We’ve made it. The Final 5 for both the men and women are so close to potentially achieving a lifelong dream — becoming World Champions. The contest will take place at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California.
The finals format is a little different this time around. This year, the top five men and women, based on points they accumulated in the regular season, will be competing in a one-day, winner-take-all contest. The matches will be in a pseudo-bracket style format. The fifth-ranked surfer will face the fourth-ranked in a regular scoring heat. The winner of that match will face the third-ranked surfer, all the way to the first-ranked surfer. The title match will be a best-of-three heat, with a traditional heat format. The first surfer to win two out of three heats becomes the 2021 World Champion. The format will be the same for women and men.
The top five women in descending order are Johanne Defay, Stephanie Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons, Tatiana Weston-Webb and Carissa Moore.
The top five men in descending order are Morgan Cibilic, Conner Coffin, Filipe Toledo, Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina.
Lower Trestles is one of the most recognizable and high-performance waves on Tour. Known as the “Crown Jewel” of Southern California surfing, Lower Trestles is the ideal break, with extended, steep rights and hollow lefts. There’s no better place for the WSL finale, and the 10 surfers who’ve made it here are frothing, waiting for the signal that the competition is ON.
Here are some of my favorite picks for the Free $10K World Surf League Finals Pool on DraftKings Sportsbook. To play the pool, head over to the DraftKings Sportsbook Pools page.
A surfer’s heat score is the combination of their two best waves, with a 10-point-ride being the highest possible individual wave score and 20 points being the highest possible total heat score. Which winner of the Rip Curl WSL Finals will have the highest individual wave score in the competition?
The progression of women’s surfing has been such a fantastic sight to see, and it shows in their scores. From Carissa Moore’s aerial in Australia to Johanne Defay’s strong performance at the Surf Ranch, the women are pushing the boundaries of women’s surfing this season, which is necessary to win at Lower Trestles. The top five women have an average heat score of 12.88, which is 0.66 higher than the men’s top five average heat score.
Choice: Women’s Winner
Will the highest scoring wave of the men’s competition be surfed in the last 5 minutes of the heat (a buzzer-beater)?
Choice: No
Will the highest scoring wave of the women’s competition be surfed in the last 5 minutes of the heat (a buzzer-beater)?
Choice: No
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A surfer’s heat score is the combination of their two best waves, with a 10-point-ride being the highest possible wave score and 20 points being the highest possible heat score. Will the winning heat score in the men’s competition be above or below 16.00 points?
The top three surfers are performing at such a high level, with Gabriel Medina competing in the final match. The average score of the final heat in the previous three events is just above 16.00 (16.2), and it took one of those scores to be close to a perfect score at the Surf Ranch (Filipe Toledo - 9.67). The highest winning score was at the Jeep Pro Surf Ranch, and those are perfect waves, not indicative of ocean conditions. Lower Trestles is close to a perfect wave, but a total score above 16.00 is elite, and even though this is the finals, we should expect a final winning score just under 16.00.
Choice: Below 16.00
A surfer’s heat score is the combination of their two best waves, with a 10-point-ride being the highest possible wave score and 20 points being the highest possible heat score. Will the winning heat score in the women’s competition be above or below 16.00 points?
Choice: Below 16.00
What country will the men’s 2021 World Champion be from?
The Brazilian storm will continue to rumble into Lower Trestles with a win from the country with the best surfers in the world right now. Morgan Cibilic or Conner Coffin will have to beat all three of the Brazilians. Coffin is from California and has a win at Lower Trestles in his younger, amateur years, but it’ll be too much to beat all three Brazilians who are surfing the best right now.
Choice: Brazil
What country will the women’s 2021 World Champion be from?
This week is Carissa Moore’s World Championship to lose. She’s the most dynamic surfer with the strength to pull off any maneuver on any wave. She’s finished no worse than third this season and just won the Gold Medal in the Summer Olympics.
Choice: USA
What will the highest scoring wave of the men’s competition include?
Choice: Both
What will the highest scoring wave of the women’s final include?
Sally Fitzgibbons is my dark horse winner, and both her and Moore are regular-footed and could be more inclined to take the rights at Lower Trestles. The rights are long and steep, which should give way to huge carves and snapbacks, both of which are in Fitzgibbons and Moore’s wheelhouse. They both have aerial maneuver’s in their back pocket, so a late aerial could get one of these surfers a win if they need to make up ground.
Choice: Neither
The final match in the “The Rip Curl WSL Finals” is a best of three format. Will the men’s 2021 World Champion win the competition in two heats or three?
Choice: Three
The final match in the “The Rip Curl WSL Finals” is a best of three format. Will the women’s 2021 World Champion win the competition in two heats or three?
Choice: Two
To play the Free $10K World Surf League Finals Pool, head over to the DraftKings Sportsbook Pools page.
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