2023 RIP CURL WSL FINAL
Here we are, getting ready for the final World Surf League Championship Tour event of the year. Despite the aspersions thrown on former CEO Erik Logan, the man behind this final event format and location, it will still be an exhilarating surf contest. At the end of the day, a World Champion will still be crowned, and that's exciting, very much worth watching, and a reason to celebrate, no matter who the victor is.
That person will probably be Filipe Toledo.
FAVORITES
Filipe Toledo
Odds:
TBD
To be a world champion is a big deal, and the role and responsibilities are immense. The fact that Toledo might not have the complete package in different conditions worldwide should not bear any value in the Rip Curl Finals, as it is more of a WSL rules debate than anything else. He has played the game within the regulations and will win another title within that gilded cage.
To forecast a Toledo victory is relatively easy. It's a no-brainer to say that he is head and shoulders above everyone else performance-wise at Trestles. His small wave A Game is incomparable, and he has the hunger. Some (read: most) WSL fans and pro surfing supporters think that it is incorrect for a small-wave maestro who doesn't have the balls to commit to any waves of consequence to have any chance of a world title, but this makes no difference to the small wave wizard as he heads into the final contest with the best high-performance arsenal of the top five. It will be a shock if he doesn't win. Stranger things have happened, but it doesn't fit the current and expected professional paradigm.
Griffin Colapinto
Odds:
TBD
What still needs to be said about Griff that has yet to be said? How about the fact that if anyone on finals day will give Toledo a run for his money and even a possible spanking, it's Colapinto? His small wave skills, progressive air game, and big match temperament make a very potent combination that, combined with the special sauce that any surfer without a World Title has, Griff is a legitimate contender for the 2023 crown.
Griff's year on the tour was punctuated with some performances, including a second place at Sunset Beach (runner-up to Toledo) and a second-place finish at the Margaret River Pro (placing behind Medina). He also got the silver medal at the Surf City El Salvador Pro this year (behind Toledo). He solidified his 2023 run with a win at the Surf Ranch Pro to get him into the finals day at Trestles.
Griff has it all. And it is that much more of a package than Toledo because he loves to charge and doesn't shirk any responsibilities in pounding surf. That makes no difference,
though; his mastery of Lowers does.
Jack Robinson
Odds:
TBD
Growing up on a staple diet of serious waves does not hold you in good stead for a contest at Lowers. It might be a perfect wave, but it is a wave that needs all that extra push and drive that weaker waves need to throw spray and look good. The wave does very little work, and the surfer does most of it. This does not suit a surfer of Robinson's ilk. He is the most talented stand-out when the waves have consequences, and his style is flawless when the waves are big, chunky, and grinding through.
This doesn't mean that he must be overlooked entirely. His victory at the Corona Open in Mexico in 2021 on his rooky year will attest to that when he took the win in small, soft, perfect right-handers that could, at a push, be compared to Trestles. He would most likely win the whole thing in waves of consequence. Still, with the promise of three-foot Lowers, he will fare marginally better than the injured young Australian. While Robinson is and would be a popular winner, the lack of juice at Trestles will be to his major disadvantage.
SLEEPERS
Ethan Ewing
Odds:
TBD
Ethan is going to be surfing far from his best. The 24-year-old Queenslander was taken to shore after coming off at Chopes and taken to a hospital on the island, where he was diagnosed with a fractured L3 and L4 vertebrae. With that damage, he cannot be close to fighting fit, let alone at the peak of his game. Some think he will paddle out and float around under some silly guideline of WSL ruling, meaning he has to surf the tournament to fulfill some nonsensical obligation. Others think he will withdraw at the last minute, leaving the preposterous idea that the Top Five will be reduced to the Top Four. If this is the case, the WSL will lose immense credibility, more so than they already have lost. If, by some miracle, Ethan arrives at the contest pain-free, he is still going to be eliminated in Match 2 when he comes up against the winner of Match one, either Joao or Jack, as he will not have the conditioning, precise timing, and surf fitness to compete fairly against the other four surfers, or even one of them. It's a fourth-place finish for Ethan. All he has is time, and his real moments of glory are just around the corner.
João Chianca
Odds:
TBD
On a Championship Tour with a legitimate leader, the year's final event would be at Pipe, Cloudbreak, or Teahupoo. At these types of venues, Joâo Chianca would have a real chance of a world title push, along with Robinson. Chianca is a big guy and needs a bit of pushback from the waves to get going. His surfing is based on power, so he needs waves that deliver energy and power that he can utilise.
He's not a total slouch in the small stuff but loses advantages when the playing field gets leveled to three-foot Trestles. Regarding Brazilian freneticism, Chianca is an anomaly, so he can't be discounted. He has all the moves, but he also has these ridiculous power hacks that have longer arcs and are more calculated than the desperate pumping for speed to attempt an ally-oop or a full rote. They look good because they are such clean swoops, throw the biggest buckets, and stand out enough in the eyes of the spectator (and possibly the judges) to win a split against a less attractive-looking but more radical air. And winning a heat, contest, or world title can be just that, winning a split.
LONGSHOT
Odds:
