Current three-time defending world champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i led the way, recording the best scores of the day.

"This place can be the trickiest of all," Irons said of Sunset Beach. "It's such a big playing field; it's easy to get out of rhythm. You really have to monitor the ocean and try to see what angle the swell is coming from."

Irons won his heat with a two-wave score of 16.77. On his best wave, he scored a near-perfect 9.60 for a long barrel ride.

"There's a spot on Kaua'i called Tunnels that I surf a lot," he said. "It's really similar to Sunset. It's deep water and it wedges up the same way, so when I get out there, I'm kind of familiar with where to position myself."

Other former world champions advancing yesterday were C.J. Hobgood (2001 champ), Sunny Garcia (2000), Mark Occhilupo (1998) and Kelly Slater (1992 and 94-98).

By advancing to the fifth round, Garcia maintained his lead in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. He won the first contest at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach.

The World Cup is the second of three events in the series. The Triple Crown championship goes to the best overall performer in the three North Shore contests.

"It's going to be really, really hard to knock Sunny off the Triple Crown this year," Irons said. "It's way out of my reach. I'd say it's nearly impossible."

The hometown North Shore surfers also continued to fare well yesterday.

Pancho Sullivan of Sunset Beach actually beat Slater in their heat. But because the top two from each four-man heat advance to the next round, both Sullivan and Slater advanced.

"I was a little disappointed because I wanted to ride some of the bigger set waves," Sullivan said. "But even at this size, the wave offers a nice, open face. You can still do some incredible turns out here."

Sullivan proved it by recording a two-wave total of 16.36.

"Kelly (Slater) is arguably the greatest surfer ever, so when you're up against him in a heat, you have to raise the bar," Sullivan said.

Other Hawai'i surfers advancing were Marcus Hickman, Kalani Robb, Nathan Carroll, Daniel Jones, Ian Walsh, Fred Patacchia Jr., Brian Pacheco and Bruce Irons.

"I have nothing to lose," Jones said. "I just want to do my best and see how I can do against all the top guys."

One more day of competition is required to determine a winner. The contest will resume when conditions allow. For daily status of the contest, call 596-7873.