Stab recently unveiled the invitee list for the new upcoming Vans Pipe Masters, which will take place in a short few weeks. You can watch both episode 1 and 2 of the invite show here and here. Surprises, complaints, and questions have all ensued. Let’s have a look at some notable names missing from the draw.
Filipe Toledo – His name was not listed on the original list presented during the Stab Ep. 1 that included all CT surfers invited. His name was on the printed list on the website after. Little bit of confusion here. Even with his summoning, will he show?
Griffin Colapinto – Younger brother Crosby won the digital version of this event last year, snagging himself an invite for this year’s newly revamped event. Griff dawg will unfortunately be missing out. He’s one who could have capitalized on the air thing. Curious.
Albee Layer – Was the one guy I personally saw a direct complaint from. I dig it though. I’ve seen clips of him charging; not specifically at Pipe, though I’m sure he’s been there. He’s relevant these days and one of the gnarliest aerialists on the planet. I’d see his case.
Josh Moniz – His brother Seth is in. He’s a proven local Hawaiian. He knows the spot. He can boost. He’s won the Pipe Pro Junior (2015) and the Volcom Pipe Pro when it was a QS event (2018). Really not sure why he was left out – maybe he wins Stab High and gets his invite this way?
Benji Brand – Did nobody see Snapt4? Didn’t he win best wave of the movie for an insane Pipe choob? His opening section set to Metallica is one of the most memorable parts I’ve watched in the past 2 years, the majority of the thing at Pipe. Please see here. He deserved a spot.
Zeke Lau – This one felt like such a no-brainer, I actually thought he was in there. I had to check the list twice. Maybe he hasn’t fared so well there in the past (nothing over 13th), but we all know he knows the wave. We’ve all seen the clips. And he can punt. Another miss.
Kai Lenny – I’ve heard this name tossed around once or twice. I’m not sure how much I would back him getting into this. I don’t know if I have seen him surf conditions like what we expect from Pipe. I would imagine he’s done it, and can probably do something wild on the end section, but to me, it’s unproven. He would fare better at a place like Sunset, in my eyes.
Torrey Meister – Running in the camp with Meola and Albee Layer, I wouldn’t mind having all 3 of these guys in. I could truly see one of them doing something groundbreaking. Unfortunately, only Meola will have the opportunity.
Cam Richards – We’ve all seen his Pipe bombs. And the running joke has been that he should fire up a tiktok account to try and poll himself into the draw. I believe the quip was made on the Stab podcast. If you don’t get the joke, Cam famously caused Dane Reynold to create his Instagram account to get into the Hurley Pro some 5+ years ago..
Clay Marzo – Remember the big push online to get him into the G-Land contest? I think it is pretty well agreed upon that he is one of the better barrel riders in the world. Combo that with one of those filthy laybacks, I could see some excellent scores from this man. Wonder if he’s gotten any online love yet for this comp?
A couple random names I would throw in the hat, if possible:
Julian Wilson
Jeremy Flores
Owen Wright
Sebastian Ziets
Dusty Payne
Kiron Jabour
Bruce Irons
Parker Coffin
Jordy Smith
Ian Crane
Any others you could think of you’d like to see in the contest? How about any names you saw in the draw you’d prefer replaced? Let us know, we’ll spread the word.
Thank you for the time. Cheers,
-hwilsin