"I paddled out in this event to honor those that have come before and put in the time at Pipe," Tyler Wright, said after winning the Maui Pro presented by ROXY at Pipeline in 2020, before adding "And to the next generation of young self-empowered women who go next at Pipeline."
That event was the first women's Championship Tour event at Pipe. Fast forward just over 12 months and Wright was surfing her Semifinal of the Billabong Pro Pipeline against Moana Jones Wong, the very definition of a young self-empowered woman at Pipeline. This was the second time women had been in a CT at Pipeline, but the first full-length event.
Wong earned her maiden victory in solid conditions at her home break of Pipeline. Here are all the top moments.
Wright and Jones Wong shared more than just empty Pipeline. They were sharing history. Up until this week, Wright was last Wildcard to win a CT event, the O'Neill Women's World Cup in 2010 at Sunset Beach. Wright is also the last Wildcard to win a CT event in their first appearance, the Beachley Classic in 2008.
After Jones Wong dispatched the impressive Wright and then Carissa Moore in the Final, she not only took those mantles off Wright but was also awarded another Wildcard spot for Sunset. She will now enter the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach as the World No. 1, and will wear the Yellow Jersey.
The scale and the scope of the achievement should never be underestimated. In the decade of professional surfing since Wright's win, hundreds of wildcards have had a shot at surfing stardom. None, until now, have cracked the code.
Even Pipeline, one of the few waves in the world to have cultivated its own set of specialists, has been a wildcard burial zone. In the Men's the last Wildcard winner was Jamie O'Brien back in 2004, who surfed through the Trials to take the win.
Moana Jones Wong - WSL / Brent Bielmann
Based on its rarity, Jones Wong's wildcard win would have always been groundbreaking. That she achieved it in the first full-length women's CT event at Pipeline, in perfect, eight-to-ten foot Pipeline, made it truly seismic.
The 22-year-old improved on her heat total in each successive round, defeated her hero Carissa Moore twice, and never looked like losing. While her Pipeline knowledge, technique, and courage were the foundations for the win, let's not forget she matched her illustrious peers in the competitive dark arts as well.
There's a reason why wildcards and CT first-timers don't win events, and a lot of it comes down to managing the pressure and tension of elite competition against the best, and most experienced surfers in the world. However be it managing priority, making heat plans and crucially, wave selection, the Hawaiian's decision making was imperious.
Tyler Wright was the last women to win a Championship Tour event as a Wildcard, way back in 2010 -- at Sunset Beach - WSL / Kelly Cestari
It was a consummate, brave, and dynamic performance that truly elevated women's surfing. History has shown that winning a CT event as a Wildcard is one of the sport's most difficult tasks.
Jones Wong will now head to Sunset trying to do it again. Given what she has achieved in the last week there's every chance history could be repeated.
Wildcard Pipe Champion Moana Jones Wong Will Continue Her History Making Run At Sunset
Ben Mondy
"I paddled out in this event to honor those that have come before and put in the time at Pipe," Tyler Wright, said after winning the Maui Pro presented by ROXY at Pipeline in 2020, before adding "And to the next generation of young self-empowered women who go next at Pipeline."
That event was the first women's Championship Tour event at Pipe. Fast forward just over 12 months and Wright was surfing her Semifinal of the Billabong Pro Pipeline against Moana Jones Wong, the very definition of a young self-empowered woman at Pipeline. This was the second time women had been in a CT at Pipeline, but the first full-length event.
Wright and Jones Wong shared more than just empty Pipeline. They were sharing history. Up until this week, Wright was last Wildcard to win a CT event, the O'Neill Women's World Cup in 2010 at Sunset Beach. Wright is also the last Wildcard to win a CT event in their first appearance, the Beachley Classic in 2008.
After Jones Wong dispatched the impressive Wright and then Carissa Moore in the Final, she not only took those mantles off Wright but was also awarded another Wildcard spot for Sunset. She will now enter the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach as the World No. 1, and will wear the Yellow Jersey.
The scale and the scope of the achievement should never be underestimated. In the decade of professional surfing since Wright's win, hundreds of wildcards have had a shot at surfing stardom. None, until now, have cracked the code.
Even Pipeline, one of the few waves in the world to have cultivated its own set of specialists, has been a wildcard burial zone. In the Men's the last Wildcard winner was Jamie O'Brien back in 2004, who surfed through the Trials to take the win.
Based on its rarity, Jones Wong's wildcard win would have always been groundbreaking. That she achieved it in the first full-length women's CT event at Pipeline, in perfect, eight-to-ten foot Pipeline, made it truly seismic.
The 22-year-old improved on her heat total in each successive round, defeated her hero Carissa Moore twice, and never looked like losing. While her Pipeline knowledge, technique, and courage were the foundations for the win, let's not forget she matched her illustrious peers in the competitive dark arts as well.
There's a reason why wildcards and CT first-timers don't win events, and a lot of it comes down to managing the pressure and tension of elite competition against the best, and most experienced surfers in the world. However be it managing priority, making heat plans and crucially, wave selection, the Hawaiian's decision making was imperious.
It was a consummate, brave, and dynamic performance that truly elevated women's surfing. History has shown that winning a CT event as a Wildcard is one of the sport's most difficult tasks.
Jones Wong will now head to Sunset trying to do it again. Given what she has achieved in the last week there's every chance history could be repeated.
Moana Jones Wong
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