Pipeline tests Challenger Series contenders at Lexus Pipe Challenger presented by Billabong

The men’s field made their Lexus Pipe Challenger Presented by Billabong debut Saturday in all-time Pipeline conditions. The day began with the completion of the men’s Opening Round to determine which 10 wildcards would move on to the Round of 80.

Now, the Round of 64 matchups are set at Stop No. 6 of the 2025/2026 Challenger Series (CS), including CS competitors Ryan Huckabee (USA) and Luke Swanson (HAW), and wildcards Ezekiel Lau (HAW) and Mason Ho (HAW). 

The next call is today, Sunday, Feb. 1 at 7:15 a.m. for a possible 8 a.m. start.

Local Pipeline Specialists Go Excellent to Join Top Seeded Round of 64

On Saturday, 20 of the region’s highest-ranking surfers and local specialists competed in the men’s Opening Round with the hopes of advancing and shaking up the CS field. The Round of 64 will feature wildcards Mason Ho (HAW), Makana Pang (HAW), Joey Johnston (HAW), and Ezekiel Lau (HAW). They earned their way through both the Opening Round and Round of 80 respectively. Now they’ll prepare to face the top seeds of the event.  

Pipeline charger Makana Pang (HAW) found his opportunities to show why he’s at the top of the list of the Opening Round contenders. Pang posted an 8.50 (out of a possible 10). Then, he continued that form into the Round of 80 and put the Challenger Series contenders to the test with another 7.50 and a second heat win. Lucas Cassity’s (MEX) last-minute efforts earned him an advancing spot past former CT icon Josh Kerr (AUS) to advance to the Round of 64.

“It was a tough start in that last heat. I don’t think anyone had any real waves, and paddling out I got so licked thirty seconds before the heat started, and then got pounded for the first half of the heat,” Pang told the WSL. “Then this chip came in, I was in fourth priority and no one even looked at it. Then I air-dropped before it hit the sandbar and this magic section just spit me out. No one can really predict what’s going to happen when the waves are like this, but being from here and surfing a lot of days like this we definitely have a little bit of an advantage.”

Pipeline specialist, Joey Johnston (HAW), put the field on notice after his excellent debut. The 28-year-old found a Backdoor gem to post the round’s best single-wave score of an 8.83 before finding another cavern to post more excellence in the Round of 80, earning an 8.17. North Shore’s own Johnston now prepares for the top-seeded Round of 64 and a chance to keep his dream alive. 

Adding his name to a two-heat victory day, Ezekiel Lau (HAW), showed his comfort level in pumping conditions to charge toward the top seeds. Lau’s former CT experience showed with Pipeline pushing Challenger Series elite to the ultimate test as he locked into an 8.67 following Luke Tema’s (HAW) day’s best of a 9.23. But, Lau found a 6.50 to close out the heat and earn his spot into the top-seeded Round of 64.

“It’s turning into a dreamy afternoon right now. Blue water, the sun’s out, the wind is offshore, it’s just as good as Pipe gets,” said Lau. “I paddled out the back just before the heat, and just felt like we were going to get a window of it just turning on. It was fun. I still wore a lot of sets on the head, but it was worth it. Nothing beats getting waves with your friends. Luke [Tema] and I were just talking about how good the waves are, how good his wave was and his ended up being higher. You’re competing, but you’re not super cutthroat about it. It’s so rare to get days like this in competitive surfing. I’m stoked to be here, and it’s just pumping.”

Also Legend Chandler (HAW) and Mason Ho (HAW) both showed their prowess in the Pipeline lineup to add more local contenders into the Round of 64 with big heat wins. Chandler’s 8.00 and Ho’s 9.07 joined a crazy list of performances to close out the Round of 80.

For highlights from today’s Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by Billabong, visit WorldSurfLeague.com. 

Lexus Pipe Challenge Presented by Billabong Men’s Opening Round Results: 
HEAT 1: Joey Johnston (HAW) 9.83 DEF. Cody Young (HAW) 2.93, Shayden Pacarro (HAW) 2.73, Koa Rothman (HAW) 1.77
HEAT 2: Makana Pang (HAW) 16.00 DEF. Kala Grace (HAW) 13.17, MaiKai Burdine (HAW) 10.00, Rylan Beavers (HAW) 1.30
HEAT 3: Koa Smith (HAW) 15.67 DEF. Benji Brand (HAW) 13.73, Nalu Deodato (HAW) 6.53, Joshua Moniz (HAW) 2.24
HEAT 4: Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 11.17 DEF. Legend Chandler (HAW) 8.34, Billy Kemper (HAW) 1.40, Makai McNamara (HAW)
HEAT 5: Mason Ho (HAW) 7.83 DEF. Lucas Godfrey (HAW) 3.60, Eli Olson (HAW) 2.94, Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 1.00

