For the first time since 2017, the entire Championship Tour roster will head to the famed barrier reef of Cloudbreak. Photo: Ed Sloane//WSL
For many of the Championship Tour surfers heading to the Fiji Pro, it will be their first time competing at Cloudbreak. Fiji wasn’t on the tour from 2018 to 2023, and when it returned in 2024, it was just for those who had made the mid-season cut. Then, in 2025, it was an exclusive 10-surfer affair, the last iteration of the Final 5. As a result, there is a lack of historical data on how the tour roster performs at one of surfing’s most well-known barrier reefs.
If Tahiti was an indication of what will play out at Cloudbreak, heavy reef breaks do a good job of shaking up the rankings. The two winners at Teahupo’o, Seth Moniz and Erin Brooks, had been bottom feeders all year until they got a chance to surf a radically different style of wave that favored their surfing. While the forecast for Cloudbreak isn’t quite as massive as what we saw in Fiji, there is some swell on the horizon which should benefit the tour’s best tube riders.
Here are five heats to keep an eye on when the Fiji Pro kicks off on August 25.
Rio Waida versus Griffin Colapinto
Griffin Colapinto and Rio Waida went head-to-head in the Fiji Pro final two years ago. They were both competing at Cloudbreak for the first time. Ultimately, Colapinto’s 12.8 bested Waida’s 10.17, but Waida will get an early chance to settle the score this year in round two.
Colapinto has had Waida’s number on the CT, defeating the Indonesian the three times they’ve matched up — including earlier this month at the Tahiti Pro, where Colapinto dominated with a 19.6 heat total. Colapinto is the clear favorite in this one, but Waida has shown that he can hold his own at Cloudbreak and should keep it interesting.
Erin Brooks versus Bella Kenworthy
Erin Brooks’ Teahupo’o win finally unleashed the potential that had been latent this season. She hadn’t made it past round two all year, but when she found her rhythm, she went all the way to the top of the podium and rose seven spots in the rankings into a requalification position. Cloudbreak, where Brooks won as a wildcard in 2024, is the perfect venue to build on that performance.
She’ll face Bella Kenworthy, who has never competed at Cloudbreak. However, the one time these two matched up in El Salvador last year, Kenworthy got the better of the Canadian. Brooks will have to stay focused to avoid another early exit.
Safe to say a few more left-hand tubes are in the cards for Erin Brooks in Fiji. Photo: Matt Dunbar//WSL
Gabriel Medina versus Joel Vaughan
Anytime Gabriel Medina paddles out at Cloudbreak, it’s must-watch surfing. He’s won the event twice (although it’s been a decade since that last happened), scored 19 excellent waves, and won 72 percent of his heats. His opponent, Joel Vaughan, on the other hand, has never competed at Cloudbreak.
If Medina wins the round two heat, he’s on a round-three collision course with Jack Robinson, another favorite — something to keep an eye on.
Vahine Fierro versus Bettylou Sakura Johnson
Among the many surfers whose Cloudbreak competition surfing is a mystery, Vahine Fierro is intriguing. The Teahupo’o specialist, in theory, should be able to apply her knowledge in the tube to the coral reefs of Fiji. She’s had a rough season and didn’t climb out of her slump at her home break. Perhaps she can do it in Fiji.
Bettylou Sakura Johnson only has one Cloudbreak heat under her belt, which she lost. The one time the two matched up on the Gold Coast last year, Sakura Johnson defeated Fierro.
Can Leo Fioravanti reclaim the rankings lead in Fiji? Photo: Aaron Hughes//WSL
Leo Fioravanti versus the winner of Eli Hanneman and Teo Degei
Leo Fioravanti had an unfortunate heat draw in Tahiti, facing off against tube specialist Ramzi Boukhiam. As Teahupo’o gets bigger, Boukhiam only gets better, and that’s exactly what happened. As a result, Fioravanti’s time atop the tour was short-lived. He fell into second position in the rankings. The Italian can’t get eliminated in round two again if he intends to remain in the title race.
Fioravanti will draw the winner of the round one heat against the trials winner wildcard Teo Degei and Eli Hanneman. If Degei advances, surfing against a local with intimate knowledge of the reef could prove challenging. That said, Fioravanti is a veteran. He should be able to handle it.
