The West Coast has been enjoying a run of all-time swell lately, and it won’t be long before Killers, the deepwater behemoth off of Todos Santos Island in northern Baja, will be stealing top headlines. On Wednesday, organizers of the Thriller at Killers big wave event announced they’d given the green light for Saturday, February 7, with waves expected in the 20-25 foot range.
“The competition is on,” they wrote without much fanfare. “See you at first light.”
The event is spearheaded by big wave legend Gary Linden. Each year’s athlete roster is comprised of surfers who earn invitations through a digital-video qualifier series, top surfers from the previous year’s event, and wildcard selections made by Linden, the contest director.
The South Bay’s Cody Purcell has won the past two events on the men’s side, and he’s back in this year’s draw for a chance to earn a three-peat. Purcell was in his early 20s when he finally put himself in the big wave game, and it was his second wave ever at Todos that earned him his first invite to the event — a bomb that was filmed, submitted, and eventually selected through the digital selection process.
The underground charger from Los Angeles will be joined by heavy hitters and former WSL Big Wave Tour competitors like Nic Lamb and Jojo Roper. Eddie Aikau Invitational winners Greg Long and Landon McNamara will be in the heat draw too, as well as Nazaré Challenge winner Lucas Chianca, to name a few. Other competitors in the men’s field include Willem Banks, Eric Nicholson, Quetzal Estrada, Chase Jacoway, Andres Flores, and Christian Hatfield.
On the women’s side of the draw are 2024 winner Katie McConnell, two-time WSL Big Wave Tour champion and Pe’ahi Challenge Champion Paige Alms, Zoe Chait, back-to-back Nazaré Challenge winner Justine Dupont, Mavericks Awards winner Bianca Valenti, and Isabelle Leonhardt.
