Breaking: Yago Dora And Molly Picklum To Headline Stab High Sydney 2025 x Monster Energy
World champs vs. the world.
Buy tickets to attend Stab High in person here.
You’ll need a Stab Premium account to watch Stab High Sydney online.
A month ago, Yago Dora and Molly Picklum were perched atop the shoulders of acolytes, shrouded in gold, getting chaired up the beach to their Tavarua victory party as champions of the world.
It could be argued there is no higher honor in surfing. It could also be argued that, well, definitionally….
Stab High presented by Monster Energy makes its debut at URBNSURF Sydney this week — October 10th and 11th to be exact — marking our first air-centric event in Wavegarden Cove technology. It will also be our first time featuring not just one, but two world champions in the field.
Molly Picklum and Yago Dora, who’ve apparently not lost their taste for blood, will be waltzing into URBNSURF this week and sowing chaos not just on the chlorinated ramps, but on our field of 36 Pro men and 5 Pro women.
“Can I just get my participation trophy now?” asked one of the Men’s surfers, after learning that Yago would be in the heat draw.
Lest we forget, Yago is not the only killer in the field — far from it. And the women’s draw has 3x Stab High winner Sierra, who’s looking to retain her title. We’ll break down the full roster below, along with everything else you need to know about this week’s space race.
When, Where, and How Could You Even Miss This?
The venue is URBNSURF Sydney, a man-made surf idyll a few minutes from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. We’d love it if you joined us here.
Qualifying Rounds will run Friday, October 10, 8AM – 5PM (local time) and the Main Event on Saturday, October 11, 10AM – 4PM (local time).
Broadcast Times on stabmag.com (Exclusive to Stab Premium members):
FRIDAY
- Local: 7:30 AM – 5 PM
- Honolulu: 10:30 AM – 8pm (-1 day)
- Los Angeles: 1:30 PM – 11 PM (-1 day)
- New York: 4:30 PM – 2AM (-1 day)
- Paris: 10:30 PM – 8 AM
SATURDAY
- Local: 9:30 AM – 4 PM
- Honolulu: 12:30 PM – 7 PM (-1 day)
- Los Angeles: 3:30 PM – 10 PM (-1 day)
- New York: 6:30 PM – 1 AM (-1 day)
- Paris: 12:30 AM – 7 AM
(Note for the Americas: your Friday night is actually our Saturday morning. Adjust accordingly, or prepare to miss half the show.)
The Four Divisions
- Pro Men
- Pro Women (presented by Sun Bum)
- Ladybirds (girls, 15-and-under)
- Bottle Rockets (boys, 15-and-under)
There will be a total of 36 surfers competing in the Pro Men’s division, 5 Pro Women’s contestants, 10 Ladybirds, and 10 Bottle Rockets.
And, of course, there’s the Monster Air award: $10,000 for the single most outrageous air of the event. Doesn’t matter if you’re a world champ or a teenager with braces. Land it, and you walk out of the premises with an oversized check.
The Guest List
Think of it as a backyard BBQ, if the backyard had a wave better than your local, and the guests were honorary members of the High Church of Flight. Oh, and did we mention the reigning World Champions are also coming?
Pro Men’s Confirmed:
Chippa Wilson, Judd Henkes, Harry Bryant, Eithan Osborne, Yago Dora, Keegan Palmer, Shaun Manners, Jackson Dorian, Hughie Vaughan, Noa Deane, Ian Crane, Robbie McCormick, Jacob Szekely, Mikey Wright, Cam Richards, Shane Borland, Dane Henry, Noah Beschen, Makana Franzmann, Timo Simmers, Julian Wilson, Dakoda Walters, Balaram Stack, Ryji Masuda, Grayson Hinrichs, Dom Thomas, Matt Meola.
Pro Women’s Confirmed:
Molly Picklum, Sierra Kerr, Milla Coco Brown, Sky Brown, Bella Kenworthy.
Ladybirds (15-and-under girls):
Leihani Zoric, Mali Adam, Zoey Kaina, Skai Suitt, Isla Hardy, Zoee Bradshaw, Peeta Kenworthy.
Bottle Rockets (15-and-under boys):
Loci Cullen, Zacky Taylor, Cruz Uros, Jaggar Phillips, Luke Lopez, Marco Menendez, Brody Mulik.
Additional names to be revealed in the coming days…
How It Works
Stab High is straightforward. No one’s “building a house” here. One air, judged against every other air. Brutal, or fair?
