The World Surf League (WSL) has announced significant changes to its Championship Tour (CT) format, effective 2026. The most notable alteration sees the iconic Pipe Masters in Hawaii return as the season-ending event, where world champions will be crowned. This revamp also eliminates the controversial "Final Five" surf-off and non-elimination rounds, responding to widespread surfer and fan feedback.
A New Era for the Championship Tour
The 2026 season, marking the 50th year of professional surfing, will introduce a 12-stop schedule running from April to December. The tour will commence in Australia and culminate at Pipeline. This new structure aims to combine the excitement of a high-stakes finale with the depth of a full-season title race, moving away from the one-day surf-off format implemented in 2021.
Key Takeaways
- Pipeline Returns as Finale: The Pipe Masters will once again be the decisive event, awarding 15,000 points (1.5 times a standard CT event), making it the most consequential stop on the tour.
- End of "Final Five": The controversial one-day surf-off for the world title has been scrapped, with champions determined by cumulative season-long points.
- No More Non-Elimination Rounds: All CT events will feature a streamlined format where every heat is an elimination heat, increasing stakes and optimizing conditions.
- Expanded Women’s Field: The women’s CT field will grow from 18 to 24 surfers, fostering more opportunities and global representation.
- Cumulative Rankings: World Titles will be based on a surfer’s best nine of 12 results across the season.
Tour Structure and Qualification
The 2026 CT will feature nine "regular season" events. Following these, the field will be narrowed from 36 men and 24 women to 24 men and 16 women for two "postseason" events in Abu Dhabi and Portugal. Surfers will carry their best seven of nine regular season results into this stage. The full CT fields will then rejoin for the Pipe Masters, where the top eight men and women will receive deeper seeding in the draw.
Surfer and Fan Feedback Drives Change
WSL CEO Ryan Crosby emphasized that these changes were a direct response to feedback from surfers and fans. The decision to move Pipeline back to the season’s end, a position it held for men’s surfing until 2019, reflects a desire to honor surfing’s legacy and create a more compelling narrative for the world title race. The WSL has also acquired the intellectual property rights to the Pipe Masters title from Vans, with Vans becoming the exclusive footwear and apparel partner for the event.
The 2026 Championship Tour Schedule
- Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia
- Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia
- Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia
- Punta Roca, El Salvador
- Saquarema, Brazil
- Jeffreys Bay, South Africa
- Teahupo’o, Tahiti
- Cloudbreak, Fiji
- Lower Trestles, California, USA (End of regular season, start of postseason)
- Surf Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Peniche, Portugal
- Pipe Masters, Hawai‘i, USA (Full CT fields rejoin postseason surfers to compete for Pipe Masters Titles)
Sources
- [World Surf League admits horrible mistake, drops "final five" and moves Pipeline back to season ender in ’26!
- BeachGrit](https://beachgrit.com/2025/05/world-surf-league-admits-horrible-mistake-drops-final-five-and-moves-pipeline-back-to-season-ender/), BeachGrit.
- World Surf League revamps Championship Tour format, putting Pipe Masters in the spotlight, NBC Sports.
- World Surf League Scraps Final 5 Format, Will End Season at Pipeline in 2026, The Inertia.
- World Surf League’s Championship Tour will end at Pipeline, Spectrum News.
- Breaking: Pipeline To Return As Final CT Stop For 2026, While Mid-Year Cut And WSL Finals Will Depart, Stab Mag.
