Gallery: Wildcards, Challengers Alike Get Flexed at Unruly Pipeline 

In the six years the World Surf League has run its Challenger Series, it hasn’t had anything like what happened today at Pipeline. In November 2019, the WSL created the CS to streamline qualification for the Championship Tour. The first event was held at Manly Beach in March 2020 (won by Carissa Moore and Leonardo Fioravanti). Since its inception, the CS has run in a range of conditions, from great to good to bad to terrible. 

There was one thing missing, however.  Big, heaving barrels in waves of consequence, at a venue that these CT hopefuls will have to surf one day against the elite anyway. After a lackluster opening day on Friday, Saturday's swell materialized to the fullest.

It's no secret Pipeline has had a challenged winter (sorry). Unsavory Kona winds, a rogue jetstream, strong north swells and shifting sand have all conspired this season, particularly at the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout and Florence Pipe Pro. Both events had pulses, but from a forecasting perspective, they were dealt a rough hand. The Lexus Pipe Challenger, on the other hand, might have too much swell.

From the first heat of the day, local specialist and serial sender Joey Johnston was a deserved standout. The guy who works on a shark tour boat spent his day off winning both of his heats by finding two of the best Backdoor barrels of the day. The first, a long 8.83, came in the first heat of the morning. The second was a pure knife into a comically proportioned teepee, a short but impactful for an 8.17. 

“It was definitely scary,” he said. “I honestly didn’t know what to think and you never know til you go. I love going right and I found my right in that first heat, and I’m super stoked. It’s wild out there. It’s hard and not too many opportunities, and I was stoked to get that wave and get in safely. Just another day out at Pipe with some friends, a little rugged, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Just be ready.”

Make no mistake, it was far from perfect. Some heats provided enormous double-overhead walls, while others saw set after set wash through the lineup. But it was undeniably entertaining. On paper, the opening round of Mason Ho, Jamie O’Brien, Lucas Godfrey, and Eli Olson looked to be surefire fireworks. Instead, it was another superheat shocker. Closeout sets galore, and JOB got clipped on the only wave he stood up on for a 1.

That said, Mason Ho continues to surprise and delight, in and out of the jersey. Riding a 7’6” …Lost Surfboard with a paint job meant to honor his late uncle Derek Ho, Mason rolled in early onto some of the largest peaks of the day. As the swell became more manageable as the day went on, Mason found his stride in the second heat, flying his step-up under a bomb for a 9.07. See below for evidence, then tune into his unique board breakdown.

More local heroics: Makana Pang, who won $5,000 in the first round of the Wave of the Winter monthly awards, found a carbon copy of the same check-writing peak: A steep and deep drop that ejected him howling into the channel. Hours later, Makana won the Round of 80 heat, advancing with Mexico’s Lucas Cassity over Josh Kerr and Cody Young. 

“It was a tough start in that last heat,” Makana said. I don’t think anyone had any real waves, and paddling out, I got so licked thirty seconds before the heat started, and then got pounded for the first half of the heat,” said Pang. “Then this chip came in, I was in fourth priority and no one even looked at it. Then I air-dropped before it hit the sandbar and this magic section just spit me out. No one can really predict what’s going to happen when the waves are like this, but being from here and surfing a lot of days like this we definitely have a little bit of an advantage.”

For as many beatdowns and brusings, there were just as many jaw-dropping waves. Benji Brand and Koa Smith put on a frontside tube-riding masterclass in the opening round. Koa even nailed a barrel-to-straight-air combo to much abblaum. You can view both moments below, along with San Clemente's Jett Schilling racing through a heavy one.

There were so many good waves ridden today that it'd be easy to miss two standout performances. Former CT leadfoot Ezekiel Lau and up-and-comer Luke Tema shared a productive heat. Ezekiel's positioning and technique were on point, and he convincingly won the heat with an 1 5.37, the second-best total of the day. And young Luke continues to impress, grinding through a deep Backdoor wave for the highest single-wave score of the day, a 9.23

“It’s turning into a dreamy afternoon right now," Ezekiel said. "Blue water, the sun’s out, the wind is offshore, it’s just as good as Pipe gets. I paddled out the back just before the heat, and just felt like we were going to get a window of it just turning on. It was fun. I still wore a lot of sets on the head, but it was worth it. Nothing beats getting waves with your friends. Luke [Tema] and I were just talking about how good the waves are, how good his wave was and his ended up being higher. You’re competing, but you’re not super cutthroat about it. It’s so rare to get days like this in competitive surfing. I’m stoked to be here, and it’s just pumping.”

