The 2022 Rogue Invitational is scheduled for Oct. 28-30, 2022, at the Dell Diamond Stadium in Austin, TX. Featured in that competition weekend is the strongman invitational, comprised of 10 elite strongmen battling for the largest prize purse in the sport.
2022 Rogue Strongman Invitational Events
The two-day strongman contest is comprised of six events — three on October 28 and three on October 29:
Oct. 28, 2022
- Event One — Tower of Power | Deadlift for Reps
- Event Two — Cyr Dumbbell Ladder
- Dumbbell weights: 253, 274, 280, 285 pounds
- Event Three — Rogue Husafell Sandbag Carry
Oct. 29, 2022
- Event Four — Rogue-a-Coaster Pull
- 54-inch incline pull
- Event Five — Yoke Carry, Overhead Log Lift Medley
- 1,000-pound yoke
- Three 360-pound log lifts
- Event Six — Stones Over Hitching Post
- Stone weights: 275, 300, 365, 400, 420 pounds
2019 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Martins Licis will be present in Texas as the defending champion. The rest of the strongman roster can be seen below.
[Related: Hafþór Björnsson Announces Plan to Break His Weight Over Bar World Record at the 2022 Rogue Invitational]
2022 Rogue Strongman Invitational Roster
- Martins Licis — Reigning Champion
- Oleksii Novikov
- Rob Kearney
- Maxime Boudreault
- Trey Mitchell
- Bobby Thompson
- Mitchell Hooper
- Eythór Ingólfsson Melsted
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy
- Kevin Faires
While two of the three podium finishers from the 2021 Rogue Strongman Invitational will return in 2022 — Licis and Novikov — the runner-up from 2021, two-time reigning WSM champion Tom Stoltman, will be absent. Stoltman and his brother, Luke, both declined their invites to maximize their recovery in the off-season before the 2023 strongman season begins.
Likewise, four-time WSM champion Brian Shaw opted out of the Invitational following his endeavors in organizing the 2022 Shaw Classic just a few months after the 2022 WSM contest.
While Licis and Novikov are the likely favorites heading into the competition by resume alone, Mitchell Hooper has been on an impressive streak of contest wins. He won the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK and the 2022 Giants Live World Tour Final within a fortnight.
In 2021, Licis earned $133,685 in first-place winnings — the first six-figure purse in strongman history. His YouTube channel has highlighted his programming preparing specifically for the 2022 Rogue Strongman Invitational, so if any of the other strongmen are to dethrone “The Dragon,” they will undoubtedly have to bring their A-game.
Featured image: @rogueinvitational on Instagram