Lexus Pipe Challenger Presented by Billabong Men’s Round of 80 Results:
HEAT 1: Joey Johnston (HAW) 9.97 DEF. Jackson Bunch (HAW) 8.60, Tully Wylie (AUS) 2.30, Billy Stairmand (NZL) 1.13
HEAT 2: Makana Pang (HAW) 12.00 DEF. Lucas Cassity (MEX) 4.97, Josh Kerr (AUS) 4.83, Cody Young (HAW) 1.63
HEAT 3: Charly Quivront (FRA) 9.26 DEF. Jett Schilling (USA) 7.74, Kala Grace (HAW) 6.57, Thomas Lindhorst (RSA) 4.44
HEAT 4: Ryan Huckabee (USA) 11.17 DEF. Joh Azuchi (JPN) 10.60, Koa Smith (HAW) 7.94, Keoni Lasa (EUK) 6.83
HEAT 5: Luke Swanson (HAW) 16.17 DEF. Benji Brand (HAW) 10.14, Afonso Antunes (POR) 2.73, Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 1.30
HEAT 6: Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 15.37 DEF. Luke Tema (HAW) 15.06, Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 7.53, Lucas Godfrey (HAW) 3.37
HEAT 7: Legend Chandler (HAW) 14.17 DEF. Riaru Ito (JPN) 11.83, Wesley Leite (BRA) 10.40, Yago Dominguez (EUK) 5.00
HEAT 8: Mason Ho (HAW) 15.24 DEF. Igor Moraes (BRA) 6.30, Daiki Tanaka (JPN) 3.67, Oliver Zietz (NLD) 3.33

Lexus Pipe Challenger Presented by Billabong Men’s Round of 64 Matchups:
HEAT 1: Cole Houshmand (USA) vs. Lucca Mesinas (PER) vs. Deivid Silva (BRA) vs. Joey Johnston (HAW)
HEAT 2: Mateus Herdy (BRA) vs. Morgan Cibilic (AUS) vs. Finn McGill (HAW) vs. Jackson Bunch (HAW)
HEAT 3: Kauli Vaast (FRA) vs. Kade Matson (USA) vs. Carlos Munoz (CRC) vs. Makana Pang (HAW)
HEAT 4: Barron Mamiya (HAW) vs. Bronson Meydi (INA) vs. Lucas Silveira (BRA) vs. Lucas Cassity (MEX)
HEAT 5: Samuel Pupo (BRA) vs. Jorgann Couzinet (FRA) vs. Franco Radziunas (ARG) vs. Charly Quivront (FRA)
HEAT 6: Oscar Berry (AUS) vs. Taro Watanabe (USA) vs. Ian Gentil (HAW) vs. Jett Schilling (USA)
HEAT 7: Winter Vincent (AUS) vs. Dimitri Poulos (USA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Ryan Huckabee (USA)
HEAT 8: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Lucas Vicente (BRA) vs. Joh Azuchi (JPN)
HEAT 9: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Nolan Rapoza (USA) vs. Mikey McDonagh (AUS) vs. Luke Swanson (HAW)
HEAT 10: Jacob Willcox (AUS) vs. Levi Slawson (USA) vs. Edgard Groggia (BRA) vs. Benji Brand (HAW)
HEAT 11: Eli Hanneman (HAW) vs. Keijiro Nishi (JPN) vs. Callum Robson (AUS) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
HEAT 12: Luke Thompson (RSA) vs. Michael Rodrigues (BRA) vs. Jackson Baker (AUS) vs. Luke Tema (HAW)
HEAT 13: Seth Moniz (HAW) vs. Xavier Huxtable (AUS) vs. Kyuss King (AUS) vs. Legend Chandler (HAW)
HEAT 14: George Pittar (AUS) vs. Hiroto Ohhara (JPN) vs. Ian Gouveia (BRA) vs. Riaru Ito (JPN)
HEAT 15: Liam O’Brien (AUS) vs. Jordan Lawler (AUS) vs. Shohei Kato (JPN) vs. Mason Ho (HAW)
HEAT 16: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) vs. Shion Crawford (HAW) vs. Adur Amatriain (EUK) vs. Igor Moraes (BRA)

Lexus Pipe Challenger Presented by Billabong Women’s Round of 32 (Heat 2-8) Matchups Remaining:
HEAT 2: Yolanda Hopkins (POR) vs. Tya Zebrowski (FRA) vs. Anat Lelior (ISR) vs. Vahine Fierro (FRA)
HEAT 3: Isabella Nichols (AUS) vs. Nadia Erostarbe (EUK) vs. Arena Rodriguez (PER) vs. Sanoa Dempfle-Olin (CAN)
HEAT 4: Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) vs. Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri (EUK) vs. Vaihitimahana Inso (HAW) vs. Moana Jones Wong (HAW)
HEAT 5: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Amuro Tsuzuki (JPN) vs. Zoe McDougall (HAW) vs. Eweleiula Wong (HAW)
HEAT 6: Luana Silva (BRA) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Sophie McCulloch (AUS) vs. Alyssa Spencer (USA)
HEAT 7: Erin Brooks (CAN) vs. Francisca Veselko (POR) vs. Anon Matsuoka (JPN) vs. Teresa Bonvalot (POR)
HEAT 8: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. India Robinson (AUS) vs. Sierra Kerr (AUS) vs. Sophia Medina (BRA)

Watch LIVE
The Lexus Pipe Challenger runs now through Feb. 9, 2026 at Banzai Pipeline. Watch LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and the free WSL app. Also, check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.