Will JOB and Mason Ho Slash CT Dreams At The 128-Man Pipe Challenger?

Place your bets over at Betonline.AG.

Financial nihilism is a growing mindset among young people, rejecting traditional financial prudence (saving, long-term planning) due to a belief that the system is rigged and the future is hopeless.

Driven by high housing costs, wage stagnation, and inflation, it leads to speculative behavior like meme stocks, crypto, and gambling as alternatives to unattainable conventional wealth-building.

And if AIs taking your job, and the dream of homeownership seems beyond the pale, why not take some swings, eh?

Plus, who doesn’t love taking the elevator to the top rather than the stairs?

A Bonnie-Blue–sized queue of Challengers and local specialists is currently posted up at Banzai for the sixth CS event of the season, and the first of the new year. With Pipe no longer kicking off the CT, we’re itching for some tube vision (and a little speculative behaviour) to get the pulse up.

CS surfers might be the purest financial nihilists of all. Imagine BQQing USD $60k a year for the chance to qualify for the CT, something John Florence literally just said “yeah, nah” to after a two-year sabbatical. All risk. No guarantees. Maximum exposure.

Thrilling.

Because 128 is a very big number, we asked Reef McIntosh to dust off the crystal ball and tell us who’s most likely to survive the volatility. His BetOnline.ag picks are below.

Who can qualify for the CT at the Pipe Challenger?

Men

• Eli Hanneman (SF+)
• Sammy Pupo, Luke Thompson (Final+)
• George Pittar, Kauli Vaast (3rd+)
• Oscar Berry, Mateus Herdy (2nd+)
• Jacob Willcox (Win)

Women

• Sal Fitzgibbons (Final)
• Fransisca Veselko, Nadia Erostarbe (Win)

Reef Mac’s Picks – Pipe Challenger

Men

1. Barron Mamiya
2. Benji Brand
3. Kauli Vaast
4. Zeke Lau

Women

1. Moana Jones Wong
2. Erin Brooks
3. Bettylou Sakura Johnson
4. Francisca Veselko

Place your bets over at Betonline.AG.