News

by Fred

Pittar slays the giants at Margs

George Pittar takes down Toledo, Dora, Ferreira and Medina to claim his first CT win. Lakey Peterson edges Luana Silva for her seventh. And the whole thing nearly turned on a no-call back in Round Two.

Margs has its winners. George Pittar stitched together the run of his life to beat Gabriel Medina in the Final, 15.17 to 12.46, for his first ever CT victory. Lakey Peterson held off Luana Silva in the women’s Final, 12.23 to 11.83, for her seventh CT win and her second at Main Break.

Three to four foot, clean blue skies on the last day of an eleven-day window after a week of stormy onshore slop. The wait paid off.

Pittar and Peterson on the Margaret River Pro podium Photo by World Surf League team

The interference that wasn’t

Before we get to the Finals, the talking point of the week. Round Two, Heat 9. WA wildcard Jacob Willcox against reigning World Champion Yago Dora. Close heat, ugly conditions, and a paddle situation that had Dora certain Willcox had pinched a wave under his priority.

Judges went away to look at it. Panel split. Majority called it not an interference, on the basis that Dora’s paddle came too late for him to have caught the wave anyway.

Dora got through, 13.67 to 12.93, and the call had no effect on the result. But it set the tone for the week. Tight margins, marginal calls, and an event that always seems to find a controversy.

It also set up the run that would end Dora’s tournament three rounds later, at the hands of Pittar.

Pittar’s giant-slaying run

The 23-year-old from Sydney’s Northern Beaches knocked over every World Champion currently on Tour to win this thing. Read it back and it doesn’t feel real.

Toledo, Dora, Ferreira, Medina. A two-time, a reigning, a 2019, and a three-time. All brazilians. In one bracket. Pittar got cut at this exact event in 2025 as a rookie. Twelve months later, he’s the World No. 2.

The Final itself swung on priority. Pittar opened patient, posted a 6.17 to lead. Medina then made a priority error, and Pittar didn’t waste it. He went straight out and posted a 9.00, the highest single-wave score of the event. Medina kept attacking but never cracked the excellent range he needed.

“I had to have the faith that I could win. I can’t think I’m just another number making up the rankings anymore. I want to be on here. I want to be a competitor.”

George Pittar

Watch Men’s final at WSL official Youtube channel:

Peterson, on her own terms

The women’s Final was the heart-rate Final. Peterson opened on a left, built a workmanlike scoreline. Luana Silva sat patient, then went right at the five-minute mark and posted the highest wave of the heat, a 6.83, to take the lead.

Peterson needed a 6.01. She got 6.40. Two-turn combo, and that was the event.

Her road to get there was a generation gap of its own: Peterson, 31, took down three surfers a decade younger on the way: Erin Brooks, Caroline Marks, and Sawyer Lindblad. It’s her seventh CT win and her first repeat victory at any single venue. Her last Margs win was 2019.

“I work really hard, we all do, it’s just nice when it pays off. I’ve been doing this a really long time, and it’s cool to prove to myself I can still win these events.”

Lakey Peterson

Watch Women’s final at WSL official Youtube channel:

Semifinal results

Men’s

Women’s

Where it leaves the rankings

Medina takes the Yellow Jersey for the first time since his last World Title in 2021. Pittar slots in at No. 2, less than 1,000 points back. Miguel Pupo is third.

On the women’s side, Gabriela Bryan holds top spot, level on points with Peterson.

Next stop is the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro, kicking off May 1. The third leg of the GWM Aussie Treble. You can check Gold Coast forecast and get a sense on what to expect.

If you watched any of this and want to make sense of why Margs serves up the surf it does, the Margaret River forecast page shows what’s running there now.