After all the talk about wildcards, it was Hawai'i's ace that stole the show.

Andy Irons solidified his reputation as Hawai'i's best surfer of this generation by winning the prestigious Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters yesterday.

He did it in spectacular fashion, scoring a perfect 10 in the final to edge world champion Kelly Slater.

"I just never count myself out," Irons said. "I know (Slater's) an amazing surfer, but he's out at the same spot I am, and the waves were coming."

Irons also solidified his reputation as the surfer to beat in Hawai'i's famous waves. In the process of winning yesterday's contest, Irons clinched the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championship.

The Pipeline Masters was the third of three contests in the Triple Crown series. In one of the most impressive showings in the Triple Crown's 24-year history, Irons reached the final at all three events.

He also won the first contest at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach, and placed third in the second contest at Sunset Beach.

"The Triple Crown win is huge," said Irons, 28. "I just love winning. I love to come here to the North Shore and do well in the Triple Crown. It's such an honor."

Irons, who is from Hanalei, Kaua'i, has won the Triple Crown four times in the last five years. Derek Ho also owns four Triple Crown titles, and Sunny Garcia holds the record with six.

"I don't even think about that stuff," Irons said when told of his accomplishments. "Actually, the first time I hear about it is from you guys (the media)."

The final day of the Pipeline Masters was completed in barreling waves of 4 to 8 feet at the Banzai Pipeline yesterday. The third round, quarterfinals, semifinals and final all were run yesterday.

Irons won four heats yesterday, but he saved his best for the final.

Slater scored a 9.0 (out of 10) early in the 35-minute final, and appeared on his way to victory. With less than 12 minutes remaining in the heat, Slater's total score for his two best waves was 17.53 to Irons' 12.5.

"I honestly never felt comfortable with the lead I had," Slater said. "Backdoor (Pipeline) is a real high-scoring wave, so it was a good battle."

Irons took the lead with less than seven minutes remaining by riding through a long Pipeline barrel and then completing a floater over the shallow sandbar at the end of the wave. The judges rewarded him with a 9.87.

Then with less than two minutes remaining, Irons rode to his right, through Backdoor Pipeline, and disappeared in the barreling wave. When he shot out the side, he raised his arms triumphantly as the beach crowd estimated to be around 7,000 roared its approval.

The judges scored it a perfect 10.

"I was just in the right spot at the right time, and that's usually what it takes," Irons said. "Kelly almost caught that wave. If he got that wave, he would have got a 10."

Slater said: "Looking back, I think I probably made some little errors. I think I needed to lean a little on Andy ... I didn't let him have those (waves), but I could have put up a better fight."

Instead, Irons won the Pipeline Masters for the fourth time in five years.

"That's my last laugh," Irons said. "(Slater) knows I'm not going away quietly."

Slater, who is from Cocoa Beach, Fla., has five Pipeline Masters titles, and is the only surfer with more than Irons.

Slater entered the contest already having clinched his record eighth world championship.

By winning the Pipeline Masters, Irons finished 2006 ranked No. 2. In the past five years, Irons has finished No. 1 three times (2002, '03 and '04), and No. 2 twice (last year and this year).

Irons' near-perfect total of 19.87 was enough to take the $30,000 first-place check. He also received $10,000 as the Triple Crown champion.

Slater finished with a two-wave score of 17.73, and received $16,000 for second place.

The other two finalists finished way back, but they said they enjoyed the show from the ocean.

Cory Lopez of Florida placed third, and Rob Machado of California was fourth.

"It pretty much got to the point where I was just spectating out there," Machado said.

In the earlier rounds of the Pipeline Masters held this week, the Hawai'i wildcard surfers made headlines by posting high scores.

Under a new format installed this year, the field was increased from 48 to 64, and 16 Hawai'i surfers who do not compete on the world tour were inserted as wildcard entries.

Eleven of the Hawai'i wildcards made it to the third round, but none of them made it to the final. Jamie O'Brien of O'ahu's North Shore was the top Hawai'i wildcard, placing fifth.

Machado, however, was also a wildcard entry.

The Pipeline Masters was the last event on the 2006 World Championship Tour, so it determined the final ratings for the year, as well as the qualifiers for the 2007 tour.

Hawai'i surfers qualifying for the 2007 WCT were Andy Irons, Bruce Irons, Fred Patacchia Jr. and Pancho Sullivan. Kaua'i's Roy Powers made it to the quarterfinals yesterday, but failed to requalify for the 2007 tour.

RIP CURL PRO PIPELINE MASTERS

FINAL RESULTS

1, Andy Irons (Hawai'i), $30,000. 2, Kelly Slater (Florida), $16,000. 3, Cory Lopez (Florida), $10,500. 4, Rob Machado (California), $9,500. 5 (tie), Damien Hobgood (Florida) and Jamie O'Brien (Hawai'i), $9,000. 7 (tie), Luke Stedman (Australia) and Chris Ward (California), $8,000. 9 (tie), Michael Lowe (Australia), Bruce Irons (Hawai'i), Mick Fanning (Australia), and Roy Powers (Hawai'i), $5,700. 13 (tie), Ian Walsh (Hawai'i), Dustin Barca (Hawai'i), Bruno Santos (Brazil), and Evan Valiere (Hawai'i), $5,300.

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS

2006 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR

FINAL RATINGS

1, Kelly Slater (Florida), 8,124 points. 2, Andy Irons (Hawai'i), 6,948. 3, Mick Fanning (Australia), 6,828. 4, Taj Burrow (Australia), 6,480. 5, Bobby Martinez (California), 6,350. 6, Joel Parkinson (Australia), 6,240. 7, Damien Hobgood (Florida), 6,096. 8, Tom Whitaker (Australia), 5,138. 9, Taylor Knox (California), 4,880. 10, Dean Morrison (Australia), 4,856. Also: 14, Bruce Irons (Hawai'i), 4,684. 17, Fred Patacchia Jr. (Hawai'i), 4,320. 27, Pancho Sullivan (Hawai'i), 3,855. 34, Roy Powers (Hawai'i), 3,237.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.