World Surf League Billabong Pipeline Masters Betting

Billabong Pipeline Masters

The Billabong Pipe Masters is one of the most famous surfing events in the world. Held in Hawaii, it has been a mainstay in surfing tournaments for 50 years, running every year since its creation in 1971, with the exception of 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic. It is the final event of the Triple Crown of Surfing, alongside the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park and the World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach.

The Pipe Masters is held at the Ehukai Beach Park, in Pupukea (the home to the Banzai Pipeline). The event is held during the Hawaiian winter, during December and features up to 36 competitors.

In the seeding round, the 36 contestants are split into 12 different heats, comprising three surfers per heat. The contestants then surf and collect points for their performances, and the top two surfers in each round proceed to the round of 32. The surfers who placed lowest in the seeding round advance to the elimination round, where they have to play in 4 heats of 3, with the winners and runners up of each heat advancing to the round of 32.

From the round of 32 and onwards, surfers compete in one on one matches, with the winners advancing to the next round and the losers falling out of the competition. The round of 32 is followed by the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semi-finals and then the finals.

How to Bet on the Billabong Pipeline Masters

The difference in altitude, tides, weather, climate, winds and many more environmental factors means that surfers have to adjust their technique and prepare when travelling to the different venues. The top athletes will be able to overcome these hurdles, but it still makes the sport far more variable than other sports. It is not really the same as home advantage when surfers compete in the events in their home country, as some surfers may be able to make manoeuvres and perform skill moves under certain conditions, but be unable to replicate them in others.

All of these factors make the surfing competitions even more enthralling, and many fans who know how to surf will recognise and appreciate the talent of the top professionals when they head into events with less than desirable conditions.

Outright Winner

Fans can place bets on the outright winner of the Billabong Pipeline Masters. Among the 36 surfers competing in the event each year, there are many different possibilities, making this a difficult bet to place. The odds will reflect that, with high odds offered on each contestant. Even when there are clear favourites going into the event, the odds on them will be fairly high. These bets can be placed at any time during the event, though the odds will reduce after each round has concluded and there are less contestants to bet on. For the best odds, punters should try and place bets before the event has started, though this can be risky as a lot of environmental factors can change the likelihood of certain surfers to win.

Reach Elimination Round or Better

These bets offer punters a variety of options that come with a range of odds. Surfers can be bet on to reach the round of 32, round of 16, quarterfinals, semi-finals or finals. The odds on top players reaching the earlier rounds of the elimination phase will be lower than the odds on them reaching the semi-finals or finals. These can definitely put the top surfer fans to the test and can be highly exciting bets to place because spectators can follow the path of single players in the competition.

Head to Head

Some events may have head to head surfing bets. When these bets can be found, they single out two or more surfers, and a bet can be placed on which surfer goes further in the competition. A bet on a favourite to go further than an underdog may not offer long odds, but when two surfers are equally matched, it can be an interesting bet to place. The surfers do not necessarily need to compete against each other head to head, the bet will pay if one surfer falls out of the competition before the other. This bet is highly interesting to place because it requires a good knowledge of the contestants, and can help surfing fans explore new or lesser known surfers competing in the tournament.

Live Bets

In some matches, live bets can be found. These help make the matches even more fun to watch and can be hugely advantageous to punters. Fans who have watched a lot of surfing competitions or have followed certain players for longer periods of time will be able to recognise match day conditions that may affect the outcome of the clashes. Punters who may not have the same deep knowledge of the sport can still try to get in on the action by listening to the commentators and checking out the match statistics. Detailed match statistics and match analyses will have information about the smallest environmental conditions and how they can change the outcome of the match.