This guy won’t be there. But the Finals will be a bit different. Photo: WSL
It turns out we won’t have to wait until 2026 to see some changes to the Championship Tour finals format. The WSL announced today in a press release that the upcoming finals event in Fiji will have a few unexpected tricks up its sleeve.
As soon as the WSL went under new management last year, speculation began about how that would affect the league’s format. It turned out that change didn’t take long to come about. It didn’t take long to announce that the controversial final five format would be scrapped for 2026. Instead, the winner will be determined by point standings at the end of the season. The WSL cited surfer and fan feedback in their decision, and CEO Ryan Crosby said that the new format would “represent a new era.”
Though the changes were welcome news to many fans, they still had to make it through one last season with the previous format. However, this new announcement from the WSL means that there will be some changes there, too.
The updates are aimed at giving the top-seeded surfer an advantage in the final five event. The most significant change is that, if the number one seed wins the first heat of the best-of-three World Title match, they will win outright — no second or third heat needed. In addition, the top-seeded surfer in all will start with priority in every match.
“These updates add new weight to the top ranking at the end of the regular season, offering the No. 1 seed a greater competitive advantage heading into the Finals,” wrote the WSL. The move seems to be a sort of half-step between the more unpredictable final five format and the upcoming return to choosing winners based on ranking.
We’ll see how it all goes down at the finals, which will be held at Cloudbreak in Fiji from August 27 through September 4, 2025.
