Jordy Smith at Cloudbreak. Photo: Aaron Hughes//World Surf League
Did you know Jack Robinson and Jordy Smith have only surfed in the same two-man Championship Tour heat once? It was the quarterfinal of the 2022 Margaret River Pro. Did you know that Italo Ferreira has surfed head-to-head against the rest of this year’s final five 25 times in his career? Did you know Griffin Colapinto doesn’t have a career winning record against any surfer in the field for this year’s WSL Finals? Did you know Jordy Smith has never won a head-to-head heat against two surfers in this year’s WSL Finals field (Jack Robinson and Yago Dora)?
Those are all totally random stats about the men’s field in this season’s WSL Finals – also the final iteration of the format. And you would only know those things if you’ve dug through old heat draws and results from past CT contests — something only a nerd would do.
In all seriousness, while stats never predict future outcomes when it comes to sports (mostly), they can tell interesting stories and reveal unexpected insight. For a quick reminder, the final five are seeded like this: Yago Dora (1), Jordy Smith (2), Griffin Colapinto (3), Jack Robinson (4), and Italo Ferreira (5). Make what you will with the following information. Here are all the head-to-head records between each surfer in this year’s WSL Finals field:
Italo Ferreira vs the field
vs Jack Robinson: 3 wins, 4 losses (spicy little rivalry developing here)
vs Griffin Colapinto: 3 wins, 1 loss
vs Jordy Smith: 4 wins, 3 losses
vs Yago Dora: 4 wins, 3 losses
Jack Robinson vs the field
vs Italo Ferreira: 4 wins, 3 losses
vs Griffin Colapinto: 2 wins, 2 losses
vs Jordy Smith: 1 win
vs Yago Dora: 4 wins, 3 losses
Griffin Colapinto vs the field
vs Italo Ferreira: 1 win, 3 losses
vs Jack Robinson: 2 wins, 2 losses
vs Jordy Smith: 2 wins, 5 losses
vs Yago Dora: 2 wins, 6 losses
Jordy Smith vs the field
vs Italo Ferreira: 3 wins, 4 losses
vs Jack Robinson: 1 loss
vs Griffin Colapinto: 5 wins, 2 losses
vs Yago Dora: 3 losses
Yago Dora vs the field
vs Italo Ferreira: 3 wins, 4 losses
vs Jack Robinson: 3 wins, 4 losses
vs Griffin Colapinto: 6 wins, 2 losses
vs Jordy Smith: 3 wins
