SA's Jordy Smith will surf for a WORLD title in Fiji
There were plenty of last-minute changes further down the seeding in Tahiti. However, SA's Jordy Smith remained static in second place on the rankings thanks to the points he accumulated throughout the regular season. And Brazil's Yago Dora stayed in number one, despite falling foul of the yellow jersey curse and dropping out before the quarter finals.
Nevertheless, with the final seeding decided, SA's Jordy Smith knows exactly what he has to do in Fiji in two weeks' time to win that elusive world title. How the WSL Final Five works is man-on-man heats, starting with the fifth and fourth seeds. In this case, Brazil's Italo Ferreira and Jack Robinson from Australia. The 38-year old pulls into a cavernous barrel this past week in Tahiti. Image: WSL
The winner of that heat takes on California Griffin Colapinto. The winner of that heat will face number two seed, SA's Jordy Smith. So, for our Big Bru to win his first world title he'll have to surf twice. Once to defeat the challenger from below, and then once more to defeat number one seed Yago Dora. What SA's Jordy Smith has in his favour, however, is the following:
Firstly, Cloudbreak in Fiji is an extremely heavy deep-water wave, which tends to suit the big South African's technique. The event window runs from 27 August to 4 September 2025 for one day of competition. This means the WSL will only run when the waves are at their absolute biggest and best. Secondly, the pressure of the number one jersey has only been a curse so far, with the surfer wearing it rarely moving beyond the early rounds in 2025. Thirdly, Dora's aerial acrobatics are unlikely to factor in the scoring for the heavy water of Fiji. SA's Jordy Smith defeated Matt McGillivray in El Salvador earlier this year in a historic all-Saffa final. Image: WSL/File/Fotor
What remains to be seen is the confidence of SA's Jordy Smith when he paddles out at Cloudbreak in two weeks' time. The Big Bru had his chance to shut down the world title race in J-Bay, in front of his home crowd, but let the opportunity slip by bowing out early. The waves went sleepy on him and he dropped anchor waiting for a bomb of a wave that never came.
Thankfully, the WSL Final Five format won't allow that to happen again. The highest seed starts each heat with priority, which means SA's Jordy Smith will have to get busy early. And he tends to perform better when he scores early, catches a lot of waves and builds momentum and confidence. That's how the veteran has had the most impressive year of his 18-year career on tour. He's won two events in a single year for the first time ever and walked away with a brand-new car by claiming the 'Aussie Treble.'
Be sure to tune into the WSL from Wednesday 27 August 2025 onwards to see SA's Jordy Smith do us proud and give it his all for a world title in Fiji.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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