Banzai Pipeline, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.
Opening Round Heats
Reigning World Champion Caity Simmers (USA), 2023 World Champion Caroline Marks (USA), and two-time World Champion Tyler Wright (AUS) claimed Opening Round heats at the Lexus Pipe Pro today, starting their World Title campaigns with momentum and bypassing the Elimination Round with a jump straight into the Round of 16. They were also joined by recently crowned 2024 World Junior Champion Luana Silva (BRA), who won her first heat.
France’s Marco Mignot Leads Rookie Pack, Tops Opening Round Heats in Full-Time CT Debut
Bursting straight out of the gates, Marco Mignot (FRA) posted the highest heat total of the men’s Opening Round within the first seven minutes of his first CT event as a full-time member of the Tour. Mignot, who has previously appeared in two CT events as a wildcard, started aggressively, catching four waves in the opening moments, including a 7.33 and 6.00 that secured his round-topping 13.33 heat total. A highly critical air landed directly in the flats, earned Mignot the 7.33, and propelled the 24-year-old to his inaugural CT heat win over João Chianca (BRA) and Ryan Callinan (AUS).
“In my mind, I was like, ‘Okay, well, this is the first heat, first event of the year,'” Mignot said. “I was just like, ‘Let’s go.’ This is my moment. I’ve dreamed about this moment. I’ve manifested this moment. It’s time to live this dream. I’m not gonna fall back and not do it one hundred percent. I said to myself, ‘It’s kill or get killed.'”
Fellow rookies Edgard Groggia (BRA) and Alan Cleland Jr. (MEX) progressed through their first-ever heats on the CT in second place and into the Round of 32, though it was narrow margins for both. Groggia slipped ahead of his seasoned compatriot Yago Dora (BRA) by just 0.20, while Cleland found a buzzer-beater to send Liam O’Brien (AUS) to join Dora in the Elimination Round. Needing a 4.35, Cleland snuck a wave at the 35-second mark. The 22-year-old picked up a short barrel-to-turn combo to clear the mark with a 4.60 and advance 0.26 points ahead of O’Brien. Cleland’s full-time appearance on Tour in 2025 is a first for Mexico, a milestone he takes pride in representing.
Smallest Town In The World
“I’m coming here with an open mind, and relaxed, and just trying to get a couple waves,“ Cleland said. “And [more] than anything, represent my flag, and my family, and where I’m from, and just Pascuales and everything, and kind of show everybody from Mexico, you can make it. You can come from the smallest town in the world, and you can just put the hard work in, and make it happen. Stoked to just be a part of this and hopefully get some more waves.“
Australian rookies George Pittar (AUS) and Joel Vaughan (AUS) had mixed fortunes, with Pittar finding a Backdoor nugget to move through to the Round of 32 behind Jordy Smith (RSA) and Vaughan taking the unfortunate honor of earning the lowest heat total of the day in his CT debut. Meanwhile, Jackson Bunch (HAW) was unable to replicate his buzzer-beating wildcard performance from the 2024 Lexus Pipe Pro Opening Round and now finds himself in the Elimination Round, along with Vaughan.
Robinson and Slater Lead Progression of Former Event Winners
Though all five of the former men’s event winners in the draw advanced straight into the Round of 32, just two were able to claim Opening Round heat wins, Jack Robinson (AUS) and Kelly Slater (USA). 2019 winner Italo Ferreira (BRA), 2021 winner John John Florence (HAW), and 2024 winner Barron Mamiya (HAW) each placed in the advancing second place of the three-person heats.
Robinson, the 2023 event winner, opened his 2025 campaign with the first excellent score of the season. Ducking straight into a driving barrel at Backdoor, Robinson picked up an 8.00, collecting the highest single-wave score of the day on his very first wave. The 27-year-old Australian surfed a smart heat, cruising to victory over Liam O’Brien (AUS) and rookie Al Cleland Jr. (MEX).
