**WSL Introduces Major Rule Changes for 2025 World Title Heats at Cloudbreak**
The World Surf League (WSL) has announced significant changes to its Finals format ahead of the 2025 title-deciding event at Cloudbreak. These updates, which were shared as competition kicked off at J-Bay, mark a pivotal shift in how the world champions will be crowned during this year’s WSL Finals.
The 2025 edition will be the final installment of the WSL’s current Finals format, which has been in place for five years. Traditionally, the format involved a bracket-style showdown among the top five ranked surfers from the Championship Tour (CT) season. The competition culminated in a best-of-three title match, where the top seed faced the winner of the earlier elimination rounds. To win the title, a surfer had to claim victory in two out of the three final heats.
However, this year the WSL is altering that structure to give the No. 1 seed a clearer path to victory. According to the new rule, if the No. 1 seed wins the **first** heat in the final match, they will be immediately declared the world champion—without the need for a second or third heat. This adjustment essentially means the final only progresses to multiple heats **if the lower-seeded challenger wins the opening heat**.
To illustrate: if the No. 1 seed, for example, Yago Dora, faces off against a lower-seeded opponent like Jordy Smith, and Dora wins the first heat, he will instantly be crowned world champion. On the other hand, if Smith wins that opening heat, he must win a second heat to claim the title. Only if both surfers win one heat each will the match proceed to a decisive third and final heat.
Here is the updated final match procedure, as laid out in the WSL’s revised rulebook:
* The final match is contested between the No. 1 seed and the winner of Match 3 from the elimination bracket.
* If the No. 1 seed wins the first heat, they are crowned the world champion.
* If the challenger (winner of Match 3) wins both the first and second heats, they claim the title.
* If the challenger wins the first heat but the No. 1 seed wins the second, then a third and final heat is held to determine the champion.
* The No. 1 seed will have wave priority over the challenger in **all** heats of the final.
Another change introduced this year is that seeding will now determine wave priority in **every heat** of the WSL Finals. Previously, priority based on seeding only applied to the very first match of the day—between the fourth- and fifth-seeded surfers. Going forward, every matchup will give wave priority to the higher-seeded surfer.
These changes are designed to reward consistent performance throughout the regular season. With wave priority and potentially shorter paths to the title now tied directly to seeding, the importance of finishing strong during the regular CT events—especially major stops like J-Bay and Teahupo’o—has increased significantly.
Overall, these updates reflect a shift toward giving the regular season more weight and offering top-ranked surfers a tangible advantage at the season-ending event. With Cloudbreak set to host the final installment of this Finals format, the new rules promise heightened stakes and even more drama in the race to crown the 2025 world champions.