2026 Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico, Episode 04
A right, a left, and four very frustrating heats.
Watch Episode 01 here.
Watch Episode 02 here.
Watch Episode 03 here.
Welcome back to Episode 04 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, Benji Brand in Oceanside in Episode 02, and Ryan Huckabee at Steamer Lane in Episode 03, five surfers remain in contention: Zeke Lau, Jackson Bunch, Finn McGill, Dakoda Walters, and Dimitri Poulos.
Of these five, 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 fourth challenge? One-Trick-Pony.
Our first brand new challenge of the season is as difficult as it is simple. The rules are as follows:
- Five surfers, four 25-minute heats, one surfer advances each heat.
- In each heat, one category will be chosen — Lip, Rotation, Air, Rail.
- Only one maneuver counts for each surfer in each heat.
- The surfer with the highest score for a single maneuver in the relevant category advances.
The day after our last challenge at Steamer Lane, the team headed up the coast to hunt for a venue worthy of the next. Unfortunately, a rain squall stalled their hopes.
“It was cold and stormy all morning,” said Surf100 filmer and editor Will Stiles. “We kinda thought we were screwed, but we thought there might be a window without the rain. Obviously we don’t want to film and have all those cameras on the beach during a storm, so we drove straight to that spot and headed out when there was a break in the rain.
“It was ideal for this challenge because there was a right and a left,” continued Will. “We wanted to have some different options for both stances to go frontside given the difficulty of the challenge.”
As you’ll see, the challenge was far more difficult than it sounds at first glance — and far more physically taxing.
“The Steamer Lane challenge probably took us like three hours max,” said Will. “This one was definitely longer because it took them all so long to paddle out and then it took a while to come back in again after each heat. I would say we were down there for four or five hours.”
“This year everyone has been so frothed that they’ve all been going back out to surf after most of the challenges except for this one. I think once people got called in they were over it,” chuckled Will.
Some more misc. notes from our other editor and filmer Blake Michel:
- After the challenge we all got pizza and the Winter Olympics were on and everyone got very invested in the luge.
- Without spoiling it, the person who got second to last was so convinced he lost that he was looking at flights before the final announcement
- Finn McGill has the best diet on the trip; lots of water, salads, and minimal alcohol
- Dakoda and Dimitri have been on the candy diet, with the latter absolutely loving a gas station run for energy drinks. Taco Bell takeout has also been on the menu.
- All the surfers brought six boards for the entire series, and brought about two or three to the beach for each challenge. Zeke changed boards the most.
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 (above)
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.
Also, come party with us at the US Open on July 25th — we’ll be showing an episode of Surf100 with some of the stars in person.
