Rogue Invitational 2026 - Pre-Event Thoughts
Strongman
I don't have a comprehensive breakdown for this show, but I am incredibly excited for it. There simply are not enough big time strongman events, and the business geniuses behind World's Strongest Man still act like it's 1993 — keeping the video content under lock and key until Christmas.
With the (temproary?) loss of the Shaw Classic, all we really have is the Arnold Strongman Classic and a handful of Giants Live shows. Unless you're a diehard like me, you're probably not tuning in to the livestream of shows like Clash On The Coast or The Magnus Ver Magnussen Classic. And those are fun, but they don't draw the big names.
This year's Rogue is more or less Mitch Hooper's to lose, I think. He's either going to show up in his usual form and win or he's going to pull out with some sort of injury — I don't really see room for anything else. Mitch has been less active this year, which is probably for the best given the mileage he's accumulted in such a short career.
I don't think Tom Stoltman is much of a threat here. It's always possible that he surprises everyone, but the odds of that actually happen seem to be shrinking with each year. I'm hoping he does well in general, even if only to bolster his confidence going into the next year's World's Strongest Man.
I have more or less the same thoughts regarding Martins Licis as I do Tom Stoltman, and I hope he can show he's not completely finished from the litany of injuries he's incurred over the years. I think we're looking for personal victories rather than a competition win here.
It's unfortunate that Hafthor Bjornsson had to withdraw from the show, but a year of chasing deadlift records has to be extremely taxing. He gave an interview with Big Loz and indicated he was dealing with a number of nagging injuries. It's a shame we aren't going to get a proper rivalry between Thor and Mitch Hooper — like Brian Shaw and Zydrunas Savickas or Thor and Eddie Hall.
The rest of field is really solid. Guys like Austin Andrade, Ondrej Fojtu, Rayno Nel and Thomas Evans are a great crop of young talent. Regardless of the outcome, I think it's going to be a really fun show to watch.
Strongwoman
The women's side of the scompetition is a really good lineup. I think Inez Carrasquillo is a really good choice for the overall winner, but the level of competition keeps increasing significantly year-over-year. Jackie Osczevski, Jennifer Lyle and Angelica Jardine are worth keeping an eye on. The deadlift event will be won by Lucy Underdown, that much I am sure of. The women's division is always entertaining and I'm really looking forward to it.
PUBLISHED: 2026-10-22