Pipeline 2024 | Fantasy Forefront: Pre-Event Picks & Stats

Overview of Pipeline 2024

The 2024 World Championship Tour (WCT) Event at Pipeline, Hawaii, stands as a testament to elite surfing, where the world's best surfers confront the formidable waves of one of the most iconic surf spots globally. Known for its perfect barrels and critical conditions, Pipeline challenges competitors to display exceptional skill and courage, offering a stunning spectacle of competitive surfing prowess.

Quick Stats for Pipeline 2024

• Location: Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii
• Waves: Renowned for perfect, powerful barrels and heavy waves.
• Difficulty: Considered one of the most challenging and dangerous waves in the world.

Event Analysis for Pipeline 2024

The Pipeline event, crucial in the Championship Tour lineup, pushes athletes to their limits amidst the hollow, heavy waves that break over shallow coral reefs. This competition is pivotal for early-season rankings, with surfers demonstrating extraordinary barrel riding and tactical mastery in conditions that epitomize the pinnacle of professional surfing. The event not only highlights the athletes' daring but also their profound connection with the ocean's most powerful forces, underlining the thrilling and unpredictable nature of the sport.

Previous Champions:

See below for the official champions or click here.

Men's Fantasy Overview

Women's Fantasy Overview

Conditions Forecast Overview & Competitor Strategy

The event window promises a dynamic showcase of surfing skills. Early days offer a chance to see surfers navigate more manageable conditions, focusing on technical maneuvers. Midweek brings the excitement of larger, powerful waves, ideal for witnessing dramatic tube rides and bold, critical surfing. As conditions stabilize, spectators can enjoy a blend of high-performance surfing with cleaner, more tactical competition. The varied conditions ensure a thrilling spectator experience, highlighting the adaptability and prowess of the world's best surfers in one of the most iconic surf locations.

Surfline Forecast: link here

Early Week (Monday - Tuesday)

• Conditions start with 4-5 ft waves, rated poor to fair, peaking at 6-8 ft by Monday noon with poor ratings due to increasing wind speeds. Tuesday morning sees a slight improvement in wave quality.

Midweek Peak (Wednesday)

• Wave size holds at 6-8 ft, with ratings improving to good by Wednesday morning, thanks to decreased wind. Conditions are optimal for competition, with the highest wave energy of the week.

Stabilizing Conditions (Thursday - Saturday)

• Thursday and Friday show a mix of fair to good ratings, with wave sizes gradually decreasing from 4-6 ft to more manageable 3-4 ft by Saturday. Wind conditions improve, suggesting quality surfing opportunities.

Closing Days (Sunday - Tuesday)

• Wave sizes decrease further to 1-3 ft, with poor to fair ratings, indicating less optimal conditions for competitive surfing. The event window concludes with smaller waves and lower wave energy, suggesting earlier days might be preferable for competition.

Favoured Surfers for the conditions

The most likely run days for the event, considering both wave size and quality, appear to be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, when conditions provide a balance between challenge and opportunity for high-performance surfing.

• Early to Midweek (Larger, Challenging Swells): Surfers with proven records in heavy conditions, like John John Florence and Kelly Slater, who have demonstrated exceptional skill in navigating and dominating Pipeline's powerful tubes, will have an edge. Their deep local knowledge and ability to read shifting conditions will be advantageous.
• Midweek Peak (Optimal Conditions): Competitors known for their barrel riding prowess, such as Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira, can capitalize on their aggressive approach to take on deep, critical sections of the wave. Their quick reflexes and adaptability to rapidly changing wave patterns will serve them well.
• Later Week (Smaller, Cleaner Conditions): Technical surfers with a knack for aerials and precise maneuvering, like Filipe Toledo and Kanoa Igarashi, will find these conditions suitable for showcasing their skills. Their ability to generate speed and perform high-scoring maneuvers in less powerful waves could see them advancing through heats.
• Overall Strategy: Success will hinge on surfers' ability to adapt their strategies daily, blending barrel riding skills with aerial and technical maneuvers. Competitors must also excel in wave selection, a critical factor at Pipeline due to its variable nature.

This approach demands a versatile skill set, with a premium on adaptability, wave knowledge, and a balanced repertoire of maneuvers suited to both powerful barrels and technical surfing in varying conditions.

Betting Odds:

John John Florence and Gabriel Medina, with their Pipeline mastery, are the oddsmakers' darlings, expected to carve up the comp. Meanwhile, Jack Robinson and Griffin Colapinto, with their flair and fearless approach, are hot on their heels. Kanoa Igarashi and Italo Ferreira, further down the betting line, pack that underdog punch, ready to upset the hierarchy. It's a mix of high-stakes drama, technical brilliance, and the ever-present chance of an underdog story, making this comp an unmissable spectacle.