Qualifying (Pro Men) – Friday
Each surfer gets two rights and two lefts. Best single air counts. The top ten book their Semifinal spots, the rest get sent to the Sudden Death Round. There’s a leaderboard and everyone surfs against the entire field.
Sudden Death (Pro Men) – Friday
One wave per surfer. Direction is up to individual choice. Land it or get out. Only the top single surfer advances to the semi. Numbers two, three and four go to the Mystery Bag round on Saturday.
Semifinals (Men, Ladybirds, Bottle Rockets) – Friday
Three rights, three lefts, best air decides which four surfers make the final. Simple, savage, effective.
Mystery Bag (Pro Men) – Saturday
A fun game via our friends at FCS — to be explained on competition day — will determine the last Men’s finalist.
Finals (all divisions) – Saturday
Three rights and three lefts, again. Best single air wins.
The Judgmental Seven
Presiding over Stab High Sydney’s tribunal are Nathan Fletcher, Dion Agius, Parker Coffin, Ozzie Wright, Lee Wilson, Creed McTaggart, and Craig Anderson. A jury of peers who’ve spent much of their careers launching themselves into orbit, sometimes paying for it in flesh, and bone.
With more than enough airtime of their own, expect lived experience to inform the numbers they project from their paddles. They’ll argue, they’ll contradict one another, they’ll probably mock a few of the airs outright. Right, Lee Wilson?
But, How Will They Judge It?
Five judges will sit in the booth at any given time, each scoring waves out of 10. Whole numbers only. We’re not librarians.
Incomplete airs get zeros. Partially-complete airs receive partial credit, because we’re also not the WSL.
Airs will be judged against every other air completed in the same round, regardless of direction. It’s all relative, like most things worth arguing about.
There are no defined scoring criteria, but judges will consider height, style, creativity, degree, angle of rotation, grabs, and whether you managed to land the thing smoothly. Well, I suppose we did just define it, didn’t we?
Once all five judges have weighed in, their scores are added up for a total out of 50.
And if you pull the same trick twice to advance through different rounds, you’ll be docked points accordingly. One-trick ponies can trot themselves back to HB Pier.
The Purse (or, Why They’re Risking Their Ankles)
- Pro Men: $20,000 USD
- Pro Women: $20,000 USD
- Ladybirds: $5,000 USD
- Bottle Rockets: 5x,000 USD
- Monster Air: $10,000 USD
Use it to pay for rent, excess baggage fees, candy, or bragging rights for life. We won’t have our say.
Watching From Poolside (or The Couch)
In Person (Buy tickets here)
If you’re in Sydney, you’d be a goose to miss this. Also, Premium members get 20% off their tickets. Expect festival-adjacent vibes with live DJ sets, food & bev trucks, giveaways, and signings. We’ll also have the unused side of the pool available for parents and kids who want to ride a ripple.
Online:
If you can’t make it, every second streams live on Stab Premium. Members pay nothing extra. Not a member yet? Now’s the time. You can type STABHIGHANNUAL for 10% off an annual sub. Think of it as paying for a ticket that lasts all year and includes sofa parties with Mikey February, Kelly Slater, and others.
A Brief History of Unassisted Flight
Since 2018, Stab High, modesty aside, has been unapologetically committed to giving surfing’s best aerialists a platform to push their skills to their most impractical extremes, because someone had to.
The winner’s list alone reads like a hall of fame of above-the-lip luminaries:
Pro Men’s: Noa Deane, Chippa Wilson, Ian Crane, Matt Meola, Rasta Robb, Eithan Osborne, Hughie Vauaghan
Pro Women’s: Sierra Kerr
Ladybirds: Sierra Kerr x2, Caity Simmers, Erin Brooks, Kiara Goold, Eden Walla
Bottle Rockets: Lucas Cassity, Loci Cullen
Why It Matters
Because wavepools are the perfect lab to expedite what once took decades of ocean time to achieve. And because it’s quite incredible watching someone try something that looks impossible, until it suddenly isn’t.
Stab High works because it’s surfing’s closest thing to a skatepark — everyone hyping each other up, losing their minds when someone lands absurdities, genuinely more excited about someone else’s make than their own. No wonder the same crew (and new faces) keep showing up.
See you at the pool?
This event is supported by: Monster Energy, Sun Bum, Quiksilver, I-Sea, FCS, Tudor, Skullcandy, White Claw.
