After 11 events, the 2025 World Surf League Championship Tour has one last stop. It’s a good one: Cloudbreak, Fiji, will host the WSL Finals. The fifth and last iteration of the WSL Finals gets one of the best lefts in the world for a single-day bracket-style showcase to decide the men’s and women’s world titles.
Beatriz Ryder/World Surf League
A key change to this year’s event is that the title match is no longer guaranteed to be a best-of-three showdown. The WSL instituted a new rule that favors surfers who finished the regular season in first place. No. 1 seeds Yago Dora and Molly Picklum can win the world title if they win their first heat. Here’s a list of the top five men’s and women’s surfers who will be in the mix at the WSL Finals.
Men’s Top Five
- Yago Dora
- Jordy Smith
- Griffin Colapinto
- Jack Robinson
- Italo Ferreira
Brent Bielmann/World Surf League
Women’s Top Five
- Molly Picklum
- Gabriela Bryan
- Caity Simmers
- Caroline Marks
- Bettylou Sakura Johnson
The waiting period runs from August 27 to September 4. That’s two weeks away, but the early signs show potential for fun-sized 4- to 6-foot surf, possibly bigger. Surfline’s long-range forecast is currently showing August 29-30 as the best days. It’s obviously still a long way out and things will definitely evolve.
Another change the WSL is making for this year is that the higher-seeded surfer will start the heat with priority. This used to apply to the fourth and fifth seeds, but now applies to all the heats. Every matchup presents storylines. The first men’s heat between Jack and Italo should be a show. Italo was one of the victims of Jack’s stoic rampage up the rankings to win the Tahiti Pro yesterday. Jack nearly got an interference called on him, but the priority rule should prevent that kind of skirmish.
Related: Watch: 5 Cloudbreak Barrels That Continue to Blow Our Minds
The women’s heats are equally fascinating. Bettylou is having a career year by winning two events (Lower Trestles and Burleigh Heads), but will that be enough to surpass the Olympic gold medalist and goofyfoot Caroline Marks at a powerful left? Similarly, Gabriela (three event wins) has dominated right points this season, but can she hold her own against Caity or Molly, two tube savants who made the final at Teahupo’o?
Beatriz Ryder/World Surf League
On the men’s side, 18-year-tour vet Jordy Smith is in the mix to win his first world title. The South African remains one of the most powerful surfers on tour, but he’ll have his work cut out for him in Fiji. Every man in the draw can do damage in hollow lefts. Griffin won the Cloudbreak CT event last season. We just saw the magic Jack can summon. And don’t count out Italo and Yago’s versatility in waves big or small.
One day, two world titles, 10 surfers in the mix. Hopefully, a late-season swell materialized and we’re gifted with world tile trophies decided at a heavy reef pass. So, with all that said, who do you got to win it all?