Surf Ranch Fantasy Preview
Rottnest Congratulations Gabe must be stinging from the fact that the WSL have introduced this whole finals series thing at Trestles this year. At this point, he's all-but-guaranteed a 1st place ranking at the end of the (reduced) regular season, which would otherwise be enough for the trophy. Meanwhile, Sally Fitz was all 'American smiles*' as she took out her first event since Rio 2019 and set herself up for a confident Olympics berth. Read more
Last updated June 18, 2021 by Balyn McDonald
Rottnest Fantasy Preview
Margies Congratulations Filipe earned his first win since Rio 2019 and cemented his spot in the current top 5. Tatiana scored her 2nd CT victory (matching Samantha Cornish*) and raced to second place in the rankings. Meanwhile, the big news was FSS champ Crow, who also scored his second victory and raced to 2nd on the leaderboard. What was particularly impressive was that he did it... Read more
Last updated May 14, 2021 by Balyn McDonald
Margaret River Fantasy Preview
Conditions The WSL have plenty of venue guides for Margies, or Ben Mondy overviews, as well as detailed break breakdowns, and Kelly Slater’s ‘Vision’ series providing his insights into Main Break, the Box and North Point (North Point has been confirmed as being off the table this year). Honestly through, this event is harder to pin down in regards to conditions than most as there are four three... Read more
Last updated April 30, 2021 by Balyn McDonald
Narrabeen Classic Fantasy Preview
I don't know about all of you, but I'm low-key psyched for Narrabeen. I know how consistent it is and I've surfed it a bunch, so I'm keen to see the pros amongst it. We've all blown the cobwebs off our fantasy teams (read: I kind of sucked at Newcastle) and now it's time to get ready for a big result (I'll probably suck again). Let's get started. Conditions Read more
Last updated April 14, 2021 by Balyn McDonald
Newcastle Cup Fantasy Winners
While John and Jack managed to rob a few teams of the fantasy glory they desired, but a few shrewd players managed to grind out a win at the first leg of the 4-part Aussie leg. Join me now in begrudgingly celebrating their victories... Fab Fab - 37660 pts Fab had all 4 semi-finalists, as well as quarter-finalist Conner. ... Read more
Last updated April 13, 2021 by Balyn McDonald
Newcastle Fantasy Preview
It's the season re-launch, with surf fans tempering their expectations with the pragmatic modesty that only the WSL can inspire. We've got a new-ish venue to look at and fantasy team to pick, so let's quit prologuing and start crunching the numbers. Conditions Newcastle offers more breaks than Kelly's injury schedule, so I'm just going to let local hopeful Ryan Callinan break it down for you... Read more
Last updated March 31, 2021 by Balyn McDonald
The Tour 2.0
After a welcome start, followed by several set-backs and some on-brand radio silence, the WSL has found a new path forward in 2021. Pipe/Maui seem like an entire season ago, but it's worth remembering that the WSL had a brief-but-competent return to the professional sports sphere with their season openers in Hawaii 3 months ago. Sure, there were some lowlights, such as a shark attack at Maui minutes before the finals day, wildcard Miguel Tudela's... Read more
Last updated March 14, 2021 by Balyn McDonald
Pipe Fantasy Preview
It feels weird to be kicking off the title race at Pipe. No world title scenarios, no qualification predictions, no pressure, no form to look at. Nothing. Don't get me wrong; I'm psyched to have the tour back, and I'm super keen to share our fantasy game with the world, but the Pipe build-up is usually an unrivaled spectacle in the world of pro surfing. Conditions As a mediocre... Read more
Last updated December 6, 2020 by Balyn McDonald
Welcome Back
After a prolonged hiatus, the WSL men's and women's tours are stretching on the beach in preparation for a re-launch. In any regular season, the Billabong Pipe Masters and Roxy Maui Pro would serve as the championship crescendos. They represent the jewels in the WSL's world title crowns where, when the conditions and ratings combine, the world's best throw down in one final grab for the championship trophy. Their very scheduling conjures up memories of countless world title and requalification scenarios,... Read more
Last updated November 14, 2020 by Balyn McDonald
The New Normal
New Australian Grand Slam venue Cabarita has kick-started the 2020 WSL season Let's be honest: fantasy surfing sits pretty low on the hierarchy of things impacted by covid-19. Most of you probably haven't even noticed our lack of articles or trading for the non-existent WSL events of this year. There's been bigger fish to fry. That said, we are on the cusp of finally being... Read more
Last updated September 14, 2020 by Balyn McDonald