WSL Announces Championship Tour Will Return To Fiji Through 2029

"With its world-class waves and incredible people and culture, Fiji's such an important piece of the Championship Tour, and we're so excited to be coming back for the foreseeable future, and hopefully beyond," Crosby shared.

Cloudbreak first appeared on the Championship Tour in 1999 with the inaugural event being won by Mark Occhilupo. No surprise, 11-time world champ Kelly Slater is the winningest surfer in the event's history, topping the podium for the first time in 2005 before rattling off three wins in a row from 2008 through 2013 (the event was on hiatus from 2009 through 2012). Perhaps the most historic running of the event came during the 2012 Volcom Fiji Pro when a monster swell forced the world's best to question just comfortable they felt on the extreme outer ledge of the Cloudbreak reef.

"I’ve thought forever that Cloudbreak is the best wave in the world," Slater confirmed to SURFER in 2024. "I feel so connected to the wave. The number of great waves I’ve had at one break in my life are way higher at Cloudbreak than anywhere else on the planet because it’s just a great quality wave.

"Cloudbreak is that rare wave that’s good from very small to as big as waves get. There are very few waves in the world that have a reef or bottom that handles waves of all sizes and maintains the quality. Most have a little zone when they’re at their best—two foot, six foot, 20 foot. You’re not paddling out to Waimea when it’s head-high. But you are going out to Cloudbreak when it’s 40 or 50 feet and getting the craziest wave that’s ever potentially been ridden. Conversely, at Cloudbreak, you can also get the most fun wave you’ve ever had when it’s head high."

With the waiting period officially underway, it's not going to be 40 or 50 feet for the WSL Finals, but there is a bump on the horizon and waves inbound. Cloudbreak is notoriously hard to forecast, but at the moment, it's looking like the best days in the window will be September 2nd or 3rd. After that, as we learned today, the future is wide open for the Championship Tour in Fiji.