Caity Simmers is most certainly on a season-long, world-title worthy heater. Photo: Daniel Smorigo//World Surf League
The Oi Rio Pro had similarly mediocre waves as years past but that didn’t mean the performances dipped. Italo Ferreira negotiated the dreaded backwash with Main Character Energy, Caity Simmers and John Florence domination means fans are sure to question the format, Gabriela Bryan broke through and Ethan Ewing went “meh.” With eight Championship Tour events down, and Fiji left, the Oi Rio Pro threw up almost as many questions as it did closeouts. Here we attempt to answer those burning queries.
Florence and Simmers Domination Raises Finals Integrity Question (Again)
For those old enough to remember the first-past-the-post world titles, about now we would be trawling through the world title scenarios for the final event. “If John John loses in the quarters, Griffin fails to the make the final and a seagull shits on Jack Robinson in Round 2, then Italo can’t win at Pipe,” the World Surf League’s Renato Hinkle would send out outlining the surfer’s chances.
The WSL Finals format has removed the complicated math….and the rewards for doing quite well. The runaway ratings leaders John John Florence and Caitlin Simmers look like the biggest possible losers in the new(ish) system. Simmers’ win in Rio was her third CT of the year, giving her a 5,000-plus point lead going into Fiji. In the old system (though to be fair Caity was just 13 the last time that was in place) such domination would have been enough to have all but secured a world title. However, she will know that Carissa Moore also won three events last year, only to fall at the hurdle put in her place at Trestles. The year before, Steph Gilmore won her 8th World Title, despite finishing more than 10,000 ranking points behind Moore. You wonder why she bailed this year. The integrity of the WSL Format diminishes when there’s a dominant surfer throughout the season.
John John Florence too would have claimed his world title in Brazil under the old system. His 10,000-point lead would have been insurmountable. And yet his remarkable consistency (he’s made the final in four of the eight events) will count for now, when he gets to Trestles. And yes, the Finals’ format does provide solid weighting based on final positioning, but try telling that to Carissa Moore. It will always split surf fans into two camps, and the move to Fiji next year will undoubtedly boost its popularity. However, in the cases where a surfer, or surfers, have dominated their opponents all year, it brings its integrity issues into even sharper relief.
Italo could most certainly make noise at Lowers. Photo: Daniel Smorigo//World Surf League
Italo Ferreira’s Main Character Energy
Italo, though, won’t give a shit. The WSL Finals have given him another shot at a world title, and with his confidence sky high, like his ranking, he’s rocketed into contention. He was the last men’s surfer to win a world title on points when he dramatically sealed a win at Pipeline in 2019. Since the WSL Finals were introduced he’s finished as runner-up and third, before last year, which was his worst on tour since 2018.
That form continued in 2024. Was it the disappointment of missing the Olympics, or a general air of distraction? At one stage he was in real danger of missing the cut. The intensity of Tahiti changed his game, and Rio provided the crowds, and the ramps, that he thrives on. Unlike all the other contenders, the Olympics won’t provide a distraction, and he now has six weeks off to focus on Cloudbreak.
He has competed in Fiji in 2015 and 2016, suffering early-round losses both times. But Italo is a different person and surfer from earlier this year, let alone eight years ago. With a single focus and now a clear path to a world title, his Main Character Energy has ignited the race.
Race For Fifth: Ethan Goes Meh
It’s not so much that Ethan Ewing has tailed off at the wrong time. It’s more that he’s never really taken off at all in 2024. Having fought back from a spinal injury to make the Finals in 2023, it looked like the most technically proficient and stylish surfer on tour was ready for a huge step up. And yet, it’s been largely a meh type of year.
His quarterfinal loss to Finals rival Jordy Smith was fairly representative. Poor wave selection and a lack of aggression cost him in a tight, low-scoring heat. He’s only made it past the Quarters once all year (a final in Portugal), and his three ninths and three fifths aren’t screaming world title form. With Yago Dora making back-to-back finals now breathing down his neck in sixth, and Smith and Medina within striking distance, it all comes down to Cloudbreak for Ewing. An average result won’t cut it.
Gabriela Bryan is finally getting comfortable on the CT. Photo: Daniel Smorigo//World Surf League
A Straight Shoot Out Between Bryan and Defay?
In the women’s, Gabriela Bryan has been the breakout star of 2024. Her maiden CT win in Margaret River secured not only her place on tour but the confidence to launch a serious attack on a Finals place. Now 22, and in her third year on the CT, the experience is starting to show. Working with Richard “Dog” Marsh, and surfing with his stable of Ryan Callinan and Conor O’Leary has benefited her, too.
Her post-cut consistency has seen her grab a slender lead over the veteran Johanne Defay and it looks like it could be a straight shoot-out between the pair for a spot at Trestles. Defay has won in Fiji before, and her backhand is lethal, so she should be considered a favorite. Yet the underrated Hawaiian took out Defay in Rio in Round 4, and is now believing that she belongs at this level. The Bryan-Defay battle could be one of the more compelling storylines of the Fiji event.
