Prolific world champion and current ratings leader Slater is through to round three of the final World Championshiop Tour event of the 2003 season.

Slater, who leads the reigning ASP number one by just 96 points, cruised past Kalini Robb and Brian Pacheco by six points in round one.

Irons booked a third round slot after defeating Kalani Chapman and Richard Lovett in near-perfect four to eight feet waves.

Current world champion Andy Irons' backhand barrell at Pipeline.

"I actually think it's advantageous to surf first," said Irons. "That way I can get the job out of the way and I don't have to sit around watching Kelly, stressing out about what I need to do.

Slater, a former star of the television series Baywatch, has his sights set on a seventh world title: "I think both ways have advantages and disadvantages. With Andy surfing first, I know where I stand. But I think the pressure's on. It's on both of us all the way to end now."

While the tour's top two competed over surfing's holy grail, the rest of the pack had their own concerns.

For several of the ASP Top 44 ranked surfers, the sudden-death second round represented a career ultimatum.

Brazil's Flavio Padaratz, a 15-year veteran of the tour, still managed a smile and upbeat attitude following a second round loss to Australian's Mick Fanning
and Nathan Hedge that saw him fail to re-qualify.

Padaratz considers it to be a beginning to a new career phase, rather than an end: "Well, I guess that's the end of the 15-year round-the-world heat."

The thirty-two-year-old's younger brother, Neco, has successfully re-qualified for next year's tour and will keep the Brazilian flag flying high while Flavio takes up his various roles back in Brazil as television show host, Tropical Brazil surfboard/surfwear co-owner, and license holder of Brazil's WCT event.

Along with Flavio, others to officially fail to make the cut for next year's tour now include Australians Shane Powell, Luke Stedman, Hawaii's Shane Dorian, and Brazil's Danilo Costa and Fabio Gouveia.

American Pat O'Connell, Sunny Garcia and Michael Campbell failed to make the qualification total but have been granted injury wildcards into all 2004 WCT competitions.

Current Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series leader Jake Paterson, the winner of the recent Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach, was perhaps the greatest surprise, losing in the second round to a heat loaded with talented Pipeline surfers.

Paterson struggled to successfully make his way out the barreling waves, finishing in fourth place behind Bruce Irons, Peterson Rosa, and Shane Dorian.

His early exit has opened the door to Andy Irons to possibly defend his ownership of the Triple Crown title.

Pipeline wildcard specialists put in another solid showing today, with six of the original nine wildcard recipients still in the draw at round three stage.

They are Jamie O'Brien, Pancho Sullivan, Marcus Hickman, Kalani Chapman, and former Pipeline Masters champions Derek Ho and Bruce Irons.

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