World Surf League season will open at Bells Beach in 2026 with huge changes to the finals format
The mid-season cut has been ditched and a new finals system is set to crown the world champions.
Bells Beach will again host the first of three Australian events, with a rejigged order moving Snapper Rocks after Margaret River, which has been the event where the mid-season cut has been made since its inception.
The three Australian events will kick off the 12-event season, with nine regular-season stops and two post-season events before a revitalised Pipe Masters that will close the season with a high-stakes, all-inclusive finale.
'These changes reflect our commitment to honouring surfing's legacy while continuing to shape its future as the sport enters its 50th year,' WSL chief executive Ryan Crosby said.
'With the updated formats, we'll see higher stakes from day one, with every heat carrying real consequence throughout the season. Combined with iconic locations, the expanded women's field, and Pipeline as the pinnacle, we're building a tour that better serves our athletes and fans and leads the sport into its next chapter.'
As well as the schedule changes, with the WSL covering nine countries across nine months, the majority of the season will feature 36 men and 24 women.
Then the tour will narrow to 24 men and 16 women after the ninth event at Lower Trestles in the US for two post-season events in Abu Dhabi and Portugal.
Each surfer's best seven of nine results from the regular season will count towards their qualification for the post-season, while the final season rankings, and ultimately the world titles, will be determined by a surfer's best nine of 12 results.
The cumulative full-season rankings that will determine the world champions will be heightened by the season closer at Pipeline, where the full 2026 men's and women's Championship Tour fields from the start of the season will all compete.
That's a major shift from the top five who will contest a single day, winner-take-all event this year at Teahupo'o for the world title.
Australian star Molly Picklum is currently the women's world No.1, with Ethan Ewing the highest-ranked Aussie male, at number five.
2026 Championship Tour schedule
Stop No. 1 - Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia: April 1 - 11
Stop No. 2 - Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia: April 17 - 27
Stop No. 3 - Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia: May 2 - 12
Stop No. 4 - Punta Roca, El Salvador: May 28 - June 7
Stop No. 5 - Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: June 12 - 20
Stop No. 6 - Jeffreys Bay, South Africa: July 10 - 20
Stop No. 7 - Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia: August 8 - 18
Stop No. 8 - Cloudbreak, Fiji: August 25 - September 4
Stop No. 9 - Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif., USA: September 11 - 20*
Stop No. 10 - Surf Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE: October 14 - 18**
Stop No. 11 - Peniche, Portugal: October 22 - November 1
Stop No. 12 - Banzai Pipeline, Hawaiʻi, USA: December 8 - 20***
*Last regular-season event
**Start of postseason, reduced field
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