Of note: The North Shore’s Luke Swanson, France’s Charly Quivron, and Florida’s Ryan Huckabee were the only non-wildcards to win their heats in the men’s Round of 80. Luke's showing was especially telling. With Benji Brand in the same heat, the young goofyfoot known for launching into Rocky Point lefts packed two solid pits for a 16.17 total, the highest of the day.

"That heat was awesome," Luke said. "I definitely was trying to go out with smiles, but it’s hard to with how big it is right now,” said Swanson. “That felt really good. As soon as we found out about this event being on the schedule, everyone kind of nudged the Hawaiians that we’re stoked to get an event. I think that’s easy to let that play into your confidence and feel comfortable going into an event like this. I think everyone, to some extent, is fearful, but that comfort level really pays off with how unruly it is.”

Speaking of North Shore talent, local weapon Shion Crawford did this minutes after the contest ended. No score, but a Wave of the Winter contender for sure. The northwest swell drops a bit, but southwest winds are expected throughout the day. Fingers crossed.

Lexus Pipe Challenge Presented by Billabong Men's Opening Round Results: 

HEAT 1: Joey Johnston (HAW) 9.83 DEF. Cody Young (HAW) 2.93, Shayden Pacarro (HAW) 2.73, Koa Rothman (HAW) 1.77

HEAT 2: Makana Pang (HAW) 16.00 DEF. Kala Grace (HAW) 13.17, MaiKai Burdine (HAW) 10.00, Rylan Beavers (HAW) 1.30

HEAT 3: Koa Smith (HAW) 15.67 DEF. Benji Brand (HAW) 13.73, Nalu Deodato (HAW) 6.53, Joshua Moniz (HAW) 2.24

HEAT 4: Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 11.17 DEF. Legend Chandler (HAW) 8.34, Billy Kemper (HAW) 1.40, Makai McNamara (HAW)

HEAT 5: Mason Ho (HAW) 7.83 DEF. Lucas Godfrey (HAW) 3.60, Eli Olson (HAW) 2.94, Jamie O'Brien (HAW) 1.00

Lexus Pipe Challenger Presented by Billabong Men's Round of 80 Results:

HEAT 1: Joey Johnston (HAW) 9.97 DEF. Jackson Bunch (HAW) 8.60, Tully Wylie (AUS) 2.30, Billy Stairmand (NZL) 1.13

HEAT 2: Makana Pang (HAW) 12.00 DEF. Lucas Cassity (MEX) 4.97, Josh Kerr (AUS) 4.83, Cody Young (HAW) 1.63

HEAT 3: Charly Quivront (FRA) 9.26 DEF. Jett Schilling (USA) 7.74, Kala Grace (HAW) 6.57, Thomas Lindhorst (RSA) 4.44

HEAT 4: Ryan Huckabee (USA) 11.17 DEF. Joh Azuchi (JPN) 10.60, Koa Smith (HAW) 7.94, Keoni Lasa (EUK) 6.83

HEAT 5: Luke Swanson (HAW) 16.17 DEF. Benji Brand (HAW) 10.14, Afonso Antunes (POR) 2.73, Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 1.30

HEAT 6: Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 15.37 DEF. Luke Tema (HAW) 15.06, Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 7.53, Lucas Godfrey (HAW) 3.37

HEAT 7: Legend Chandler (HAW) 14.17 DEF. Riaru Ito (JPN) 11.83, Wesley Leite (BRA) 10.40, Yago Dominguez (EUK) 5.00

HEAT 8: Mason Ho (HAW) 15.24 DEF. Igor Moraes (BRA) 6.30, Daiki Tanaka (JPN) 3.67, Oliver Zietz (NLD) 3.33