Countdown to Cloudbreak: Jordy Smith’s Road to the Finals

As we roll into the WSL Finals at Cloudbreak, Jordy Smith is right where every surfer dreams of being, in the Top 5 with a shot at the world title. Sitting as the No. 2 seed, the 36-year-old Saffa has put together one of his strongest seasons in years, mixing vintage power surfing with the kind of consistency fans have been craving from him.

The season didn’t start perfectly. At Pipe, Jordy was sent packing early, taking 17th after running into wildcard Joel Vaughan. A tough pill to swallow. Things picked up a bit with back-to-back ninths in Abu Dhabi and Portugal, where he surfed solid but couldn’t quite break past the heavy hitters. At that point, it looked like 2025 might be another grind-it-out year.

Then came the turning point: El Salvador. The Big Bru looked unstoppable at Punta Roca, laying down those trademark rail gouges and clean, stylish finishes that have made him one of the smoothest surfers on tour. He went all the way, claiming his first CT win in eight years. Just like that, he was back in the conversation.

From there, Jordy kept the momentum rolling. At Bells Beach, he cracked the quarters for a fifth-place finish, then repeated the result at the Gold Coast Pro a few weeks later. But it was at Margaret River where he really reminded everyone of his firepower. Carving through chunky West Oz walls, Jordy stormed to another win, his second of the year and the eighth of his career. With that, he briefly wore the yellow jersey as world No. 1.

The second half of the season brought more mixed results. At Trestles, he was edged out by local up-and-comer Cole Houshmand, and at J-Bay, of all places, he was stunned by wildcard Marco Mignot. Ninths at both stung a little, especially at home in South Africa, where he would’ve loved to put on a show for the crowd. Still, he bounced back with a solid quarterfinal run at the Rio Pro, only falling to Griffin Colapinto. A ninth at Tahiti closed out his regular-season run, this time at the hands of wildcard Kauli Vaast.

When the dust settled, Jordy had stacked two wins, three fifths, and a handful of ninths. That was more than enough to lock him into the WSL Finals as the No. 2 seed with just over 52,000 points.

So here we are: Fiji. Cloudbreak. Winner-takes-all. For Jordy, this is the best shot he’s had at a world title in years. He’s got the experience, the momentum, and the belief that after nearly two decades on tour, the dream is still alive. Whether he can finally seal the deal, we’ll find out soon enough. But one thing’s for sure, 2025 has already been a season to remember for South Africa’s surfing icon.

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