A Tour With Teeth
The 2025 WSL Men’s Championship Tour never gave anyone a free ride. From the opening horn at Pipeline to the final wave at Cloudbreak, this season was a constant grind of pressure, surprise, and spectacle. With John John Florence sitting out and veterans like Kelly Slater no longer shaping the storyline, the door swung open for a new champion. What followed was a season where reputations were tested, young guns emerged, and the world was reminded why the CT remains surfing’s most brutal gauntlet.
Pipe to Portugal: Setting the Tone
It all began at Pipeline, where Barron Mamiya showed the steel needed to own the most feared reef in the game. A win at Pipe always sets the tone, and Mamiya’s early dominance told the field that the Hawaiian contingent wouldn’t go quietly. From there, the tour jumped to Abu Dhabi, a controversial stop in a man-made setting far from surfing’s roots. But if anyone could turn a pool contest into a show, it was Ítalo Ferreira, whose high-octane surfing carried him to victory.
By Portugal, the season had already established a rhythm: no single surfer was running away with it. Yago Dora rose to the occasion at Supertubos, attacking the tricky beachbreak and planting the first flag in what would become his title campaign.
Mid-Season Madness
El Salvador brought Jordy Smith back into the headlines, a reminder that power surfing still has a place on tour. Then came Bells Beach, where Jack Robinson rang the bell with a win that electrified the home crowd. By the Gold Coast and Margaret River, the stakes sharpened. Filipe Toledo’s fireworks on the points of Snapper were vintage Toledo, while Jordy Smith’s second victory of the season in Margaret River carried extra weight: it was the final event before the dreaded mid-season cut.
The cut once again proved ruthless. Careers hung in the balance, tears were shed on the beach, and the CT’s unforgiving nature was laid bare. Only the sharpest, most adaptable stayed alive for the back half of the year.
The Run to Tahiti
With the pack thinned, the tension only grew. At Trestles, Dora struck again, confirming that Portugal was no fluke. Kanoa Igarashi fought hard in the final, but Dora’s precision and flair gave him the edge. In Rio, Cole Houshmand stunned the crowd and the rankings alike, toppling Griffin Colapinto in front of a roaring Brazilian audience. It was one of those underdog moments that gave the season its texture.
J-Bay was next, and Connor O’Leary etched his name into the year’s narrative with a statement win on the long, unforgiving right-handers. It was the sort of victory that reshapes careers, the kind you can build a future on.
And then came Teahupo’o. Tahiti is always the ultimate test, and Jack Robinson rose to meet it, conquering the heaving slabs and fending off Colapinto in a final that felt like a heavyweight title bout. With Finals spots on the line, the drama was unbearable.
Cloudbreak Decides It All
For the first time, the WSL Finals moved away from California and into the South Pacific, landing at Cloudbreak, Fiji. The change mattered. Gone were the sunny skate-ramp vibes of Lower Trestles; in their place, one of the most dangerous waves on Earth. It was a Finals worthy of the title.
Griffin Colapinto entered with momentum, but it was Yago Dora who held his nerve. After a season of highs and heartbreaks, Dora’s surfing at Cloudbreak was crisp, fearless, and composed. He handled the pressure, adapted to the conditions, and when the horn blew to close the last heat of the season, Dora was the new World Champion.
A Season to Remember
What defined 2025 wasn’t dominance—it was survival. Every stop demanded something different: courage at Pipe, versatility in Portugal, power at Bells, creativity at Trestles, steel at Teahupo’o. Those who lasted proved themselves across the full spectrum of surfing.
Yago Dora’s title wasn’t handed to him by a weak field or soft schedule. He earned it in blood, sweat, and rail-to-rail surfing. This was a season that reminded us why professional surfing matters, why the Championship Tour is still the sport’s sharpest crucible, and why the ocean will always write the final word.
