Rachael Tilly and Kai Ellice-Flint, in celebration mode. Photo: Thiago Diz//WSL
Rachael Tilly and Kai Ellice-Flint won 2025 World Longboard Titles with victories at the Surf City El Salvador Longboard Championships. The win caps off back-to-back world titles for Tilly and the third of her career overall (2015, 2024, 2025). The win for Kai Ellice-Flint, meanwhile, is the Australian’s first world title.
The 25-year-old Ellice-Flint won both the Gold Coast Open and the Lexus US Open of Surfing earlier this year. Those results propelled him to second overall going into the winner-take-all event in El Salvador. As the second seed, Ellice Flint didn’t have to surf until the third through eighth seeded surfers had been filtered down to just two. Ellice-Flint then took down Taylor Jensen in Match 4, which set up a best two-out-of-three matchup against top-ranked Edouard Delpero. He won their two opening heats in dominant fashion, posting 17.67 and 16.00 heat totals.
“I wish I had words for it. I have so much love for what CJ [Nelson] has done for me, what my family has done for me, with all the support and how they’ve been there for me through my sacrifices in this life for me,” said Ellice-Flint. “It’s been a hell of a journey. I lack a little bit of self-confidence and critique everything all the time, always trying to better something – a better board design or something. It’s ingrained in me. I want to do better, be better, and be the best. Build the best boards that I possibly can and put them under my feet.”
Photo: Thiago Diz//WSL
Tilly, meanwhile, was a major underdog when the event began. As the seventh-ranked surfer on tour, she had to advance through two opening three-person heats to start the day. Next up were head-to-head heats (and wins) against Honolua Blomfield and Soleil Errico, setting up the best-of-three title bout with yellow jersey-holder Avalon Gall. Tilly won their first two heats to wrap up a day featuring six heat wins and her second consecutive world title.
“It feels unreal. I feel really tired and in that heat, I just thought, please just get it done in this heat, because now all of the work today is really catching up,” said Tilly. “Obviously, it was well worth it. I have no words. Honolua [Blomfield] and Soleil [Errico] have had three World Titles forever, and I’ve always been so inspired by them, and they set that bar. I’ve just been reaching for that bar. I’ve worked hard for this, and I love Sunzal, I love El Salvador. I walked into today with no expectations, and no part of me thought that this was possible.”