“Jack’s back,“ Robinson said. “It’s been a long time that I’ve been coming here, like 16, 17 years now, and every time you go out there you still just respect it, but that was a beautiful way to start.“
Patience paid off for Slater, the 11-time World Champion, who won his first heat at Pipeline since his most recent CT event win at the location in 2022. Facing Ferreira, the 2019 World Champion, along with 2024 Challenger Series winner Samuel Pupo (BRA), 52-year-old Slater’s expert lineup awareness and navigation of Backdoor barrels topped Ferreira’s maneuvers. Competing in his 33rd CT at Pipeline, Slater hasn’t missed the event since his debut in 1991 but is competing as a wildcard in 2025.
“It’s, to some degree, like riding a bike, but each day is different, conditions are a little different,“ Slater said. “You’ve got to remember, not every wave at Pipe and Backdoor is in the same spot. Depending on the swell direction and the size, it moves around a lot. Like, there was a left that came and Italo took it. It was my priority, but I let Italo go. I knew from there they don’t barrel, and I’m out there looking for barrels, but he does the big air on the wave, so you’re looking for different things.“
John John Florence
Also entering the event as a wildcard, after deciding to take the 2025 season off, 2021 event winner and reigning World Champion John John Florence(HAW) looked extremely comfortable as he made easy work of the peak that sits just steps from the house he grew up in. However, a long Backdoor barrel opened into one of the throatiest sections of the morning for Ian Gouveia(BRA), earning the Brazilian the highest score of the heat, a 7.67, and his first CT heat win since last appearing on Tour in 2018.
Gouveia’s best CT result came when he made the Semifinals at Pipe as a rookie in 2017, and emotions were high for the 32-year-old as he advanced into the Round of 32 ahead of Florence, the pair sending wildcard Eli Hanneman (HAW) into the Elimination Round.
“It feels amazing, I’ve been emotional because it was hard,“ Gouveia said through tears. “I had a really hard time during my pre-season. I was in Sao Paulo City for five months without surfing, without being in the water. I really didn’t know how it was gonna work out for me because I came here, I wasn’t feeling one hundred percent yet in my body, and one week ago, I had a cut on my knee. When it first happened, I thought I was going to miss the first two events of the year, and here I am.
I was able to put the jersey on, which I was like, ‘No one’s going to get my jersey, man.‘ I worked out so much to have this jersey on. No matter what happened, I was going to put this jersey on. I didn’t believe that wave came in the end, and I was able to make it and beat John in the first Round of my return to the Tour.”
Gouveia and Filipe Toledo (BRA) were the sole men’s Brazilians to earn heat wins in the men’s Opening Round. Toledo, the two-time World Champion, casually landed one of the biggest airs of the day to progress ahead of Mamiya in his return to competition after a season away.
Mixed Results for Men’s Hawaii Contingent on Day 1
O’ahu’s Seth Moniz (HAW) took out the very first CT heat of the year. The local knowledge of the 27-year-old led to clean Backdoor barrels that delivered a strong heat win over two Brazilians, rookie Edgard Groggia and Yago Dora. The win allowed Moniz to skip the dreaded Elimination Round, where he found himself last year. Moniz earned his best result yet on the CT when he finished runner-up to Kelly Slater (USA) in 2022 and is hopeful for another solid finish at Pipe to provide an early boost to his sixth season on Tour.
“It feels great to be at home, and I’m really happy to be back,“ Moniz said. “It’s a long off-season, so just kind of get the gas started, you know, first heat of the morning. Now I get all day to rest and just relax.“

Hanneman of Hawaii surfs in Heat 6 of the Opening Round at the Lexus Pipe Pro Photo – Heff/World Surf League)
The first surfer to miss the Mid-season Cut in 2024, Ian Gentil (HAW), returned to competition in the first event of 2025 as the WSL Replacement surfer. Gentil will take the place of three-time World Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) for at least the first three events of the season while Medina recovers from injury, providing a massive opportunity for the 2023 Rookie of the Year to reclaim his place on Tour. Gentil took command in a tight heat that featured 2023 Pipe Pro runner-up Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) and 2024 World No. 3 Griffin Colapinto (USA), as he looks to back-up his Semifinal finish here in 2024.
