Molly Picklum (AUS) and Cole Houshmand (USA) delivered standout performances to claim victory at the VIVO Rio Pro Presented by Corona Cero, Stop No. 9 on the 2025 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). With a clean, building swell and electric energy from the Brazilian crowd, the event offered a dramatic shift in the rankings and standout performances from both seasoned and rising stars.
Picklum Seizes the Moment, Locks in First Win of the Season
Molly Picklum reinforced her position at the top of the women’s leaderboard, taking home her first win of the season and third CT title overall. Already sitting at World No. 1 after a strong Semifinal finish, Picklum was the only woman in the Top 5 to progress beyond the Elimination Round — and she made it count.
“I’ve worked so hard this year to really put my best foot forward,” Picklum said. “Actually, before I was going out I felt nearly emotional because I was just like, okay, I get another chance to try and get a victory.”
Opening the Final with a confident 6.83, Picklum quickly put Brazil’s Luana Silva in a combination situation. The Australian then raised the bar with an 8.17 — the highest single-wave score for the women during the event — earned from a critical two-turn combo on the right. Her 15.00 total stood as the best heat score of the event on the women’s side, giving Silva no room to recover despite a late 6.63.
Silva’s performance still made history — becoming the first Brazilian woman to make the Final at this event since 2007. But it was Picklum who walked away with the win, full of admiration for her opponent: “Luana [Silva] is definitely the favourite, and so she should be… I was pretty scared all the way till the end even though I had a couple of good scores.”
Now, with consistent Quarterfinal-or-better finishes in eight out of nine events and two regular-season stops remaining, Picklum is firmly in control of the rankings.
Houshmand Powers to Victory, Snaps Brazilian Streak
On the men’s side, Cole Houshmand claimed his second CT title in style, taking out good friend and fellow San Clemente surfer Griffin Colapinto in a high-energy Final. The 24-year-old delivered a dominant performance and became the first non-Brazilian man to win the Rio event since John John Florence in 2016 — ending a nearly decade-long streak.
“It doesn’t seem real, honestly, I’m speechless,” Houshmand said after the win. “It’s been a long year, and it’s been a lot of fun. I frickin’ love this place. I love everything about it.”
Houshmand struck early with the highest single-wave score of the entire event — a 9.40 earned from a powerful three-turn forehand combo. He then backed it up with a 7.50 after a massive layback hack, locking in a 16.90 total that would prove unbeatable.
Colapinto made a valiant push with an 8.23 on one of the biggest waves of the event, nailing a critical backhand hit. But his earlier 6.17 held him back, and several near-misses on airs left him just short of overtaking Houshmand.
“Honestly, I’ve had two Finals on Tour and both have been with Griffin,” Houshmand added. “We’re just like, hey, it’s like an expression session. We don’t even know what we’re doing, we’re just going to have fun.”
With this result, Houshmand jumped four places in the rankings to No. 12 and continues to build serious momentum heading into the final leg of the season.
