Merewether young gun Morgan Cibilic will cap off an outstanding season if he prevails in the inaugural 2021 Rip Curl WSL Finals, which start this weekend.
The red-hot rookie is one of five men, who have arrived in San Clemente, California, for the historic event – between 9 and 17 September – in the new winner-take-all competition to decide the undisputed 2021 world surf champion.
The boardriders will enter the Rip Curl WSL Finals bracket based on their year-end rankings.
Cibilic now faces Brazilian trio Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira and Filipe Toledo, plus American Conner Coffin, at Lower Trestles for the prestigious title.
And, he’ll line up against the US challenger in match one.
The winner then advances to the next stage – and a showdown with Toledo.
From there, a possible meeting with reigning WSL champion, Olympic Gold Medal recipient world number two Ferreira awaits.
A victory would elevate Cibilic to the best-of-three title match against the top-ranked Medina.
The first surfer to claim two of the heats will be crowned the 2021 champion.
“I don’t mind the underdog tag,” the Hunter-based youngster said.
“There’s no pressure on you.
“But, you also embrace the challenge of proving people wrong… I’m keen to do that.”
Medina boasts a major advantage over the other WSL Final 5 contenders, being seeded directly into the title match.
“To win a third world title is my biggest goal,” the two-time WSL champion said.
“It’s amazing to win the title.
“All the surfers I look up to have won three titles, so I really want to do that.
“I know it’s gonna be hard, but I’ve been training hard, surfing every day and I just want to make it happen.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Ferreira.
“It has been a very special year for me,” he said.
“All these guys here are such a big inspiration to me.
“I’m excited to be competing with them for this next challenge of my career.”
In the women’s section, Aussie duo Stephanie Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons take on France’s Johanne Defay, Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb and Hawaiian Carissa Moore.
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