STEPHANIE GILMORE: RECORD 8X WORLD CHAMPION…FELIPE TOLEDO NEW WORLD CHAMP: Rip Curl WSL Finals

Stephanie beat Carissa in Title Match 2…Winning the event and her record 8th Title. She is now the greatest of all time.

Felipe overtakes Italo to win his maiden World Title after 9 years of hard work, fulfilling his biggest dream.

Final Heats start around 2pm~ We get 2 World Champs just after 3pm West coast time… (Noonish in Hawaii)

NEW SSW FILLED INTO HEAD HIGH PLUS SOLID WITH SMOOTH CONDITIONS 1ST PART OF THE DAY! MODERATE ONSHORE BUMPINESS NOON-3PM. SNN

Match 1: Coming from behind, Stephanie Gilmore takes out Brisa Hennessy in final minutes when Brisa mistakenly gives up her priority.

Match 1: Italo Ferriera comes from behind to beat Kanoa Igarashi with one insane air reverse.

Match 2: Gilmore gets through to match 3 by outperforming Weston-Webb.

Match 2: Italo Ferreira take down Ethan Ewing’s hope of his first title. Italo one step closer.

Match 3: Gilmore overwhelms Johanne Defay and now will meet Carissa Moore in the Title Match.

Match 3: Italo leaves Jack Robinson behind and will take on fellow Brazilian Felipe Toledo in the Title Match.

Title Match Heat 1: Carissa Moore loses to Stephanie Gilmore…who is now one heat away from an all-time record 8 World Titles!

Title Match Heat 1: Felipe Toledo barely beats Italo Ferreira…

Title Match Heat 2: #5 seed, Gilmore gets thru 5 heats to take down the Top Seed and 5X World Champ, Carissa Moore.

Gilmore now has an Historic 8X World Championships. The Gr8test of All Time!

Title Match Heat 2: Toledo takes out Ferreira to win his inaugural World Title.

Rip Curl WSL Finals Started at 8:00 AM PT Thursday -day one of holding period- and finished 3pm West coast time

Pictured: The Final 5 men and Final 5 women will compete today for the 2022 World Championship at the Rip Curl WSL Finals. Credit: © WSL

LOWER TRESTLES, San Clemente, Calif. (September 8, 2022) – The 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals, the final event of the 2022 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), is ON at 8:00 a.m. PT. Pristine, four-to-six foot swell pulses through the iconic lineup of Lower Trestles to provide a canvas for the final showdown of 2022 to determine the men’s and women’s World Champions.

Women’s Match 1 will be first in the water with 35-minute heats, followed by men’s Match 1, women’s and men’s Match 2, and women’s and men’s Match 3. Then, the winners of Match 3 will face the top seeds in a best-of-three Title Match.

The first match of the day will be a battle of the veteran vs. the rising World Title threat as seven-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) takes on WSL Final 5 newcomer Brisa Hennessy (CRI).

The Women’s Match 1 will be followed by men’s Match 1, featuring a highly-anticipated fourth CT bout between 2019 WSL Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, Italo Ferreira (BRA) and World Title contender, Olympic Silver Medalist, Kanoa Igarashi (JPN).

Ten competitors will enter, and one woman and one man will leave as the new 2022 World Champions, getting to hoist the iconic WSL Champion Trophy high. The trophy is an artistic masterpiece with the previous World Champions’ names inscribed, and by the end of today, two more will be added.

Watch LIVE
The event window for the Rip Curl WSL Finals opens on September 8 and holds a competition window through September 16, 2022. The event will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, WSL’s YouTube channel, and the free WSL app. Check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.

The Rip Curl WSL Finals is proudly supported by Rip Curl, Red Bull, Oakley, Turtle Bay, 805, Flying Embers, Sambazon, Tequila Eterno Verano, Shiseido, Pura Vida, Hydro Flask, Expedia, 805 Beer, Alaska Airlines, Fu Wax, True Surf, and Turtle Bay.

