Surfing Finals Relocate to Fiji’s Legendary Cloudbreak in 2025
Professional surfing’s one-day, winner-takes-all finals event is moving from California to Fiji’s Cloudbreak, renowned for its challenging and iconic waves.
The World Surf League (WSL) announced that the 2025 finals will shift from Lower Trestles in San Clemente to Fiji’s famous break, offering a prime opportunity for Australian surfers like Jack Robinson and Molly Picklum to vie for their first world title.
Since 2021, the Championship Tour champions have been decided through the “Final Five” event, where the fifth-placed surfer competes against the fourth, with the winner advancing to face the third-ranked surfer, continuing in this fashion. This format benefits the top-ranked surfer, who needs to win just one heat, and those who perform well under the day’s conditions.
Lower Trestles is known for its high-performance, less intense waves, favoring surfers skilled in small-wave and aerial maneuvers. Brazil’s Filipe Toledo, dominant in these conditions, has won the last two men’s titles at Trestles, while Carissa Moore (Hawaii), Steph Gilmore (Australia), and Caroline Marks (USA) have secured women’s championships.
Toledo, often criticized for his performance in heavier waves like Teahupo’o and Pipeline, will not compete this year due to mental health reasons, ensuring a new champion will emerge in September.
Cloudbreak offers a stark contrast to Trestles with its fast-breaking left-hand barrels over shallow reefs, challenging regular-footed surfers on their backhand. It is a formidable wave, previously hosting events in five- and six-meter swells, favoring big-wave specialists like Robinson, Picklum, and world No.1 John John Florence from Hawaii.
Robinson and Picklum have excelled in similar conditions at Pipeline, making them strong contenders for the upcoming Olympic surfing event at Tahiti’s Teahupo’o. Former Australian pro Owen Wright also achieved a “perfect 20” at Cloudbreak in 2015, and 11-time world champion Kelly Slater considers it one of his favorite waves.
“Cloudbreak is truly one of the best waves in the world, and hosting the finals there will be incredible,” said WSL chief executive Ryan Crosby. “It’s the perfect place to showcase the surfers’ progression and crown our champions.”
The Fiji Pro will rejoin the Championship Tour for the first time since 2017, as the tour’s first event post-Olympics. The next tour stop is Brazil’s Rio Pro, starting Saturday, where Robinson and fellow Australian Ethan Ewing can potentially secure spots in this year’s finals. In the women’s rankings, Picklum holds a strong position, with Tyler Wright as another Australian contender.
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