The Monster Energy Pro was completed at the Banzai Pipeline on Feb. 7, but it will still be making an impact in December.

The top performers from the Monster Energy Pro qualified to compete in the Rip Curl Pipeline Masters in December.

The Pipeline Masters, which is considered one of the most prestigious surfing events in the world, will change its format this year, allowing for more entries.

"The field has been expanded from 48 to 64," said Randy Rarick, executive director of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. "So basically what we did was open those 16 slots to the top local guys, and they chose to use the Monster Pro as one of the ways to fill those slots."

The Pipeline Masters is normally restricted to the 45 surfers on the World Championship Tour. In past years, a separate trials event was staged for the Hawai'i surfers to fill one or two open spots in the field.

"This is huge progress," Hawai'i surfer Rainos Hayes said. "Before, we'd be battling each other in the trials for one or two spots in the main event. Now, we get 16 guys directly into the main event."

Rarick said the format was changed mainly because of "the uniqueness of Pipeline."

The Pipeline is famous for its big, barreling waves, and a handful of North Shore surfers are considered "specialists" at riding the treacherous break.

"We think it helps the quality of the contest to have the top Hawaiians in there," North Shore surfer Liam McNamara said.

Veteran surfers like Hayes and McNamara did not fare well in the Monster Energy Pro, so they did not qualify for the 2006 Pipeline Masters. However, as members of the Hawai'i Pro Surfers Union, they were in support of the format change.

They said they had been lobbying for several years to get more Hawai'i entries into the Pipeline Masters.

"Now you can truly call it the Pipeline Masters," Hayes said.

So far, 12 Hawai'i surfers have been selected for the Pipeline Masters based on their performance at the Monster Energy Pro: Dustin Barca, Tory Barron, Nathan Carroll, Hank Gaskell, Aamion Goodwin, Reef McIntosh, Jamie O'Brien, Soloman Ortiz, Randall Paulson, Makua Rothman, Evan Valiere and Ian Walsh.

"That's a power-packed lineup right there," Carroll said.

Monster Energy Pro champion Rob Machado of California also qualified.

Three more spots have yet to be filled. One will go to a surfer from Tahiti, and the other two will go to deserving Hawai'i surfers.

"Pipeline is unlike any wave in the world, unique in every way," Carroll said. "So I think it's great that we were given this opportunity. It's like our chance to shine."

The expanded format could wreak havoc on the 2006 world title race. The Pipeline Masters will be the final event on the 2006 World Championship Tour, so the title could be decided there.

As unseeded surfers, the Hawai'i qualifiers will be pitted against the top-ranked surfers in the rankings.

"There's so many good surfers at Pipe now days, and if you want to be a world champion, I think it's only right that you have to prove yourself against the best," McNamara said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.