2026 Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico, Episode 03
Yet another test of temperament for our surfers.
Watch Episode 01 here.
Watch Episode 02 here.
Welcome back to Episode 03 of the Surf100 Challenge Series Presented by Pacifico, the third of our eight-part $100,000 surf match.
After eliminating Kyuss King at Blacks Beach in Episode 01 and Benji Brand in Oceanside in Episode 02, six surfers remain in contention: Zeke Lau, Jackson Bunch, Finn McGill, Ryan Huckabee, Dakoda Walters, and Dimitri Poulos.
Of these six, only two surfers will survive into our classic Surf100 finale*, where they’ll face off against two mystery invitees for a chance at the six-figure prize purse.
Our third challenge? Friendly Fire.
Modeled after the same challenge that led to Ian Crane’s infamous Rincon crashout last year, the Steamer Lane challenge is structured as follows:
- Six surfers compete in a 2 v. 2 v. 2 tag-team match-up.
- Each surfer can catch up to three waves in their round, but only the wave they claim is scored out of 100.
- Once a surfer claims a wave, they head to the beach and tag in their next teammate. The second teammate must surf and claim their wave before 30 minutes are up.
- Each team’s two claimed waves are combined to form their heat total.
- The team with the highest heat total in Round 1 is safe — the other two teams go to Round 2, where the process repeats.
- The team that loses Round 2 will then be split in Round 3 and have to surf against one another to decide who goes home.
“All the guys who are still going in the competition have a really analytical understanding of how competition works,” said Surf100 producer Garrett James. “There isn’t a day that goes by where they aren’t trying to get one up on the other surfers, always trying to catch our production crew slipping on where we’re going, what we’re doing, or any morsel of information that might give them the upper hand. At this point, I’d say the most comped out person is Dimitri and the least comped out person is Dakoda. But deep down you just know Dakoda cares more than he’s showing.
“When we drove from San Diego to Santa Cruz, Zeke was my copilot, with the rest of the guys scattered through the back of the van,” continued Garrett. “They’re really starting to look at Zeke like this older brother type who’s already been where they’re trying to go in terms of their careers, with most of them eyeing the CT. A lot of that drive from SD to SC was spent by them asking Zeke questions, getting advice, and listening to the stories of what it was like when he was coming up. The guy has an endless pit of stories and he’s really good at telling them.”
As you’ll see above, Zeke is mired in the controversy of the Santa Cruz challenge — and handles it with aplomb.
A few more notes on the latest episode:
- Dimitri is currently enrolled in college and has been breaking away to do homework and study every day. He mentioned having a fallback plan in case the surfing thing doesn’t work out.
- Jackson gets lotto scratchers every time we pull over for gas. He’s definitely sitting at net negative after the first three days of Surf 100.
- Finn is consistently needing more water. The dude is always fucking thirsty. In general, all of these guys drink a lot of water…like a stupid amount. ‘I guess that’s why they’re professional athletes and we’re not,’ says Garrett
- Huck is super nonchalant, just an unassuming giant with rubbery limbs. Also, from all accounts, he’s quite the lady-killer.
- Dakoda has been on the shit talk from day one. He’s got a mouth like a faucet you forgot to turn off. Definitely the class clown.
Release Schedule
The second season of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented by Pacifico goes live June 17 on YouTube, but Premium members get to watch each episode two days early (watch your email).
Here’s the full YouTube release schedule:
Ep 1: Wednesday, June 3
Ep 2: Wednesday, June 17
Ep 3: Wednesday, July 1
Ep 4: Wednesday, July 14
Ep 5: Wednesday, July 29
Ep 6: Wednesday, August 12
Ep 7: Wednesday, August 26
Live Finale: Wednesday, September 9*
*Watch the finale online exclusively on Stab Premium, or join us in person for the big song and dance (all comers welcome, details TBA) on September 9.
