El Salvador Pro 2025: Finals Day
El Salvador Pro 2025: Finals Day
El Salvador Finals day wraps this soporific contest which has crawled by in maddeningly inconsistent conditions where even WSL stalwart Renato Hinckel was forced to drop the industrial strength gaslighting and admit finding the right windows of tide and wind was “really hard.”
There were moments of brilliance from both winners, Jordy Smith and Gabby Bryan, but the tale of the tape records only one truly competitive heat for the six heats contested today.
That was the first heat of the day, Semi-Final 1 between Caity Simmers and Gabby Bryan. Caity cracked the seal on the day with an opening ride in the first minute of the clash. A well surfed wave without anything remarkable, except it was obvious with the 7.67 that judges had relaxed the scale for Finals Day. Gabby looked off rhythm, trying to overpower sections and getting caught behind and Caity appeared to be cruising into her third final from four events.
Caity (WSL/Hughes)
The laws of physics finally caught up with Caity as we saw the inevitable result of a tiny frame in a strong offshore wind ensue. She caught an absolute bomb halfway through the heat, maybe the biggest wave of the entire event, and opened the ride with two majestic high-lines which, for the first time, did justify a J-Bay comparison. Reaching the first available corner at top speed, Simmers simply got blown off the back of the wave as she attempted to sink a rail. Surfed to completion, that was a potential 9-point ride. Thirteen minutes to go and Simmers caught a mid-sized set, another wave with plenty of points in it. First turn she got loose in the lip and then the wind got under her board coming down and she wheelied and lost control. That left Gabby Bryan progressing with a high 4 and a low 5.
Simmer's response as the siren sounded said it all. She sat on her board and gave herself several mock punches in the head. Analogous to the Final at Pipeline, it's more accurate to say Simmers lost according to her mistakes, rather than her opponent outsurfing her.
Four waves ridden in the second Women's Semi. Pickles rode her first wave in the opening three minutes, a very conservative ride for a 6.67. Isabella Nichols answered as ten minutes elapsed with a set that was very generously scored a 7.83 despite very sticky rails and mistimed turns. 22 minutes ticked by before the closing exchanges with Nichols finding two turns and a closeout hit for a 5 and change, while Pickles completely flubbed a weird Punta Roca set wave with two minutes remaining for a 1.67.
Isabella (WSL/Hughes)
Low wave counts remained a feature of the men's Semi-Finals with just four rides deciding the Matty McGillivray/Crosby Colapinto heat. As it has been all event, opening rides were decisive with Matty opening with an 8.17 then picking up a mid-ranger which slipped underneath Cros for a back-up 5. Those two rides netted a total of 13.84 within the opening twenty minutes of the heat and Cros could only find one decent ride in the back half of the heat. With three minutes remaining he squeaked out of combination with a well surfed 7 but wave inconsistency had already shut the door on the heat, despite the best efforts of Cote and Salazar to try and manufacture drama.
Jordy's two heats today, culminating in the first win since he rang the Bell in 2017 (2017! Where did the time go?), were equally one-sided. He bested Cole Houshmand with a solid opener for an 8.17, aided by judges who had finally found some generosity in scoring and backed up by a solid 7.50. There were more waves this heat but after Cole flubbed turns in the opening exchange for a 5 he was never able to make up the 3 point deficit.
Cole (WSL/Hughes)
Onshore winds were up for the Final. If this is somehow the right season for Punta Roca, as Renato claimed, I'd hate to see the wrong one. With deteriorating conditions Jordy did what he has done all event to best McGillivray in an all South African Final. He took control of the heat in the opening exchange with the best ride of the heat. Seven waves ridden by both surfers and Matty could not get within 2 points of Jordy's opening 7.33.
Jordy (WSL/Hughes)
The Final scoreline of the Women's Final is a little flattering to Gabby Bryan. The heat was in play until the final exchange with Gabby's closing ride being the best of the Final after six consecutive dud rides. Izzy was unlucky the spread for the first exchange wasn't more favourable to her. It seemed at least a point better but judges separated the two rides by 0.07 of a point. The Final was wide open for Nichols to steal but she could not capitalise on all Gabby's mistakes.
