Vans, Nixon, O'Neill, Spy and Dakine rider John John Florence took first place at the 2012 Volcom Pipe Pro, walking away 20 G's richer. The final day of competition at the 2012 Volcom Pipe Pro ended in a crazy showdown during the last 10-seconds of the 35-minute final, taking 1st place with a buzzer-beating 9.93 Backdoor barrel. His last wave, together with his earlier perfect 10-point ride, put his combined heat score at 19.93 out of a possible 20 to edge out former Pipe Pro Champion Jamie O'Brien in 2nd, Kai Barger in 3rd and Nate Yeomans in 4th.
O'Brien held the lead for the majority of the final, only to see the top spot disappear in the last minute of the heat. With a minute to go, Florence paddled over and congratulated O'Brien. Then a dark line on the horizon caught his eye. One last wave stacked up on the Pipeline reef. Florence clawed his way past Jamie, over the ledge, under the lip and into the heat-winning tube ride - a 9.93 - to claim the $20,000 first prize and a custom warrior helmet trophy.
"I wrote myself off half way through," said Florence. "Kai and Jamie both had nines and eights. Jamie had two nines. I can't believe it. Here at Pipe anything can happen. I surfed my first heat, then had my hand (injury) and tweaked my neck really bad and that was killing me. So I was seriously considering not continuing on. I got some work done on my neck, taped my hand up and it all worked out."
This event marks the second consecutive year that Florence and O'Brien have taken the number 1 and 2 spots at the Volcom Pipe Pro.

Check the highlights from the final day here...
Get the Nixon, O'Neill & Dakine stuff that John John reps here at Tilly's!


