Watch: Two Underdogs, One Very Expensive Bone

Presented by Pacifico

You can’t talk about luck to the self-made man.

Grit, patience, perseverance, sure. But luck? The language of losers.

After the 2026 Surf100 Grand Finale, one of four surfers will be $100K richer, and whoever wins will presumably have a compelling explanation for why luck had nothing to do with it.

Just to reiterate: $100,000 USD is currently the biggest single payday in surfing. Regular season CT events net the winner just $80k (sorry, Erin and Cole). Post-season events match our $100k.

For last year’s Surf100 winner, Eithan Osborne, the money effectively bought him a house. Or, more accurately, covered the deposit and took a sizeable bite out of the mortgage.

That was partly the point of turning Surf100 into an episodic, challenge-based series: to give surfers outside the sport’s fattest contracts a legitimate crack at transformative money.

As Sam Mc explained: “We wanted to democratise it. At least a little. Let surfers fight their way into two spots. Then put the winners against surfers who represent a standard they’ll remember for the rest of their careers.”

And objectively, the money would go quite a long way in Kodes or Dimitri’s bank accounts.

Both are currently grinding their way through the Challenger Series, where six figures can buy flights, accommodation, entry fees, coaching, physio and most importantly, time.

The only issue is neither of their well-fed opponents, Joel Parkinson or Noa Deane, gives a single fuck about stealing their lunch money.

“I really shouldn’t win, and if I do, these guys should be embarrassed,” said Parko, 45, cracking his knuckles.

So how are the underdogs feeling after surviving seven rounds of physically-taxing, spiritually-crushing challenges, only to meet the 2012 World Champion and 2025’s Surfer of the Year in the grand finale?

Dakoda: “Not so good. My ankles are still pretty fucked. Still, it’s probably the best my body’s been in a while. I’ve been injured a fair bit over the past 2-3 years.”

Dimitri: “Kinda anxious. The past few weeks have just been go, go, go. But now that we’ve had a little break and some time to think… not good. Body’s pretty torched for sure. Mentally and physically drained from the travel, but that’s pretty on brand for this whole Surf100 project.”

Oozing confidence, basically. We’ll see how they fare on September 9. Finale premiere details below.

2026 Surf100 Finale details

When: Wednesday, September 9th at 7 pm (PST).

Where: The Surf100 finale will be premiered live at JS Garage in Oceanside, CA, with all four surfers in attendance. Doors open at 6 pm, and we recommend getting in early for the best seats and first pick of food and beverage. Full details here.

What: There will be free food from Shoots, Koakai and Fireball Pizzeria, free Stab merch, and Pacificos while supplies last. We’ll also be giving away a new JS surfboard to one person in attendance.

How: If you can’t make it to Oceanside, Stab Premium members can watch (and judge) the finale live online. The best judge will also win a JS surfboard.

Why: Not a Premium member yet? Get in here.