has the magic to find good waves and this is also because he grew up surfing tubes in Mexico.

This is his first Volcom Pipe Pro, where he'll be able to prove if he can compete with the best in the world.

Gabriel Villaran (PER)

For Villarán, this event has an important place in his heart because it is held on one of his favorite waves and because it is where he obtained one of the best results of his career, that final he achieved in 2006 in an epic Pipe that also gave him perfect scores on the way to the grand final won by Rob Machado.

Speaking to DUKE a few days ago, Gabriel said he was feeling closer to 100% than he ever had since he injured his knee surfing a few years ago. Then he went to Jaws, dropped bombs, cut himself,  He had to be sewn up but he is active on social media.

He knows the wave very well and has an impeccable technique for surfing it, he is always a threat there. 

Miguel Tudela (PER)

After a run of several events without achieving a significant result, last year Miguel Tudela made it to the semis, finished seventh and narrowly missed out on making it to the grand final (he found the bomb of the series, got into a barrel and narrowly missed out).

During this season he has found several gems, one of them was a perfect double that he lowered himself under pressure, he hit a tube and then an aerial (see video) and, without going any further, in these  In the last few days, after surfing giant Jaws, he took a couple of tubes.

It has everything for  win the event. 

Joaquin del Castillo (PER)

 

Working hard on the toughest days Pipe has, those when he is big and a little bit moved, Joaquín del Castillo is slowly making a name for himself at Pipeline. In 2018 he reached the quarterfinals of the Volcom Pipe Pro, the following season he took a tube and this year he has already surfed a couple of tubes, one of them a finalist in December.  from Surfline's Wave of the Winter.

It is a threat, especially if the sea gets hairy.

Alvaro Malpartida (PER)

 

Álvaro Malpartida surfing Pipe is a modern version of Gerry López, with his style and his zen way of surfing the wave. The Peruvian comes from landing a bomb in Jaws on one of the best days of the winter there, he has been living in Hawaii for several days now and has a special relationship with Pipe and with this event.

In 2018, with the incredible sea, he achieved a very good seventh place which had the bonus of being allowed to surf Pipe only for the half hour that separated the last semi, in which he was, from the grand final.

It may very well be a silent killer.

Christopher Col (PER)

 

See this post on Instagram

 

Off the wall left 🌊💨 next time I try harder ⚡️🤙🏼 #TrueToThis 🎥 @chiaraferrarifotografia

A publication shared by Christopher De Col (@cristo_decol1) the 26 2020 11 has 51: XNUMX PST

Cristóbal de Col is pure class and Pipe Perfecto adapts very well to his surfing. He has just closed with Volcom, the sponsor brand of the event, and has been in Hawaii for several days now and has taken home some bombs.

He has been consistent in the last two editions of the event, advancing to round 5 and achieving two 25s in a row.

With a fresh air and good waves along the way, Cristobal is a threat.

Dwight Pastrana (PUR)

 

Dwight Pastrana is young and hungry. He was on fire early in the season and hit a couple of great shots at Pipe that made it onto the Wave of the Winter page.

Carlos Cabrero, the only Spanish-speaking champion in the history of this event (in 2.000), when asked what was the most relevant thing about Puerto Rican surfing in 2019, said it was Pastrana's surfing at Pipe.

He is motivated, he has posted good times in Hawaii this season and in his third Volcom Pipe Pro he wants to improve on the 33 he achieved in 2018.

Marco Giorgi (URU)

At one of the best Volcom Pipe Pros ever, in 2016, Marco Giorgi placed fifth in a memorable heat where he lost to Kelly Slater. He then returned to this event to place  25 in 2017 and ninth in 2018 (including a 10 in an incredible bomb).

Last year he was unable to compete in the tournament due to sponsorship issues, but in the final event of the season, the Taiwanese 3000 saved the year, winning and finishing the QS in 75th place. He returned to Hawaii this year, the place where he had several of his best performances.

If the waves and magic suit him, he can win his third QS.