Hawaii's Gabriela Bryan and Japan's Connor O’Leary were crowned champions of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay in Jeffreys Bay on Friday.
It was all-time Supertubes conditions, with solid four-to-six-foot surf in offshore wind, with the world’s best putting on a high-performance show in front of thousands of surf fans lining the beach.
Molly Picklum (AUS) and Yago Dora (BRA) finished runners-up after producing some of the top performances throughout the week.
The next stop on the World Surf League's (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) will be the Lexus Tahiti Pro, the final regular-season event before the one-day, winner-take-all Lexus WSL Finals in Cloudbreak, Fiji.
Only the Top 5 men and Top 5 women on the world rankings will compete in the event.
After Friday's competition, there are now four men’s spots and two women’s spots remaining.
The seeding and final positions will all come down to the world-renowned Teahupo’o from August 7 through August 16.
Japan’s O’Leary won his first-ever CT title at the 2025 Corona Cero Open J-Bay, a career-best result in his seven years on Tour.
O’Leary burst onto the scene in his rookie year in 2017, and his last finals appearance was at the Fiji Pro of that year.
This season, the 31-year-old from Cronulla had a run of ninth-place finishes and two quarterfinal appearances, and has jumped to No 11 on the rankings after his win, his best result for 2025.
All the stars aligned for this one, so I’m stoked. It felt good to have so many people cheering for me, and then to perform for them
— Japan's Connor O’Leary
“I don’t have any words,” said O’Leary.
“I’m just so happy with how I performed today.
"[Richard] 'Dog' Marsh has been telling me that it’s coming this year, but it’s been hard to believe sometimes. All the stars aligned for this one, so I’m stoked. It felt good to have so many people cheering for me, and then to perform for them.
“I intended to do some of the best backhand surfing you’ve ever seen, and to compete with a fellow goofy in the Final, hopefully it inspires other goofy-foot surfers that they can compete against the best in perfect right-hand point breaks.”
O’Leary took the win over Yago Dora (BRA) in an all-goofy-foot battle at Supertubes.
O’Leary’s flawless backhand attack saw him earn the event’s only 10-point ride (out of a possible 10) to knock out three-time J-Bay winner Filipe Toledo (BRA) in an exhilarating semifinal to advance to his first final for 2025.
O’Leary had a huge challenge ahead, with Dora seemingly unstoppable in J-Bay and his third final for the season.
Locking into a classic leg burner, O’Leary scored an excellent 8.17 and 7.50 for a total of 15.67 (out of a possible 20) for the win.
World No 2 Bryan earned her third CT win of the season and the fourth of her career in dramatic fashion, defeating world No 1 Molly Picklum (AUS) by the narrowest of margins.
After an early exit at the VIVO Rio Pro, Bryan lost the Yellow Leader Jersey to Picklum and flew out to SA to reset and get in a few extra reps at Supertubes.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” said Bryan.
“I came here early, putting in a lot of time here, and it paid off. I’m so stoked. It’s been a dream of mine to win here at J-Bay. It’s an iconic wave and one of my favourites in the world.
“The Yellow Jersey comes with a lot of pressure, so I definitely had less pressure in that Final. I personally like chasing something that I want to go after. The only time I want to be wearing Yellow is the first event next year.” Bryan clinched her place in the WSL Final 5 and will compete for the World Title in the Lexus WSL Finals Fiji. — World Surf League
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