In the aftermath of "The Eddie," smaller waves at the Banzai Pipeline were adding up to big scores.

Several surfers showed that you don't need huge waves to get huge scores on the opening day of the Billabong Pipeline Masters yesterday.

The start of the Pipeline Masters came just two days after the completion of the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave surfing contest at Waimea Bay.

The opening rounds of the Pipeline Masters were run in wave-face heights of 10 to 18 feet at the Banzai Pipeline.

Several of the surfers who rode giant waves in the Eddie Aikau contest are entered in the Pipeline Masters.

"It's a trip," said Kaua'i's Bruce Irons, who placed fourth at the Eddie Aikau contest and advanced through two heats of the Pipeline Masters yesterday. "Two days ago, we were surfing 25-foot waves and now we're doing this. But Pipeline is still no joke. These 6-foot waves have just as much kick as some of those 20-footers."

What's more, the waves at Pipeline were in near-perfect form yesterday, with the famous barrels on offer throughout the day.

Shane Dorian of the Big Island rode through some of the best barrels of the day, receiving a score of 9.5 (out of 10) in his first-round victory, and then an 8.17 in his second-round win.

"It's kind of tricky out there, but it's beautiful," Dorian said. "The wind is perfect and the swell direction is real nice."

Dorian also competed in the Eddie Aikau contest. He said his body was still recovering from some of the wipeouts he suffered on Tuesday.

"I'm a little bit spacy," Dorian said. "I got pounded the last few days, for sure. I have a sore neck and everything."

One of the most intriguing developments did not take place in the waves.

Wai'anae's Sunny Garcia arrived at the beach several minutes after his heat started, and was replaced by an alternate. The only way he can get back in the contest is if one of the top-seeded surfers gets hurt — or shows up late — on the next day of competition.

Garcia is currently second in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing standings. The Pipeline Masters is the third, and final, event in the Triple Crown series.

Torrey Meister of the Big Island replaced Garcia and made the most of the opportunity with wave scores of 8.5 and 8.33 in his first-round win.

"Sunny is one of my favorite surfers, and I look up to him a lot, so I'm bummed that it wasn't him out there," Meister said. "But I'm stoked to get through."

The first round of the Pipeline Masters featured the unseeded surfers, including the so-called "Pipeline Specialists."

A surprising first-round surfer was Kaua'i's Andy Irons. He is a three-time former world champion and four-time former Pipeline Masters champion. He took a sabbatical from the world tour in 2009, and so had to compete as an unseeded surfer yesterday.

He showed that he is still in prime form, scoring a 9.17 for a long barrel ride in his first-round win.

Other Hawai'i surfers advancing yesterday were Gavin Gillette, Liam McNamara, Hank Gaskell, Flynn Novak, Sion Milosky, John John Florence, Roy Powers and Kekoa Bacalso.

Florence, 16, is the youngest competitor in the field. He had one of the best heats of the day, scoring a total of 17.2 for his two best waves.

The best heat of the day went to France's Michael Picon. He had scores of 9.93 and 9.83 in his second-round win.

The top-ranked surfers received byes yesterday, including world title contenders Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson.

The contest could continue today, if conditions are favorable. For information visit www.triplecrownofsurfing.com or call 596-7873.