After five events, we’ve officially reached the halfway point of the 2022 Championship Tour season. The mid-season cut sent a host of athletes packing, leaving just ten women and 22 men (plus one wildcard each) to battle it out for a spot in the WSL Finals at Trestles. On both the men’s and the women’s side of the draw there are plenty of familiar names up the top of the world rankings, while a handful of surprise packets have also emerged. Let’s take a look at how the top ten ranked men are looking for the run home, as well as a few further down the rankings likely to creep up the leaderboard.
1. Filipe Toledo (24,440 points)
With Gabriel Medina out, Toledo has taken over the mantle as the best Brazilian in the world, and with the yellow jersey on his back you could arguably remove the word Brazilian from that sentence. His year has been highlighted by a second place finish at Supertubos followed by a win at Bells, and while his best surfing has come in smaller conditions – as it usually does – he has also impressed in the heavier waves in which he doesn’t normally excel. Last year’s world title runner-up has a near 6,000-point buffer in the top five, and is perfectly poised for another crack at what would be his first ever world title.
2. John John Florence (23,375 points)
The Championship Tour is better when John John is fit and firing, and he’s as close to that as he has been for years. Ominously for his competitors, Florence has still looked a little shakier than usual at various points this season, but nonetheless has racked up four quarterfinals appearances in five events, and his last three tournament finishes read 3rd, 5th and 2nd. He was brilliant as usual at the most recent event in Margaret River, stopped only by a rampaging local by the name of Jack Robinson, and in the position he’s in deserves to be favourite for the world title at this point in the season.
3. Jack Robinson (22,160 points)
Speaking of that rampaging Margaret River local, Robinson’s win at his home break sent him flying up ten spots in the world rankings from 13th into 3rd. The win followed a 3rd place finish at Bells, meaning that in the space of a couple of events he’s gone from in danger of missing the cut to a genuine title threat. The talented West Australian has for years demonstrated his ability to compete with the best even before he joined the tour full time, and though his first full year in 2021 didn’t go exactly to plan, he did finish it with a win in Mexico and has carried that form through to this year. He’s surfed well in a variety of conditions so far this year, and with the form he’s in would be backing himself to make an appearance at Trestles in a few months.
4. Ethan Ewing (19,585 points)
Ewing is the second talented young Australian to make a major leap forward this year, fulfilling the potential which has been so evident in him for a number of years. In his past couple of years on tour, that potential hasn’t translated into much success in the water at a CT level, but this year he has been terrific. He’s made the semi-finals in three of the five events this year, and though he hasn’t gone any further than that, those results have been enough to see him sitting in 4th place in the world rankings halfway through the year.
5. Italo Ferreira (18,895 points)
Anything less than a WSL Finals appearance would be a failure for Ferreira, and at the moment he’s right on the precipice of the top five. The stocky Brazilian is a former world champion and finished second at the end of the regular season last year behind only Medina, who hasn’t yet pulled on the jersey this year. He started this season poorly in Hawaii, finishing 9th and 17th in those two events, but since then he’s started to click into gear with a 3rd and a couple of 5ths. If he continues that form he will be expecting to be at Trestles once again, where he will be a threat from wherever he finishes.
6. Kanoa Igarashi (18,620 points)
Igarashi has improved every year that he’s been on tour, and that trend looked likely to continue when he had the yellow jersey on three events into the year. In the Australian leg, however, the ultra-consistent Igarashi was booted out of both events in the Round of 32 and has dropped outside the top five as a result. He’s still right in amongst the best hopes this year, but will need to quickly turn around his form in the second half of the year.
7. Barron Mamiya (17,970 points)
Mamiya is the first major surprise in the top ten, though how long he will stay there remains to be seen. Surfing on the Championship Tour first as a wildcard at Pipeline and, in the four events since, as an injury replacement, he surprised everyone by pulling out a win at Sunset Beach, earning 10,000 points as a result. He subsequently pulled on the yellow jersey at Supertubos, but since then he’s only managed two 17th place finishes and a 9th place finish, and has gradually dropped down the rankings as a result.
8. Callum Robson (17,760 points)
Another surprise packet this year has been Callum Robson, who, in his first year on tour, finds himself in eighth place halfway through the season. His best performance came at Bells, where he memorably eliminated wildcard Mick Fanning with a buzzer-beating wave before making his way through to the final. Aside from that second place finish Robson hasn’t made it past the Round of 16, so while it’s a promising first season he’s still up against it to feature at Trestles.
9. Miguel Pupo (17,470 points)
Pupo is a stalwart of the Championship Tour, but having never finished higher than 17th he is in unfamiliar territory in the top ten. And while it was a 3rd place finish at Pipe which made the biggest contribution to his points total, he has actually been pretty consistent throughout the year, making one other quarterfinal and a couple of Rounds of 16. Despite his good start though, Pupo probably won’t be featuring at Trestles either.
10. Griffin Colapinto (17,405 points)
Rounding out the top ten is Colapinto, a man who missed out on a spot at Trestles last year by the skin of his teeth. The 23-year-old entered the season with high expectations as a result, but has failed to pass the Round of 32 three times in five events. Fortunately, he’s squeezed in a win at Supertubos and a 5th place at Margaret River in between, keeping him within reaching distance of the top five. His inconsistency is an issue, but if he can find his best form the popular Californian will be climbing up the standings.
Outside chances
Of all the surfers outside the top ten, Jordy Smith looks like the best hope of working his way towards the top five. Though past his best, the big South African has been consistently in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, and if he can add a couple of big results to the mix he’ll climb the leaderboard very quickly. Sitting just behind him is a guy called Kelly Slater, who at 50 shouldn’t really be competing for titles and probably won’t, but his win at Pipeline reminded us that writing off this guy is an exercise in futility.
With five rounds to go, it’s officially moving time in the world rankings. There is still plenty of water to go under the bridge, and with just a couple of thousand points separating 5th from 13th there is plenty of scope for things to change at the top. The guys at the top, however, are there for a reason; most of them will be very difficult to displace, and it’s the top six in particular, as well as Colapinto back in 10th, who look at this stage to be the biggest threats.
