Gabriel Medina and Caity Simmers Claim Cloud 9 Philippines Pro Titles
Medina’s 9.43 barrel sealed his 18th CT win, while Simmers overcame an ankle injury and a disputed semifinal call to take her first victory of 2026.
Gabriel Medina and Caity Simmers turned Cloud 9’s demanding barrels into decisive advantages, winning the inaugural Philippines Pro and adding momentum to their title campaigns. Medina’s 9.43 ride broke open the men’s final against Jack Robinson; Simmers put together two tube rides for a winning total of 12.00 against Isabella Nichols. The event also gave local wildcard John Mark Tokong a chance to raise his profile, while a disputed interference call shaped the women’s semifinal between Simmers and Carissa Moore.
Cloud 9 supplied steady surf, with waves in the four-to-six-foot-plus range testing the competitors’ ability to read and commit to the barrels. That technical challenge sent several established surfers home early. Tokong made the most of the conditions in the opening rounds, showing skill in the tubes and standing out among the local contingent. For the new venue’s first event, the conditions made barrel-riding ability a central measure of who could advance.
Medina finds the score that Robinson couldn’t match
Matt Dunbar/World Surf League
Medina’s victory was his 18th CT win and his first in 24 events. He had reached three finals during that stretch before finally returning to the top of the podium. After sitting out last year and starting this season slowly, the Brazilian has found form at a significant point in the schedule. He is second in the rankings, with the Lexus Pipe Masters next and the 2026 World Champions set to be crowned in Hawaii this December.
Robinson had the early edge in the final, building his position with two mid-range scores. But he left Medina with priority, and Medina made the opportunity count. On one of the day’s bigger waves, he took a deep line and threaded section after section for a 9.43. That ride drove his two-wave total to 16.93 out of 20, a demanding target for Robinson, who couldn’t find the backup score he needed.
The sequence showed how quickly a barrel final can turn. Robinson’s early scoring gave him control, but Medina’s choice to commit on a larger wave produced the heat’s defining ride. The 9.43 supplied both a standout single score and the foundation for a winning total. Robinson fought back, but the opening advantage wasn’t enough once Medina found the wave that separated them.
“This means a lot to me. I’ve been trying so hard all year long, traveling with all of my crew. I really wanted to win one event this year, and after a few second-place finishes, I just kept believing,” Medina said.
He described the ride as a test of trust once the wave closed around him: “I took off on that thing and just wanted to be deep. I could see it sucking, and then the foamball came over, and I couldn’t see a thing and just trusted the wave, and then just came out, which felt really good.”
Medina reached the final by eliminating defending World Champ Yago Dora, who had spent much of the year atop the leaderboard. Their semifinal included attempted aerial rotations: Medina came close to completing an inverted move with 20 minutes remaining, while Dora tried a similar air with four minutes left and also fell short. The result sets up another point of interest at Pipeline, where both could meet in conditions suited to their attacking styles.
“I have been waiting all year for this win, and I’m so happy. I knew it was going to come,” Medina said. He added that talking about the title makes him confident and that he loves the pressure. With Pipe up next and Medina sitting second in the rankings, the win gives his pursuit of a fourth World Title a timely lift.
Simmers turns a difficult week into a winning final
Simmers claimed her first event win of 2026 after posting some of the biggest scores in several rounds. Her route through the contest wasn’t straightforward: a collision with Yolanda Hopkins in the quarterfinal led to an unintentional interference call and seven stitches to Simmers’ ankle. She continued through the event and faced Nichols, herself returning from an ankle injury, in the final.
Against Nichols, Simmers relied on two tube rides to reach 12.00. The score reflected a focused final performance after the injury and the pressure of a run that had already included a narrow, disputed semifinal. It was her eighth CT victory and the first event win of the year for the 2024 World Champion.
The result also adds weight to her recent form. Simmers had recorded one win in five final appearances since the start of 2025, then reached back-to-back finals in Portugal and the Philippines. Those results have moved her to third in the rankings. With the Hawaii event ahead, she enters the next stop with a win behind her and a strong position in the standings.
“This is one of my favorite waves in the world, and I was almost in tears paddling out for the Final because I could really feel the love from everyone watching from the water,” Simmers said. She described the moment as beautiful and said she let go of her attachment to winning or losing to focus on surfing.
That approach carried through in her comments about the World Title. “My goal right now isn’t to go and win it (The World title); I feel like I’ve already accomplished my goal, which is to be able to be in a place and be grateful and thankful for the beauty of it.” Her position in third means the title remains part of the season’s picture, even as she framed the final around the experience of surfing.
The most contentious moment came in the semifinal against Moore. Both surfers were paddling for a wave when a priority switch developed, and officials called interference on Moore, giving Simmers the heat win. The decision changed the outcome and drew a sharp reaction from Moore: “Extremely hard to swallow. I haven’t felt this frustrated with this sport in a long time.”
Cloud 9 therefore leaves the tour with two distinct stories: Medina’s return to the podium and renewed push toward a fourth title, and Simmers’ first victory of the year after an injury and a consequential call. Both now head to Hawaii for the Lexus Pipe Masters, where the season’s champions will be decided this December.
