The Strongman great broke down all five groups ahead of the competition.
Laurence Shahlaei, known as Big Loz, has kept up with the Strongman game over the years as a coach and former athlete. The 2026 World’s Strongest Man has arrived and the powerlifting great made his predictions for each group of qualifiers.
The 2026 World’s Strongest Man returns to Myrtle Beach from April 23-26. This year’s showdown carries major implications as competitors fight for the title that could shape the overall legacy in their careers. Many former champions will compete this weekend, bringing an all-star cast of Strongmen to South Carolina. Our team at Generation Iron is going to break it down.
[RELATED: 2026 WSM Qualifier Day One Results & Recap]
Big Loz enjoyed a long and successful career in Strongman. He won the Europe’s Strongest Man competition in 2016 to highlights his victories. Despite not being a competitor anymore, Shahlaei continues to be a voice in the sport as he appears as a commentator frequently, along with coaching some of the world’s top athletes.
Big Loz Talks 2026 WSM Qualifiers
Group 1
Big Loz broke down each group and picked competitors to advance to the final. In Group 1, Shahlaei went with reigning champion Rayno Nel and Nick Guardione. He went back and forth on Luke Richardson because of a recent performance as well.
“I think it would be crazy to not put the current champion in there so I am going to go straight off the bat and say Rayno Nel…For me, Nick Guardione can sneak through that group. I think other than the squat, he’s very very good at every other event in that group.
The real question mark for me is what shape is Luke Richardson in? I would expect him to get through that group and make the final. However, if he performs like he did at Europe’s Strongest Man, he’s going to struggle.”
Group 2
Tom Stoltman headlines the second group as a three-time champion. He is one of Big Loz’s picks to advance to the weekend along with Austin Andrade. There is another question mark here and he believes that it is Jaco Schoonwinkel.
“I would go with Tom to get through and I think Austin Andrade. These events are brilliant for Austin.
I think Jaco is the problem man in that group. Obviously Mat Ragg is very, very good. I think Mat struggles on a couple of events. I agree that is there is a banana skin in there, it’s Jaco. The guy has consistently shocked people.”
Group 3
Mitchell Hooper is another former champion and Big Loz believes that he will raise the trophy once again this year. Obviously, that means he will make it to the finals and the other pick is Eddie Williams because of his prowess at stones.
“Mitch has the least weaknesses in my opinion. There’s not an event in there you don’t expect him to pick up good points on. I am going to go with Mitch Hooper and Eddie Williams. The reason being, I think Eddie is solid at moving. I think he’s solid at stones, I think he’s a good squatter.”
Group 4
The fourth former champ in the field is Martins Licis, who Shahlaei believes will get the chance to battle for another title. Big Loz also picked Ondrej Fojtu to advance due on his performance during the Europe’s Strongest Man competition.
“I agree that I think Ondrej currently, based off the events he did at Europe’s, the Europe’s events are very, very similar to the heat for World’s Strongest Man as well. His form is good. He certainly looks like he can squat, he’s an amazing overhead lifter.
Martins Licis has impressed me at the Arnold. He’s continued to put the work in. This is going to be his last World’s Strongest Man, I think he comes in and puts everything on the line.”
Group 5
The fifth and final group discussed includes other contenders to win the entire event. Big Loz picked Evan Singleton to win the group with Trey Mitchell being a dark-horse in the end.
“I’d expect Evan Singleton to come out on top of the group. Now, the big question mark is who comes out on top of Trey Mitchell and Pavlo Kordiyaka. If Trey gets top three on that first event, I think it’s over.”
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