In what can only be described as a historic day of surfing, Australia’s Molly Picklum and Brazil’s Yago Dora have won their first world titles at the Lexus WSL Finals in maxing out Cloudbreak conditions. Never in pro surfing’s 50-year history has a women’s world title been decided in such heavy, consequential surf. With the southerly swell filling in throughout the day, by the time the Championship Match rolled around, what started as a pristine, head-high day had transmogrified into a double-overhead, wind swept lineup. Number one seeds Molly and Yago both saw their opportunities and took them. Here’s some notes from the channel of how it all went down … more to come as the victory party is just getting started down here at the Fiji Marriott Momi and Tavarua Island Resort:
Championship Match
Yago Dora vs. Griffin Colapinto
It was one, done and dream realized for Yago. Not leaving anything to chance, with the number one seed only needing to win the first heat of the Championship Match, Yago was up against a surging Griffin. The soft-spoken Brazilian opened up with a banger out of the gates and just kept pushing harder and harder. Having surfed two heats earlier in the day, Griff was feeling it all day, but with the benefit of having watched everything from the channel, Yago’s strategy was on point. Building scores, taking advantage of waves under priority, he adjusted perfectly to the changing ocean conditions.
With this title the Brazilian Storm continues to rage. Starting with Gabriel Medina’s title in 2014, this marks the eighth world title in ten years for the South American country, which had been winless prior to that. The only other surfer to win a world title in the last decade has been John John Florence.
Molly Picklum vs. Caroline Marks
Caroline just keeps on rolling. With the world title on the line in the opening heat of the Championship Match, the Floridian had to ace Molly to keep the dream alive. And like she’s done all day, she leaned into her rail and went to work. Just like when she won the title at Trestles in 2023, Caroline’s been getting stronger and strong with every heat. By the end of the first heat she’d surfed for over two hours, but still managed to have a big, old smile on her face after each wave as the jet ski rushed her back out to the lineup like a chariot in the Roman Colosseum.
As the swell continued to grow, and at times wash through the lineup, Molly took the second heat of the Championship Match. Having surfed over two hours throughout the day, the frothing Aussie took it to Caroline, who didn’t have much of a response to the high-scoring onslaught. This is exactly where we saw Italo Ferreira bonk against Florence in the 2024 titles, but by heat’s end both surfers seemed to be pacing themselves, fully understanding that there was still another 35-minute, winner-take-all heat to go.
With the stage set and the surf absolutely pumping, Molly was relentless. Capitalizing on the conditions and an exhausted Caroline, Molly proved to the world exactly why she’s considered a force of nature on her backhand. In the end, Molly was able to notch back-to-back heat wins and ride into history with her first world title.
Match 3
Jordy Smith vs. Griffin Colapinto
Rhythm is everything, and Griff is in perfect tune with the ocean at the moment. Picking up right where he left off again Italo, he jumped out in front against Jordy early on in the heat and never took his foot off the gas. To borrow a line from Sonny Miller’s “Searching For Tom Current,” he’s been laying down clean, fast, radical lines all day. His top-to-bottom combos have stood head and shoulders above the rest today. Deep bottom turns projecting into the most critical section of the wave, with the barrel not really an option due to the southerly direction of the swell, the judges have showed a deep appreciation today for being able to link turns together, and nobody’s done it better than Griff. He’ll be up against goofy-footer Yago Dora in the Title Match now. Yago’s been watching the action for the last four hours, while Griff’s surfed his way into rhythm and is carrying a ton of confidence and momentum. Time will tell what happens next.
Gabriel Bryan vs. Caroline Marks
Caroline’s streak continues as, once again, she leverages her previous Finals and Olympic experience to send Gabriela packing. At only 23 years old, Caroline’s the oldest, most seasoned veteran in the field on the women’s side, and after rolling past Caity, Bettylou, and now Gabriela, it’s clear that age isn’t just a number. Setting up a Championship Match against yellow jersey-wearing Molly Picklum. The swell’s been filling in all day, and if it turns into a barrel-riding contest the Aussie frontrunner may be considered a favorite, but Caroline’s frontside attack has been unstoppable thus far and it doesn’t appear that she’s going to remotely take her foot off the grass at this point. Having surfed three heats already, fatigue may factor in for Caroline, but with clean, smooth conditions, minimal current in the lineup and the jet ski assist, that seems unlikely watching her from the channel.
Match 2
Griffin Colapinto vs. Italo Ferreira
The most hard-fought, back-and-forth heat of the day so far, this shoot-out featured Italo’s air game versus Griffin’s steely, stylish rail game. And while Italo took to the inside and punted, Griff was more disciplined, looking for waves out the back that would allow for a combination of powerful backhand hacks. And in the end, the judges appreciated the more traditional, top-to-bottom approach, awarding Griff with a pair of eights to knock out the former world champ in the dying second of the heat. A good reminder to surf fans out there that sometimes nothing beats a good bottom turn, with Griff advancing he keeps California’s hopes for its first world title since Tom Curren won his third title in 1991.
Caity Simmers vs. Caroline Marks
After dispatching Bettylou in the prior heat, Caroline really started to find her form against Caity. Building scores courtesy a savage forehand attach, it was in this heat where her path to the world title really started to reveal itself. With her family in the channel waving the Florida flag and cheering every time she buzzed by on a jet ski, Caroline’s approach appeared stress free and fluid, taking what the South Pacific gave her and making the most of it. With plenty more work to do again Gabriel Bryant, and then potentially number one seed Molly Picklum, a second world title for Caroline is within reach after “upsetting” Caity.
Match 1
Italo Ferreira vs. Jack Robinson
Prior to the start of the heat, about the time Chris Hemsworth and his family showed up in flotilla of boats, Jack and Italo sat on the bow of the athlete boat together in stone-cold silence. Tension high, focus maxed out, the race for the men’s world title started here. Jack drew first blood with a couple of crisp turns before going down in the barrel. Italo countered with his patented, high-flying approach. Posting a 6-point ride for a lofty full-rotation air, the Brazilian continued to build on his scores while Jack, uncharacteristically going down on a few waves, never really found his rhythm. By the business end of the heat, with shades of last year’s WSL Finals where he went on a fast and furious run to the championship heat, Italo was firing on all cylinders, hammering turns, tube rides and running away with the heat in the end
Caroline Marks vs. Bettylou Sakura
Proving that experience is everything in the pressure cooker that is the WSL Finals, Caroline opened finals day with a comfortable 5-point ride and never looked back against Bettylou. Comfortable, cool, calm, with her family waving the Florida flag in the channel, Caroline leaned into her gold-medal performance from the Olympics and world title-winning Finals experience and made short work of the surfer from Hawaii.
Related: The Biggest Waves Ever Surfed at Cloudbreak (Video)