South Africa’s Luke Thompson clinches Balito Pro victory

South Africa’s Luke Thompson claimed victory at the Balito Pro this weekend, boosting himself to number two in the World Surf League (WSL) Challenger Series (CS) rankings and edging closer to a full-time WSL Championship Tour spot in 2026.

Thompson has stood out as a strong CS contender over the past three years, but the Balito Pro marked his first tour win, a breakthrough for the 21-year-old surfer. His standout performance also earned him a wild card entry into this week’s J-Bay Open Championship Tour (CT) event, where he’ll compete in front of his home crowd.

LUKE THOMPSON, A RISING STAR

Luke Thompson’s performance comes at the perfect time, as the WSL is reforming its tour policies. Under the current system, the Championship Tour (CT) cuts the bottom half of its surfers mid-season, relegating 32 top competitors to the Challenger Series (CS).

It’s due to this (somewhat) unpopular rule that you often get such high caliber of competition in the second-tier CS. Fellow South African Matt McGillivray surfed for five years on the CT, only to be abruptly cut at Margaret River earlier this year. This sent him down to the CS, along with the likes of Aussie George Pittar, Jacob Wilcox, Liam O’Brien and Olympic gold medalist Kauli Vast from France.

VICIOUS COMPETITION

With 80 hungry contenders in the Challenger Series, competition is brutally intense, so Luke Thompson’s victory at just 21 years old is a significant achievement. South Africans Adin Masencamp and Jordy Smith previously won the Balito Pro in 2021 and 2017, respectively.

Even better, the WSL’s rule changes for 2026 will eliminate the mid-season cut from the Championship Tour (CT). This means that any hopefuls, such as South Africa’s Luke Thompson and Matt McGillivray, who qualify for the CT this season will compete in all events in 2026. The top ten-ranked men will automatically earn CT spots next year.

FIVE REMAINING CS EVENTS

There are five CS events left between now and next March to decide who moves up to the CT in 2026:

• Jul 26 – Aug 3 – US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California
• Sep 29 – Oct 5 – Ericeira Pro in Ericeira, Portugal
• Oct 11 – 19 – Saquarema Pro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Jan 28 – Feb 8 – Pipe Challenger in Oahu, Hawaii
• Mar 8 – 15 – Newcastle Surfest in Newcastle, Australia

Just a reminder that the J-Bay Open event window opens this Friday 11 July 2025. Based on conditions, tour organisers will decide the best days to run the event. South Africa’s Jordy Smith, who is pushing for his first world title, is currently ranked no.1 in the world, albeit by a slim margin. Even if you’re not a surf fan, Smith surfing in the yellow jersey in front of his home crowd promises to be one of the South African sporting events of the year. So, get out there and support the Big Bru!