Gabby (WSL/Hughes)
The numbers are a fair summation of a finals day memorable only for Jordy's renaissance. One competitive heat and two excellent rides. WSL talking heads, meanwhile, will continue to tell us to discount what we all see with our own eyes. El Salvador, according to them, will be a world-class wave fitting of the Dream Tour, until the day Bitcoin crashes and it gets pulled, when they'll never mention it again.
So it goes.
// STEVE SHEARER
Surf City El Salvador Pro Women’s Final Results:
1 - Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 14.33
2 - Isabella Nichols (AUS) 11.74
Surf City El Salvador Pro Men’s Final Results:
1 - Jordy Smith (RSA) 14.26
2 - Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 9.33
Surf City El Salvador Pro Women’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 10.16 DEF. Caitlin Simmers (USA) 9.67
HEAT 2: Isabella Nichols (AUS) 13.33 DEF. Molly Picklum (AUS) 8.27
Surf City El Salvador Pro Men’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 13.84 DEF. Crosby Colapinto (USA) 9.50
HEAT 2: Jordy Smith (RSA) 15.67 DEF. Cole Houshmand (USA) 10.00
Comments
lucky Cole was on it
Well i picked Jordy to win and if Sally won too i'd be 2K richer this morning. Bloody Sal!!
Never again.
Jordy was a 100 to 1 for the title earlier in the year and I did put a small amount on. Not sure what he would be now but I do like his chances if he can maintain the relaxed and fun attitude he seems to have and a number of events coming up he goes well at so... Would love to see him beat Italo again
yeehaa! Hope he gets over the line for ya and makes and wins the finals.
Caity was certainly gifted those two waves but she fell off. Still, she was unlucky to lose. I thought Gaby was a tad overscored on her 2nd scorer. However, Gaby remained a great winner. Some awesome surfing from Gaby.
excellent write up, thank you. the whole 29 days seemed soporific and somniferous, in keeping with the latitude and the time zone. Happy for Jordy. Safety surfing from Pickles didn't pay off. Izzy gave it a great nudge and nearly got there.
Jordy for the final five!
that big wave Caity fell off on was for me the most enjoyable to watch of the entire comp. perfect line from take off.... moving fast.... surfing... until she started chasing points.
was laughing about the multiple replays of Griff's early morning free surf wave... showing it through the early heats... was it the only air for the day's telecast? straight airs are cool but dang i hate airs in comps and felt it today.
i could've watched all eight of today's surfers paddle about for an expression session (until the onshore hit).
last thought: the spruiking of the sponsor's drink was embarrassing af. less of that would be good.
Awesome shot of Caity in this article!
i’m trying to find positive’s about this event-in the last 20 years it was the least compelling to me, and hardly saw any of it live- time zone doesn’t help but sheesh it lacked oomph!!!
so happy for jordy and hoping he tears bell’s a new one!!
Apparently there has been a previous men’s final between saffas in the eighties. Was it Shaun and Michael Tomson? Greg Emslie? My saffa mate tells me Pottz doesn’t count as he was born in UK. Looked it up but can’t find anything
Shaun Tomson and Mike Burness
Thanks very much for that
Shaun Tomson v Mike Burness
OP America - East Coast
Jensen Beach Florida
May 16-20, 1984
8 years already since Jordy's last win!
In other words it's his first win in his 30's at 37.
He's in the top 5 now and i'd love to see him finally win a world title, but i kind of lost faith in that happenng a few years back now.
It's only his 7th event win in his 18th year on tour,and an average of 1 event win every 2.5 years is pretty far from world title winning stats compared to all the other world champs.
Slater won that many events in 1 year in a couple of his most dominant world title years i believe.
Hopefully the remaining events he usually does well in get pumping swells this year and he goes to Cloudbreak sitting in prime position and it's 6-8ft.
