Merewether surfer Jackson Baker has been knocked out of the Pipeline Billabong Pro by Hawaiian megastar John John Florence.
The hometown hero landed a 360-aerial midway through the duo's heat which scored 8.50 and left Baker chasing two decent waves and 13.83 to advance.
Florence then scored 6.07 to make it a near impossible task for Baker who needed 14.57 to advance with only five minutes left to surf.
Earlier, Florence had put a two-wave score of 9.33 on the board inside the opening few minutes.
After scoring 2.67 on his opening wave, Baker rode away from a quick right barrel to post a 2.73.
The two competitors, who were surfing in four-to-six foot waves, did then not post a score until Florence landed his big 360-air with 18 minutes left to go.
Baker surfed another couple of waves but couldn't better his two-wave score of 5.40.
World Surf League commentators commended Baker for making the round of 32 at Pipeline - his first contest on the Championship Tour.
The 27-year-old had expressed how pumped he was to surf against one of the world's best after winning his opening heat on the contest's opening day.
Baker was the only Novocastrian left in the contest after Morgan Cibilic was knocked out in the elimination round.
