George Pittar’s breakout win at the Margaret River Pro reshaped the early World Surf League standings. The 23-year-old captured his first Championship Tour victory at Main Break in clean 3 to 4 foot surf, posting the event’s highest single-wave score, a near-perfect 9.00, on the way to a final-round win over three-time champion Gabriel Medina. Pittar said the victory was for his supporters and friends. The result moved him to World No. 2 and lifted Medina to World No. 1, leaving fewer than 1,000 points separating Medina, Pittar and season-opener winner Miguel Pupo in the men’s title race.

Pittar’s run came through an elite men’s field that included Filipe Toledo, reigning world champion Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira, and capped a steep rise for the 23-year-old, who had missed the mid-season cut at Margaret River the previous year. He finished nearly three points ahead of Medina after capitalizing on a Medina priority error. His triumph marked the first time in more than a decade that a male surfer from Sydney’s Northern Beaches won a CT event and entered the top three in the world rankings. Brazilians supplied three semifinalists at Margaret River, matching the nationality spread from the season-opening event won by Miguel Pupo.

In the women’s draw, 31-year-old Lakey Peterson claimed her seventh CT victory and her second Margaret River title. Peterson advanced to the final by dispatching Erin Brooks, Caroline Marks and Sawyer Lindblad, then posted a 6.40 in the final to overtake Luana Silva, who needed a 6.01. Peterson’s result left her level with Gabriela Bryan in the women’s Treble standings. The tour now heads to the Gold Coast for the next stop on the Championship Tour.