Britt Merrick Clean-Sweeps WA, Sends Shaper Rankings Into A Blender

The Aussie leg of the tour, if you’re prepared to offend five million people and count New Zealand in, accounts for a third of the 2025 CT schedule.

And if we add this year’s Aotearoa debut to the Challenger Series finale in Newcastle, it feels as though we’ve been in the Antipodes, competitively speaking, far longer than the calendar would admit.

After lacklustre conditions at Bells and Margs, it’s impossible not to look toward Snapper with aspirational optimism, fingers crossed for a wave so desirable it has been cloned, packaged, and sold for top dollar inside gated pools.

Deambulating aside, with the tour heading into the third and final stop of the GWM Aussie Treble, we’ll take a brief look at the standings, as well as the year-long Surfboard Empire CT Shaper Rankings presented by Veia.

GWM Aussie Treble Standings after Margaret River (Stop 2 of 3)

MEN

1. Gabriel Medina (Brazil) — 13,885
2. George Pittar (Australia) — 13,320
3. Miguel Pupo (Brazil) — 13,320
4. Yago Dora (Brazil) — 12,545
5. Samuel Pupo (Brazil) — 10,830
6. Griffin Colapinto (United States) — 9,405
7. Italo Ferreira (Brazil) — 9,405
8. Kanoa Igarashi (Japan) — 8,065
9. Leonardo Fioravanti (Italy) — 8,065

George Pittar arrived as the unexpected and, in some corners, slightly controversial winner of the Margaret River Pro, defeating an in-form Gabriel Medina, whose Treble results so far are 3rd and 2nd.

Medina, a perennial favourite anywhere, will wear his white #1 on a gold background at Snapper. Despite presumably having little practical need for another SUV, he might pursue it as if he’s toying around with a claw crane machine at an amusement arcade.

Pittar trails by fewer than 600 points and made the semis at the 2024 Snapper CS. He’ll either arrive at Coolangatta wrapped in an overcoat of confidence, or feel the pressure of surfing against the rest of the elite with a big target pinned to his back. A solid result here could see him driving south to Sydney inhaling the smell of unworn leather and factory-sanitized plastic. Bells (Winki) winner Miguel Pupo, his brother Sammy, and reigning Campeão Yago Dora qualify as prime contenders as well.

Remember, the winner also has a roughly 50% chance of taking the world title, historically speaking.

WOMEN

1. Gabriela Bryan (Hawaii) — 14,745
2. Lakey Peterson (United States) — 14,745
3. Molly Picklum (Australia) — 12,545
4. Luana Silva (Brazil) — 12,545
5. Caitlin Simmers (United States) — 10,830

Gabby and Lakey, winners of Stops #1 and #2 respectively, are tied at the top. Both natural footers honed their rail oriented approach on long righthand peelers in different parts of the Pacific.

Lakey won there in 2018 and finished runner-up in 2017. Yes, that was nearly a decade ago. Still, Snapper should feel instinctive to her, and both she and Bryan are legitimate threats to win the event — and the GWM Treble.

But not so fast. Molly Picklum won’t surrender home-ish waters without putting up a fierce fight. Caity Simmers will also be surfing a wave that might as well have been custom-built for her, and Lulu is on a roll, now carrying that Brazilian thunderous confidence across the island continent.

Surfboard Empire CT Shaper Rankings presented by Veia

1. Channel Islands – 29,490 pts (Lakey Peterson 1st, George Pittar 1st)
2.  …Lost 28,630 pts (Sawyer Lindblad 3rd, Yago Dora 5th)
3. DHD – 23,375 pts (Molly Picklum 5th, Joel Vaughan 5th) 
4. JS – 20,830 pts (Samuel Pupo 3rd)
5. Sharp Eye – 18,630 pts (Luana Silva 2nd)

Watching your brand name rise and fall in the rankings while sipping tequila and talking nonsense to peers must be infinitely more enjoyable, and far less stressful, than actually making those boards work in challenging conditions.

A tip of the hat, then, to those whose skin is prematurely aged by chemical exposure and whose pores are permanently clogged with airborne polyurethane foam. Civilisation rests on strange sacrifices.

Both winning boards at Main Break came from the large hands of Britt Merrick. George Pittar and Lakey Peterson’s victories pushed CI to the top of the CT Shaper Rankings, replacing …Lost, who led after Bells.

Mayhem’s (reigning 3x CT Shaper of the Year) label trails the Merrick machine by fewer than 1,000 points. A 3rd from Sawyer Lindblad and a 5th from Yago Dora keep them firmly in contention. Six of the 16 Quarterfinalists across the men’s and women’s fields were on Mayhems.

With matching 5th-place finishes from Molly Picklum and Joel Vaughan, Darren Handley remains in 3rd. Samuel Pupo’s 3rd place finish ensured JS stayed in the top five, though it surrendered second place after Bells.

Sharp Eye slipped from 4th to 5th, but Luana Silva’s runner-up finish secured valuable points. This is also a good moment to remind everyone that Caity will likely be riding Zouvi’s boards at Snapper, where history has favored Zouvi’s fine curves.

Outside the current Top 5, two new builders joined the overall standings at Margaret River: Timmy Patterson via Italo Ferreira’s 3rd place finish and Glenn Pang (T&C Surf) supporting Caity Simmers (Caity rode her Pang to victory in the Quarters before switching to a Sharp Eye in the Semis — in such case, the points are awarded to the last board a surfer won on). 

Until May 11th, at the latest.