On Tuesday, two surfers fought for their professions when the towering bulges surrounded by the roaring forties of the Indian Ocean reached the explosive final destination on the coast of Western Australia. Australia - Japanese surfers Connor O'Leary and Queensland Liam O'Brien embraced each other, and the pumping conditions on the Margaret River retained the position of the World Surf League Championship Tour.

O'Leary is right above, O'Brien is below the terrible tangent, and victory will be an important step towards safety. Failure may delegate the loser to requalification for the second-tier Challenger Series.

advertise

32 hot rounds and lead changed - O'Leary won the heat wave while O'Brien nailed one of the best turns all day with a barbed hook. But when the dust settles, O'Leary finds his point of view, and O'Brien's two-year career on the championship journey is in a devastating closure. The two hugged at the top of the main resting staircase, friends and competitors sharing mixed emotions.

"Suck, man," O'Leary said another year after securing his elite status. "To rise in such high pressure with a close partner…I've been hanging out with Lob (O'Brien) for a few years and we're really close. It's awful, but I think you just have to put them all aside and put yourself first."

Seven stops on the 2025 tour of Margaret River, home to the “cuts”. The feature was added in 2022 and has two purposes. It has reduced the field for the rest of the season – from 34 to 22 men and 18 to 10 women – to determine which surfers are guaranteed to be a place in the next season’s campaign and must be requalified.

"We have to play this round, but I'm sure he'll be better than ever," O'Brien insisted. "He's too good to go on tour."

advertise

The cut has been the most controversial of a series of changes in WSL introduced by tourism authorities to promote greater leisure interest. WSL also transformed from a total championship with cumulative points throughout the season to the final playoffs of the championship.

Related: Filipe Toledo in the epic WSL final

Local surfer Jacob Willcox knew the feeling. The 27-year-old was a semi-rule wildcard on this tour a decade ago (2013), and for years he was a semi-rule wildcard that qualified in 2024. But last year's WSL finally won five events, only seeing five events before advancing, so it took years to fight in the competition to arrive at the tour, which is the tour of the tour.

Willcox World beat No. 1 Italo Ferreira on Tuesday after winning the local trial; a day later he saw João Chianca in the box, a terrible flatbed wave used as an alternative place to qualify for the quarterfinals. But the pain last year still persists - he described the format as "unfair" in an interview.

advertise

"It feels much better than last year," Wilcox said after beating Ferrera. "Last year was a disappointment - this year, I feel like I'm going to redeem some redemption at home and prepare for the challenger for a year."

Willcox was unable to requalify last year’s Challenger Series and finished No. 21 (only the top ten surfers earned a spot on the top tour). At the Margaret River, as Willcox won the Heat, he saw friends and fellow citizens - including O'Brien, veteran Ryan Callinan and rookie George Pittar, beat on the side of the racing team.

"It's heartbreaking to look at those boys - I know exactly how they feel," Wilcox said. "If I could say anything, everything will come up - you'll get a chance again. Both guys are talented and they'll be back on the tour." There's a silver lining for Willcox - in the coming months, fellow traveling around the world. He added: “I can travel with them for a year, so we’re going to have a group of people who are with each other and are back on the tour next year.”

After several years of controversy, WSL has launched major format changes for 2026 – including ending layoffs, expanding the women’s field and returning to the total score total to determine the title champion champion. Travel surfers’ end to cuts has been well received, although it is undeniable that it will increase the excitement of competitors – even if it is artificial. Before Hawaii's Pipeline returns to its final game, the layoffs will be replaced by a mini-cut late in the season - two final events were played in the final game.

advertise

WSL Commissioner Jessi Miley-Dyer said that resuming the pipeline to its traditional role as a playoff event was the decisive factor (Pipeline has opened the sport in recent years). "The cuts in the mid-season put a lot of pressure on the cuts," Miley-Dyer said. "The main thing for us when it comes to relegation lines is qualifications (in the next season). There is nothing more exciting than a pipeline. If there is a wave, as an athlete, as a surfer, you think, dream, compete, make your career or break your career or break your career, its pipeline. So, this year is on the pipeline, and having a full year, that makes sense."

Related: Steph Gilmore: “I’m looking for more in myself and surfing’ | Kieran Pender

Returning to the pipeline to crown the champion and ending mid-season, WSL embeds its own tradition, rejecting former WSL CEO Erik Logan (former Oprah Winfrey Network Execuce) ushering in a modern modern day. But while the excitement of cutting may be calorie, it is also exciting.

Australian veteran Sally Fitzgibbons burst into tears after winning the knockout round on Tuesday. She needs to go deep and possibly win the Margaret River professionals to avoid layoffs. Surf Magazine Stab describes the "emotional wonder" of that moment as "gut." The cuts are cruel and dramatic. "Have we not had entertainment in the past four years?"

Miley-Dyer himself is a former pro rascal who has a lot of sympathy for the climaxes and troughs that the Margaret River professionals exhibit. “I feel for people,” she said. “This is one of the events where we want to watch people perform incredible and leave a big climax; if you don’t have the qualification for next year, you will have to cheer up again.”