LOWER TRESTLES, San Clemente, Calif., USA (September 7, 2022) – The World Surf League (WSL) has put the World Title-deciding Rip Curl WSL Finals on Yellow Alert for a probable start within 24 hours from now. The forecast at Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif.
looks very promising for the men and women’s WSL Final 5 to face-off for the World Title. This one-day, winner-take-all event will decide the undisputed 2022 World Champions. Tune-in tomorrow, September 8 at 7:30am PDT for the official call, where the competition could be ON at 8:00am PDT.

Pictured: Filipe Toledo (BRA) in the inaugural Rip Curl WSL Finals. Credit: © WSL / Nolan

“We’re going on Yellow Alert for a possible start in the next 24 hours,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL SVP of Tours and Head of Competition. “Right now it looks like we’ve got great waves on Thursday and Friday on the forecast, but we do have this potential storm with the potential for onshore winds for Friday. Having said that, that’s why we’re going on Yellow Alert. We know we’re going to get good waves and we could be on.”

All eyes will be on the Rip Curl WSL Finals and the world’s best surfers including ranking’s leaders Carissa Moore (HAW) and Filipe Toledo (BRA) as they try to fend off a hungry field of contenders looking to dismantle their phenomenal seasons.

Olympic Medalists Italo Ferreira and Kanoa Igarashi Kickoff World-Class Clashes To Start the Day

A battle of Olympic Medalists will start the hunt for a World Title with Gold Medalist Italo Ferreira (BRA) taking on Silver Medalist Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) in men’s Match 1. This will not be the first time the two have faced off with Igarashi leading the duals two-to-one, but it will be the most important.

“I think Italo (Ferreira) and I have had a lot of heats together and I think I owe him one (laughs),” said Igarashi. “ If someone were to ask me if I had to pick one surfer to compete against at Lowers it’d be Italo. In saying that, it’s a huge task at hand and if I want to be a World Champion there’s a lot of other guys I have to go against, but right now I just have to focus on my first heat.”

A marathon Rip Curl WSL Finals day awaits for the likes of Igarashi and seven-time WSL Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), who are both seeded No. 5 and have the longest path to achieve a World Title. Depending on how the action goes, it could come down to the two most decorated women on the CT, Gilmore and five-time World Champion Moore in the Title Match. If Gilmore were to take the win she would have the most women’s World Titles in history, but Moore is hot on her heels.

“It’s amazing that Carissa (Moore) has five World Titles now and is going for a sixth, that’s a little scary (laughs),” said Gilmore. “An eighth World Title would be amazing and I’m excited for the opportunity.”

World No. 2 Jack Robinson (AUS), and World No. 3 Ethan Ewing (AUS), both have a shot at being the first man to bring home a World Title for Australia since Mick Fanning in 2013 to revitalize one of surfing’s powerhouse nations.

“It’s been a pretty stressful year with not much time between events to take it all in but I’m excited to be here,” said Ewing. “All these guys and women just inspire me everyday to be better and I’m happy to be here with them. I’m just going to do my best and see where it takes me.”

Pictured: (From left): Ethan Ewing (AUS), Johanne Defay (FRA), Filipe Toledo (BRA) at the Rip Curl WSL Finals press conference. Credit: © WSL / Nolan

Johanne Defay (FRA) is already ahead of where she ended last season, coming to the Rip Curl WSL Finals as World No. 2 after entering as World No. 5 in 2021. The French competitor surged through the 2022 season but will have to deal with the winner of women’s Match 2 featuring 2021 World Title runner-up Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) and the winner of women’s Match 1, Gilmore or 2022 standout Brisa Hennessy (CRI).

“I started fifth last year and I’m second this year so it’s a big change and I feel ready to take on the challenge,” said Defay. “I think it’s way better to be second, there are less heats to do and just like everybody else I think it was a big year. We are all super tired but at the same time proud, and I feel like everybody is taking it very simply and just wants to put on their best. I think a good show is coming.”

All roads lead to the grand finale, the Title Match with World No. 1s Moore and Toledo. All competitors are looking to cement themselves in surfing history on the sport’s most highly-anticipated day of competition, but only one woman and one man will walk away with the honor of being this year’s World Champion.

COVID-19 Updates
The health and safety of our athletes, staff, and the local community are of the utmost importance and the WSL has been working closely with local authorities to put a robust set of procedures in place to keep everyone safe.

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.