The Vans Pipe Masters Invite Show, Episode 2

You can now stop hitting the refresh button. Episode 2 of the Vans Pipe Masters Invite Show — in which we reveal the complete list of competitors — is here.

Episode 1 of the Vans Pipe Masters Invite Show showed the world which male CT surfers would be competing, as well as the entire 20-surfer female field. We’ve got 32 names to go.

Not only do we share those names here, but our hosts Makua Rothman, Keala Kennelly, and Nathan Fletcher also hand draw the first men’s and women’s heats for the 2022 Vans Pipe Masters.

You like numbers? The full men’s filed includes 17 non-CT Hawaiians, 8 CT surfers, 8 Blow-Ins, 6 Misfits, and 1 Vans Stab High Winner. And some clarity on those terms:

• Blow-Ins: The guys who spend every winter in Hawaii, digging for gems underneath the local pack.
• Misfits: The aerialists and style guys who you might not expect to see spearing lions at surfing’s closest thing to the Colosseum.

Before Heats 1 (men & women) of the 2022 Vans Pipe Masters became official, the crew tackled a range of questions, including, but not limited to:

• Will the god-forsaken pony pull be a strategic move without priority? Or does it still result in a loss of respect, fiberglass, or in the worst case, facial skin? Nathan Fletcher shares at least 10 cents, maybe more.

• Makua Rothman says, “There’s never been a contest at Pipeline where half the field were Hawaiian surfers.” Will the locals hold down the fort? 

• Will the no priority, no loser format — where two Hawaiians and two blow-ins/misfits surf the same heat thrice — lead to fluffy friendships or mortal enemies?

Makua, Keala, and Nathan also explore picks for the $100,000 prize, but we won’t spoil that for you. Hit that play button above.

The 2022 Vans Pipe Masters event window runs from December 8-20th and you’ll be able to watch the live action and more at VansPipeMasters.com, Stabmag.com, and YouTube.