John John Florence looked like a world champion.
Joshua Moniz looked like anything but a wild card.
The Oahu natives were comfortable on their home territory Tuesday, advancing at the Pipe Masters on the North Shore.
“I had the whole year to prepare for this moment,” said Florence, who owns two World Surf League championship tour titles. “I had a lot of time to train and try new equipment. After spending all summer here in Hawaii with not a lot of surfing, I was waiting for this moment of going back and catching some good waves.”
Moniz, who earned his entry Tuesday at the Pipe Invitational, pulled off an upset in his seeding heat by beating two former world champions, Brazilians Gabriel Medina and Adriano de Souza.
“This is crazy, I’ve never been in a heat with two world champions,” Moniz said. “It was very interesting to watch them from up close. I’m pretty happy, having fun and feeling confident right now.”
Surfing 4- to-eight foot waves at the Banzai Pipeline, among those also winning heats to the round of 32 were 11-time world champion Kelly Slater and Brazil’s Italo Ferreira, the reigning world and Pipe Master champion.
The next call is Friday, when the elimination round could be held and possibly the round of 32. The holding period runs through Dec. 20.
Meanwhile, the women’s Maui Pro is looking for an alternate site in Hawaii to resume its semifinals after a shark incident Tuesday at Honolua Bay claimed the life of a recreational surfer.
“The WSL has learned that Tuesday’s victim of the shark attack at Honolua Bay has tragically passed away,” the WSL posted Wednesday. “Our thoughts and hearts are with the victim’s family and friends as well as the entire Maui surfing community.”
According the Star-Advertiser, the victim of the attack was a 56-year-old man, who had been treated at Maui Memorial Medical Center