WSL 2026: Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Review, Complete Guide & How to Use the New Season Format
Stop everything, mate. The waiting game is officially over.
If you’ve been staring at the ocean wondering when life gets meaning again, here’s your answer. The World Surf League (WSL) 2026 season has exploded out of the gates, and we’re already neck-deep in one of the most anticipated Aussie legs in years. We just wrapped the opening days of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, and if this is the tone for the next nine months, we are in for an absolute banger of a season.
The GOAT is Back, But the Young Bulls Are Biting
You couldn’t script a better storyline for the season opener. The Queen, Stephanie Gilmore, decided her sabbatical was over. After two years off, chasing waves and launching tequila, the eight-time world champion pulled on the comp vest again at 38. But Bells is a fickle mistress. In her first heat back, she drew Luana Silva, the young Brazilian who basically took her spot on tour while she was away.
It was a passing of the torch moment no one saw coming. Silva put the writing on the wall early, dropping an 11.83 to Gilmore's 6.10. It’s the worst result Steph has ever had at Bells. But here’s the thing about the GOAT—she told us she was coming back with "no pressure, just for the love of it," and honestly? She looked stoked just to be in the scrum. Don't write her off for the rest of the WSL guide to 2026 just yet; she’s got a wildcard fire burning.
How to Use the High-Stakes 2026 Format
If you haven't watched the tour in a year or two, you need a quick WSL review on the rules, because the safety nets are gone. The WSL dropped the non-elimination rounds. That means every single heat is sudden death from Round 1. If you come second in your first heat, you're not sliding into a second chance—you’re packing your bags.
Here is the quick cheat sheet on how to use the new structure to spot the contenders:
- The Aussie Treble: We have three events in a row on home soil (Bells, Margaret River, and the Gold Coast). The man and woman with the highest combined points across these three take home a GWM Tank 300. It’s our own little World Cup inside the tour.
- The Postseason Shift: After Stop 9 in California, the field gets slashed. Only the top 24 men and 16 women move on to the Middle East and Portugal.
- Pipeline Finale: The season ends in Hawaii with 1.5x points. It’s the great equaliser. If you’re good in the barrel, you’re always in the title race.
Molly's World: The Champion’s Aura
While the old guard is fighting for relevance, Molly Picklum is proving why she’s the queen of the castle. The Central Coast local came into 2026 wearing the crown, having absolutely smoked the field in Fiji back in September to snatch the 2025 world title.
Remember that day? She was up against American Caroline Marks, and Pickles just found a new gear in those Cloudbreak barrels. She’s the real deal. The "Pickles" Army is out in force this year, and seeing a Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College alumna sitting at the top of the leaderboard just feels right for Australian surfing. She’s bringing that fierce, heavy-water surfing that we usually only see from the boys, and she’s only getting better.
We’ve still got the Margaret River Pro coming up hot, and then the party moves to Snapper Rocks. If you need me, I’ll be glued to the WSL stream, praying for a south swell. This season is already delivering the drama, and we haven’t even hit the reef breaks yet.