Gabriela Bryan and Miguel Pupo Win the 2026 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy

BELLS BEACH, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 11: (L-R) Miguel Pupo of Brazil and Gabriela Bryan of Hawaii at the presentation at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach on April 11, 2026 at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia. (Photo by Ed Sloane/World Surf League)

Gabriela Bryan (HAW) and Miguel Pupo (BRA) won the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy, Stop No. 1 of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). Bryan and Pupo have etched their names into surfing folklore, winning one of surfing’s most prestigious events, each for the first time. The pair were top performers all week in an assortment of conditions, with the event eventually culminating in semi-clean four-to-five foot swell at Winkipop, some of the best waves seen over the event period.

Miguel Pupo Sits Atop Rankings for the First Time in His Career

Miguel Pupo (BRA) has claimed one of the biggest results of his career, becoming the fifth Brazilian surfer ever to win the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Since joining the CT midway through 2011, Pupo has struggled to make it to Finals Day at Bells, but in 2026, the 34-year-old father of four appeared destined to push deep in the draw, with some of the strongest and most clutch performances of the event. Winning his second-ever CT event today, Pupo will start his 14th season at the elite level at the top of the rankings, sitting at No. 1 for the first time.

“I can’t believe it, I was dreaming about this moment,” Pupo said. “So much hard work, age 34, 14 seasons. If you were to tell me I would be number one in the world today, I would probably laugh at you. I came early to Australia, sacrificed so much, and yeah, happy. I feel like I’m living my career in reverse, you know, starting off not that well and finishing off strong. I feel like I feel I have a lot more years in me to give. It’s my oldest daughter’s birthday today, so I’m bringing home a Bell.”

In the Final, Pupo came up against fellow goofy-footer Yago Dora (BRA) in what was the first all-goofy Bells Final since Damien Hardman (AUS) defeated Barton Lynch (AUS) 33 years ago, in 1993. The Brazilian duo went back and forth, posting solid scores with Dora holding the advantage for the first three-quarters of the heat. With less than 10 minutes left, Pupo took off deep on a medium set which forced him to fight around the first big section. Once he found the open face, Pupo belted three, huge, precise and seamless backside snaps, drifting his tail each time, to post an 8.10 (out of a possible 10), giving him a winning heat total of 15.60 (out of a possible 20).

“This morning I woke up and I was like, I want to be in yellow next event,” Pupo said. “I’ve never been in yellow before, I want to experience that. I want to live that shoe, with everyone, all the Brazilians. Those guys inspire me, like Yago [Dora] and Gabe [Gabriel Medina]. I’m 34, so now I have to not look up, but look down at them, as an example of hard work and self-belief. Thanks to my coach [Adriano de Souza]. He was the one that was believing in me the whole event. I want to thank my wife, my mom, dad. My wife’s at home with four kids, so she’s doing the hard work, and I’m here just having fun. Thank you.”

Gabriela Bryan Kicks Off World Title Campaign With Bells Victory

After a breakthrough season in 2025 saw Gabriela Bryan (HAW) claim three CT event wins and end the year ranked third in the world, the 24-year-old Kaua‘i representative has kicked off 2026 in the perfect way, winning the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Bryan was the woman to beat all week, posting some of the highest single waves and heat totals in every round to make it past the Quarterfinals at this location for the first time in her career. Bryan will now wear the Yellow Leaders Jersey heading to the Western Australia Margaret River Pro, an event she has won for the last two years in a row. 

“You got to win it to ring it, and I get to ring it, and I’m so excited,” Bryan said. “This event has so much history, and some of my favourite surfers have won it, so it’s surreal to get to lift that Bell myself now. I am here with my mum, and I’m staying with Riss [Carissa Moore]. I’ve just been having the best time down here, and the vibes have been high. Now I get to head to Western Australia for another event that I love, so let’s hope I can keep this going.” 

In the Final, Bryan came up against reigning World Champion Molly Picklum (AUS), who was on the hunt for her first win at Bells. Bryan got an early start, taking the best waves of the first two sets to earn an early advantage, while Picklum struggled to find the waves she was looking for. Bryan then found a decent-sized wave under priority and smashed a huge carve into a fins-free closeout hit to post a 14.83 two-wave total and put Picklum into a combination situation. Picklum was never able to find a score to get back in the game, leaving Bryan to win her fifth CT event with her fifth straight head-to-head defeat of the Australian. Bryan now puts her name on the Bell, joining the likes of fellow Hawaiians Carissa Moore (HAW), Megan Abubo (HAW), Jeff Hakman (HAW), Sunny Garcia (HAW), Margo Oberg (HAW), Andy Irons (HAW) and John John Florence (HAW) as a winner of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. 

