Gabriel Medina Gets A Tank + DHD Mean Mugs Shaper Rankings

Queensland, how are we feeling?

It’s hard to not shake your head in incredulity at the storybook moments from yesterday’s action at Snapper Rocks. I’m sure every bar from North Stradbroke Island to Coolangatta did a roaring trade last night. 

The final stop on the Championship Tour’s Australian leg was all a surf fan could hope for. But before flights leave for New Zealand, let’s focus on two key leaderboards, one that concluded in surprising fashion while the other saw a noticeable shuffle. 

GWM Aussie Treble 

If the GWM Aussie Treble really is a crystal ball, then Gabriel Medina and Luana Silva have a good chance to win the 2026 world title. The three-pronged event is only in its second year, but if you track winners during past years that Bells, Margaret River and the Gold Coast were all on the CT, it’s a decent indicator of who be that season’s world champion. For the men’s tour, almost half of the Treble winners go on to claim the world title. While the women’s side is not as predictive, it’s highly likely the Treble winner will be in the mix for that final trophy as the year’s end.

Just like last season, the two Brazilians were each gifted a GWM Tank 300 for their efforts in Australia. Also, Luana will join Gabriel in a yellow jersey for the first time in her career. Well deserved for 21-year-old taking out numerous tour vets and getting a 5th and two runner-up finishes to begin the season. 

The Gabriel storyline here is just wild. After tearing his pectoral and missing all of last season, it was fair to question whether the 32-year-old three-time champ would return with the same fervor that’s defined his career. But the pistons keep on churning. From Bells burgers to Margaret’s walls to Snapper’s infinite coping, Gabriel and his backhand belts look as fresh as ever. While didn’t win any of the events, his consistency was impressive. His final Aussie tally: 3rd, 2nd and 9th. That’s a dangerous sign for the rest of the CT, considering he usually peaks late in the year and his best venues (Teahupo’o, Cloudbreak and Pipeline) are still to come. 

2026 Surfboard Empire CT Shaper Rankings presented by Veia

With Ethan Ewing and Stephanie Gilmore ascending the Gold Coast throne, Darren Handley has leapt from third to first — surpassing …Lost and Channel Islands — in the 2026 Surfboard Empire CT Shaper Rankings presented by Veia. In addition to backing the two winners, DH had six of the 16 quarterfinalists and five of the eight semifinalists. He would have been bagging major points either way, but copped the maximum allowed points (20,000) after EE and Steph’s thumpings. That’s the second time in just three events that one brand been satiated in such fashion.

…Lost also passed Channel Islands thanks to two women. Gabriela Bryan made the quaters, Sawyer got through to the semis on the strength of her backhand before falling to Luana. CI’s only scoring surfer was Lakey Peterson, who did well throughout the event but fell to a sparky Luana in the quaters.

Sharp Eye also gets a bump from fifth to fourth thanks to Filipe Toledo in the semis and Luana’s runner-up finish. JS dropped to fifth after Mateus Herdy and Kauli Vaast drove their Traktors into the quaters.

Three events in and three different brands have been atop the leaderboard: …Lost after Bells, CI after Margaret River and now DHD after the Gold Coast. After years of domination from …Lost’s team, the WSL changed the format of the Shaper Rankings to do exactly this: more parity and stiffer competition. We’ll see how the trend holds as the tour finally gets some lefts. Onward to Raglan.