Brazil has overtaken the rest of the world and rises as the biggest surfing champion of the WSL era

Brazil is the country that has won the most titles on the men’s World Surf Tour since the World Surfing Association (WSL) changed its name in 2015. With the conquest of Felipe Toledo, the Brazilian nation has emerged as the biggest winner in this new era of surfing. , with five cups.

The Surf World Tour began in 1976 after two Hawaiian surfers joined surfing events around the world to create the IPS (International Professional Surfers) and organize the first World Tour.

In 1983, surfer Ian “Kanga” Cairns developed the original concept of IPS and created the Association of Surfers Professionals (ASP), with control of the sport for both event organizers and surfers.

After more than 30 years, ASP changed its name to WSL, in 2015. The entity began to oversee key areas which include the World Tour and QS (Tour Access Division), Big Wave Tour, Longboard World Championship and Junior World Championship. WSL has also established regional offices around the world, in addition to the current headquarters in California (USA).

The first champion of the WSL era on the men’s World Tour went to Brazilian Adriano de Souza, better known as Mineirinho. In the sequence, two titles by John John Florence of Hawaii – In surfing, Hawaii is a nation far from the United States.

Then it was only Brazil. There were four titles in a row. Gabriel Medina, in 2018, Italo Ferreira, in 2019, and Medina again, in 2021, and now Filipino. The rink did not take place in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In total, there are five men’s titles for Brazil, two for Hawaii and none for another country in the WSL era.

Overall, however, Brazil lags far behind. Looking at all the men’s World Cups since 1976, Brazil still lags behind Australia, the United States and Hawaii:

16 Australian titles

15 USA titles (11 of which are Kelly Slater)

– 7 nicknames for Hawaii

6 titles for Brazil

– 1 British title

One title for South Africa