“Molly [Picklum] is an incredible surfer and person,” Bryan continued. “We hung out in Kaua‘i in the off-season, and she just pushes us all so much, so it was cool to share a Final with her, and I’m stoked to get the win. It’s an insane feeling, but I can never do it alone. There’s so many people that help me and are part of my team. The best part is that winning feels really good for me, but it also is really good for everyone that supports you. It’s been good celebrating my birthday here, and now I get to ring the Bell. One of my main goals this year is to have fun and just show the world some Gabby surfing and that’s what I’m going to try to do for the rest of the year.”

Reigning World Champions Picklum and Dora Finish Runners-Up at Bells

Yago Dora (BRA) has commenced his Title defense with a great result, finishing the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in second place, his best ever result at this location and his first time appearing on Finals Day. The result also marks the first time Dora has made it past the Quarterfinals in any Australian event. The 29-year-old walks away confident after delivering some of the event’s strongest performances at both Bells and Winkipop. 

“It’s great to finally have a good result here,” said Dora. “This event has challenged me a lot in the past, and it still does. This wasn’t easy by any means. I had some slow heats, and then I had the beast of Gabriel Medina in the semis. Miguel [Pupo] had an incredible event. A massive congratulations to him and all the finalists. If there is something that I learned from last year, it’s that I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was and that self-belief is really good to be feeling right now.”

On his way to the Final, Dora overcame event standout Gabriel Medina (BRA), who had posted the highest two-wave total of the event in his Quarterfinal to book a matchup with Dora. The reigning World Champion, Dora, had to pull out all the stops to defeat the three-time World Champion, Medina, in the dying seconds of the Semifinal to progress into the Final. Dora blasted three turns then ended the wave with a full-rotation backside indy air-reverse to post a 9.50, the highest single-wave score of the event.

Pupo and Bryan Lead GWM Aussie Treble Rankings Ahead of Margaret River

The 2026 season has seen the return of the GWM ‘Aussie Treble’, which celebrates the best men’s and women’s performers across the three major events in Australia.

With Australia hosting the opening three events of the season in 2026, the proposition is simple: the men’s and women’s top-ranked surfers after the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Bonsoy, the Western Australia Margaret River Pro and the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro presented by GWM, win a GWM Tank 300. This is all thanks to GWM continuing as the Official Automotive Partner of WSL Australia in 2026.

With their wins today, Gabriela Bryan (HAW) and Miguel Pupo (HAW) will head to Margaret River in the Yellow Leaders Jersey and on top of the GWM Aussie Treble Rankings.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Final Results
1. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 14.83
2. Molly Picklum (AUS) 8.33

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Final Results
1. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 15.60
2. Yago Dora (BRA) 13.90

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Women’s Semifinal Results
HEAT 1: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 15.44 DEF. Alyssa Spencer (USA) 14.67
HEAT 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) 14.84 DEF. Isabella Nichols (AUS) 14.27

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Semifinal Results
HEAT 1: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.67 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 7.50
HEAT 2: Yago Dora (BRA) 16.33 DEF. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.17

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Men’s Quarterfinal Results
HEAT 1: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.50 DEF. Barron Mamiya (HAW) 11.10
HEAT 2: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 15.00 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 13.03
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.00 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 9.00
HEAT 4: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 17.40 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 13.93

The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy ran at Bells Beach from April 1 – 11, 2026. The competition will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and the free WSL app. 

Next Up: Western Australia Margaret River Pro 

The Western Australia Margaret River Pro, Stop No. 2 of the 2026 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), will hold a competition window from April 16 – 26. The competition will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and the free WSL app. Also, check out more ways to watch from the WSL’s broadcast partners.

The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy is proudly supported by Rip Curl, Visit Victoria, Surf Coast Shire, Bonsoy, WSL One Ocean, Red Bull, Apple, True Surf, Surfline, I-Sea, YETI, eero, Stone & Wood, Hydralyte, GWM, Fatboy Bikes, Bond University, mophie, Boost Mobile, Volley, Bioglan and RACV.

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

About the WSL
The World Surf League (WSL) is the global home of competitive surfing, crowning World Champions since 1976 and showcasing the world’s best surfing. The WSL oversees surfing’s global competitive landscape and sets the standard for elite performance in the most dynamic playing field in all of sports. With a firm commitment to its values, the WSL prioritizes the protection of the ocean, equality, and the sport’s rich heritage, while championing progression and innovation. For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.