Out of four surfers from the Hawaiian island of Maui in the draw, Gentil was the sole competitor to make it through to the Round of 32, with rookie Jackson Bunch (HAW), wildcard Eli Hanneman (HAW), and Imaikalani deVault (HAW) all relegated to the Elimination Round.
Hawaii’s Bettylou Sakura Johnson and Gabriela Bryan will be up in the remaining two women’s heats of the Opening Round when the competition resumes. Heat 5 will see Sakura Johnson in a matchup of heavy-water chargers with Molly Picklum (AUS) and Vahine Fierro (BRA), while Bryan is against 2024 Rookie of the Year Sawyer Lindblad (USA) and rookie threat Erin Brooks (CAN) in Heat 6.
For highlights from today’s competition at the Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI Men’s Opening Round Results:
HEAT 1: Seth Moniz (HAW) 12.06 DEF. Edgard Groggia (BRA) 8.73, Yago Dora (BRA) 8.53
HEAT 2: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 10.50 DEF. Ethan Ewing (AUS) 9.27, Jackson Bunch (HAW) 7.34
HEAT 3: Jack Robinson (AUS) 13.10 DEF. Alan Cleland (MEX) 8.43, Liam O’Brien (AUS) 8.17
HEAT 4: Ian Gentil (HAW) 12.90 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 12.30, Griffin Colapinto (USA) 10.93
HEAT 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 9.90 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 8.00, Samuel Pupo (BRA) 3.90
HEAT 6: Ian Gouveia (BRA) 11.84 DEF. John John Florence (HAW) 11.50, Eli Hanneman (HAW) 11.43
HEAT 7: Jordy Smith (RSA) 11.00 DEF. George Pittar (AUS) 7.17, Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 3.63
HEAT 8: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 10.06 DEF. Rio Waida (INA) 7.83, Joel Vaughan (AUS) 3.06
HEAT 9: Connor O’Leary (JPN) 7.10 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 6.80, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 3.53
HEAT 10: Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 7.40 DEF. Cole Houshmand (USA) 6.14, Deivid Silva (BRA) 5.90
HEAT 11: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 8.57 DEF. Barron Mamiya (HAW) 6.66, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 6.27
HEAT 12: Marco Mignot (FRA) 13.33 DEF. Joao Chianca (BRA) 8.73, Ryan Callinan (AUS) 8.57
Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI Men’s Elimination Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Deivid Silva (BRA) vs. Eli Hanneman (HAW)
HEAT 2: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA) vs. Jackson Bunch (HAW)
HEAT 3: Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Samuel Pupo (BRA) vs. Joel Vaughan (AUS)
HEAT 4: Imaikalani deVault (HAW) vs. Liam O’Brien (AUS) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI Women’s Opening Round Results (Heats 1 – 4):
HEAT 1: Luana Silva (BRA) 12.60 DEF. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 9.16, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 6.17
HEAT 2: Caroline Marks (USA) 11.83 DEF. Nadia Erostarbe (ESP) 7.17, Bella Kenworthy (USA) 6.67
HEAT 3: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 12.67 DEF. Isabella Nichols (AUS) 7.93, Moana Jones Wong (HAW) 7.10
HEAT 4: Tyler Wright (AUS) 13.83 DEF. Lakey Peterson (USA) 10.16, Brisa Hennessy (CRC) 9.87
Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI Remaining Women’s Opening Round Matchups (Heats 5 – 6):
HEAT 5: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) vs. Vahine Fierro (FRA)
HEAT 6: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) vs. Erin Brooks (CAN)
See more: Seal Point Boardriders Club Grom Comp and Surf Lessons A Great Success
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