All’s Well That Ends Well in Fiji
Table of Contents
Yago Dora and Molly Picklum Claim Well-Deserved World Titles
Instagram: @wsl
The Finals Day Controversy
There's been a lot of discussion about the World Surf League's Finals Day experiment over the past five years. For those who haven't been following the controversy, recently ousted Erik Logan implemented a new format when he was CEO of the World Surf League, wherein the world title was decided in a one-day, winner-takes-all event at the end of the season, contested by the top five women and top five men at the end of the regular season.
Problems with the Finals Format
While the motivation behind this concept was understandable—it guaranteed drama at the end of the season, rather than allowing for someone to potentially wrap up the title three or four events before season's end, making the last few events anticlimactic—it also had a number of problems. The biggest of these is that surfing does happen on a static playing field. Unlike skating and snowboarding, where everyone gets a chance to hit the exact same features, surfing happens in the ocean, where wave selection and luck play a huge part in who wins. In addition, some surfers are better in small, rippable waves, while others thrive in large, hollow waves. A multi-event tour at a variety of different waves that awards the most consistent performer all year is the only way to mitigate these variables, which is why the world tour has historically utilized this format.
Lower Trestles Dominance
The one-day finals event not only introduces a huge amount of luck and one-day momentum into the mix, but also makes the title all about one type of surfing on one particularly wave. And for four of the past five years, that wave has been Lower Trestles—not exactly a wave of consequence. Essentially, if you could make the top five by the end of the year and were a good Trestles surfer, you had a great chance of winning the world title—even if you were tens of thousands of points behind the top-rated surfer (who would have historically been crowned world champion).
Historical Impact on Champions
This happened a few years ago, when Steph Gilmore stormed her way from fifth seed all the way to the world title, despite coming into finals day nearly 20,000 points behind Carissa Moore. Carissa, for her part, missed out on two world titles due to this format—which means that, if it weren't for Erik Loga, Carissa would currently be tied with Steph and Layne Beachley with a record seven world titles.
On the men's side, things have always ironed out the way they should have, with the top-seeded man winning the title on finals day. But even the chance that things could have gone otherwise has always rubbed most of the athletes wrong, which is why everyone was relieved this year when the new CEO of the World Surf League announced that the tour would be reverting to the normal format in 2026, with Pipeline the last stop of the year and the surfer with the most cumulative points after Pipe winning the title.
2025 Fiji Finals Day
Before we could get back to normal, however, we had one more Finals Day to endure—the 2025 world title showdown, this time scheduled in Fiji instead of Southern California. There was a ton of hype coming into the event, with double-overhead+ waves forecasted and a chance of the event running at Restaurants. When dawn broke on September 2, however, Restaurants was flat and Cloudbreak was a slow three to four foot, with clean conditions set to deteriorate by midday. The crew was sent out for get the job done, and everyone hoped things would shake out as they should.
Men's Competition: Yago Dora's Triumph
As it turned out, they did—perhaps proving the haters wrong when it comes to Finals Day. Most people are still probably pretty glad that this experiment is over, but at least the last Finals Day produced the correct winners. Despite an inspired rampage by Griffin Colapinto, who beat Italo Ferreira and Jordy Smith on his way to the final class with Yago Dora, it was the humble Brazilian tour leader who earned his first world title at Cloudbreak after a dominant heat against the young Californian upstart.
Photo from: FCS
Yago is a quiet, unassuming journeyman competitor who has worked hard to improve his game over the past few years, and was the deserving world champ this year, especially when you consider he finished the "regular season" nearly 5000 points ahead of the second-seeded surfer.
Instagram: @wsl
Women's Competition: Molly Picklum's Dominance
On the women's side, Molly Picklum came into finals day sitting in pole position after the most dominant year of competitive surfing we've ever seen. Out of 11 events, Molly made the quarterfinals or better in every event but one. She made the semis or better in eight out of 11 events, and she made an incredible five finals. Her final tally was two wins, three seconds, three thirds, two fifths, and one ninth, with an incredible total of 71,145 points. No one was arguing the fact that she deserved the world title—but in order to claim it, she had to get past a rampaging Caroline marks, who came into the event ranked fourth and looked set to do what Steph Gilmore had done a few years before.
Instagram: @wsl
The Final Showdown
Marks dominate the first three heats against Bettylou Sakura Johnson, Caity Simmers, and Gabriela Bryan, then won her first heat against Molly Picklum, sending the world title to a best-of-three decider. But before Marks could snatch her second championship in three years, the season's best surfer finally woke up and put together to banger heats. Molly ultimately combo-ed Marks, claiming her first world title and ensuring that, in the end, everything happened as it should have in Fiji.
Return to Traditional Format
Now that the 2025 world tour is done and dusted, we can finally look forward to getting back to normal. In 2026, the tour will start in Australia, just like it used to—and, more importantly, it will end at Pipe, where it belongs. In the meantime, the first little swell of the fall is about to fill in on the North Shore, which means it's time to put away our live-streams and dust off our boards. Bula vinaka, aloha, and mahalo, World Surf League!
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2025 WSL World Championships?
Yago Dora won the men's 2025 WSL World Championship, while Molly Picklum claimed the women's world title at the Finals Day event in Fiji.
What was controversial about the WSL Finals Day format?
The Finals Day format was controversial because it decided world titles in a single day rather than rewarding season-long consistency. This introduced luck and wave-specific conditions that could favor certain surfers over the season's most consistent performers.
When will WSL return to the traditional format?
The WSL will return to the traditional cumulative points format in 2026, with the tour ending at Pipeline in Hawaii where the surfer with the most points after all events will be crowned world champion.
How dominant was Molly Picklum's 2025 season?
Molly Picklum had the most dominant year of competitive surfing ever seen, making quarterfinals or better in 10 out of 11 events, reaching 5 finals, and accumulating 71,145 points with two wins, three seconds, and three thirds.
Where was the 2025 WSL Finals held?
The 2025 WSL Finals was held in Fiji at Cloudbreak, marking a change from the previous four years when most Finals events were held at Lower Trestles in California.
What impact did the Finals format have on Carissa Moore?
Carissa Moore missed out on two world titles due to the Finals Day format, which means she could have tied the record of seven world titles with Steph Gilmore and Layne Beachley if the traditional format had been used.
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