Caity Simmers needs to go to the gym and bulk up 10kg.
She can't do much about being tiny,but she can certainly add some muscle and gain more power in her surfing.
Bollicks to that jetson.rover, re Caity simmers bulking up?
She is the only un-processed women surfer on tour.
Whats not to love about her?
Well as was stated in the article,the strong offshore basically blew her off the back of her two best waves at the top of her turns,which is why she lost.
I don't mean she needs to get thicker and stockier,just a bit heavier.
She's pretty much a flyweight using boxing weight categories.
If she moves up to lightweight,it'll only improve her surfing if you ask me.
Probably a fair point. Maybe needs to have a chat to Tommy Carroll!
I literally forgot the finals were on. A very “meh” contest. Way too long.
Surf Coast has been pumping the last few weeks. I’ve got a feeling they’ll get skunked at Easter. I hope not, but that’s generally how it goes for the WSL.
Yep. Was 4’ offshore and 32 today! Won’t happen next week I’m afraid
I dunno about the Caity sentiment. Was going Mach 10 on a bomb and just hit a serious bump. Same with that late hit, just critical and didn’t quite stick it. Nothing more to see here.
I guess we will see over the year whether that theory holds any water.
Certainly on the mens side, there's a very clear direction in favour of big bodies and the consequent power they can generate.
Simmers is absolutely tiny- there's a photo around of her standing next to coach Tommy Whittaker and you can compare sizes- she's literally about half the size of a full grown man.
Simple physics dictates such small bodies will be more easily thrown around by wind and wild waves than larger ones.
She had that set wave in perfect control until she tried to set a rail and got literally blown off the back.
Would that have happened to Jordy? Or even Gabby Bryan?
Yeah guess we’ll see. It’s not like the other girls are 6 foot and 90kg though.
There’s no doubting she’s tiny. She
amazes me as to what she’s been able to achieve despite her stature. I mean how does she handle 8 foot backdoor the way she does?
In thicker water spots, Sunset and Margies made quarters and won Bells last year.
We’ve all been there before though, I can remember times at your point and others like it, flying down the line getting bucked like she did due to some rogue devil chop….I’m far from a pro but would have at least 40kg on her.
Suppose depends if the judging starts shifting on the women’s side.
I've been to J bay and Ive been to La libertad and the only comparison is that they are both right point breaks.
If you score La Libertad as good as it gets,and surf Jbay in an average lethargic swell,it's probably quite comparable lol.
Headline on the WSL app says “Slow and steady wins the race”. I hope that was a reference to the contest itself not Jordys win? Lame event all round. Pity the WSL curse looks to haunt Bells, it’s been pumping!
Yeah that's a fun fact about Simmers surfing, she doesn't even have to do anything, and she's in the excellent range.
Izzy got interfered with by Gabby at the start but they let her get away with it ? Those two
Jordy's performance on the glass was outstanding too. Dad shaped his winning board. "Luvyadad choke"
Great coverage Steve thx
" Izzy got interfered with by Gabby , but they let her get away with it "
???
bloody hell , what's going on at these contests ......
Same, thanks for your write ups Steve. Wouldn't of had a clue otherwise.
But I can swear Izzy won. Pickle me grandmother, must of had me glasses on upside down.
Here is looking forward to the Aussie leg.
Slow inconsistent ocean waves still beat the pool
My mate had a ball watching it- he enjoyed the long lulls, reckons he had time to sit in his shed in between waves and drink a beer and twist one up.
There's the real winner right there. Could probably all take a leaf out of that book.
Is that what it was like behind the scenes of the ASP? Couldn't imagine back then Coronas hitting the coffee table other than empty on a live stream.
Not a fan of Gaby's 'style', but she does lay into turns with a lot of power. Thought Issy was a bit unlucky with the scores - great event for her.
Jordy was a deserved winner. Maybe not a world title winner but gee he is world class. That recent video of his - the barrel riding was insane.
Fingers crossed Bells delivers. Been watching Winki on the cam the last few weeks - been insane.