Two struggling surfers have reenergized their 2026 campaigns. Photo: Hannah Anderson//Matt Dunbar//WSL
Seth Moniz and Erin Brooks, two surfers who have struggled mightily on the 2026 Championship Tour, chose the most extreme venue to reverse the trajectory of their seasons. Neither surfer had gotten past the second round in an event this year, but both showed their expertise in powerful barrels to get big wins at the Tahiti Pro.
Moniz’s maiden CT win shot him up 12 spots in the rankings, from near the bottom to 19th overall. The improved ranking will keep him out of round one in the upcoming Fiji Pro and place him in a top-22 requalification position for the 2027 tour. For Brooks, her second CT victory — and first as a full-time tour surfer — moved her up seven spots to number 11 overall, also in a top-14 requalification position in the women’s rankings.
Moniz, who was already emotional and on the verge of tears during his semifinal post-heat interview, earned his win the hard way. He had to claw out of round one against the local wildcard, Eimeo Czermak, and then take out the reigning world champion Yoga Dora, Barron Mamiya, and Italo Ferreira to set him up for a final against one of his best friends and Trilogy co-stars, Griffin Colapinto.
“Seth’s gone out there with a total focus,” Kelly Slater said in the broadcast booth during the final, still in his giddy mood after the barrels he scored in Tahiti. “He probably wants to prove a point to his best buddy — I’ve seen these guys bet on the golf course many times. They’ve bet thousands and thousands of dollars.”
After Colapinto started the final out with two made tubes, the 28-year-old Hawaiian didn’t lose his composure. Instead, Moniz rode even better tubes than his opponent, notching an 8.5 and a 9.07, leaving Colapinto in search of a near-perfect 9.9. In the dying minutes, as Colapinto helplessly watched a potential winning wave roll through, Moniz utilized his priority to take the wave and score a 9.1. It was the best wave of the heat, and closed the door on Colapinto in a combination scenario.
“This whole week has just been surreal,” Moniz said. “Just had this crazy momentum every time, this perfect sync with the ocean.”
Moniz took out two world champions and a local Teahupo’o specialist to earn his maiden CT victory. Photo: Matt Dunbar//WSL
Even Slater felt the weight of the moment from the broadcast booth.
“I’m almost teared up here for Seth,” Slater said. “He’s had a tough year, so to turn it around right now and follow his feeling in his gut, and then have the result, is really special. I don’t know if it gets better than what Seth just did. That’s an incredible way to start your first win ever on the tour.”
Erin Brooks also had a daunting path to the final, showing resolve well beyond her 19 years of age. She took out the local Tya Zebrowski, then mowed down a couple of world champions in Carissa Moore and Molly Picklum, and finally beat Isabella Nichols to make her first final of the year.
The women’s final, Brooks against rookie Anat Lelior, unraveled similarly to the men’s. Lelior, who hadn’t notched an excellent wave score all event, managed to get two in a row to kick off the final. Then, she baited Brooks to give up her priority. It appeared that everything was destined to go Lelior’s way until Brooks found an excellent ride of her own, and then backed it up with a heat-best 8.93 on a long, technical barrel.
“I honestly thought I was out,” Brooks said after the win. “I mean, (I was) in a combo really early. I knew I had time, but it’s super hard to get good waves, and Anat really made me nervous. But I’m just so happy. I haven’t had a win in so long.”
Brooks’ barrel skills made her opponents look outmatched during the Tahiti Pro. Photo: Matt Dunbar//WSL
The Tahiti Pro shook up the top of the men’s ranking. Leo Fioravanti’s reign in the top slot was short-lived, as an early round-two elimination by Ramzi Boukhiam opened the door for Italo Ferreira to retake the lead and build on it with a semifinal appearance. Ferreira now has 5,000 points separating him from Fioravanti. Yago Dora held his third-place spot while Miguel Pupo moved up to fourth, swapping spots with Gabriel Medina, now fifth.
On the women’s side, the top three surfers all went down in round two, so there was no change in rankings. Gabriela Bryan still leads, followed by Carissa Moore and Sawyer Lindblad. Molly Picklum moved up to fourth, and Luana Silva fell a spot to fifth.
Notably, Caity Simmers, currently in sixth place overall, didn’t finish her heat due to a heavy fall on the inside portion of the reef. The 2024 world champ spilled over the shallows mid-heat, then sat in the channel with medical personnel while appearing to be in pain as she grabbed her back and tested her mobility. Ultimately, she did not paddle back out in the heat and was defeated by Yolanda Hopkins.
The tour now heads to Fiji, with a window running August 25 through September 4, an event that Brooks won in 2024 as a wildcard.
