Reigning world champion Yago Dora stuns with perfect 10 in quarterfinal at New Zealand Pro in Raglan

Sunday, 24 May 2026

Like something out of a dream, reigning world surfing champion Yago Dora pulled off the unthinkable with a perfect 10 to salvage a dramatic late quarterfinal victory at the New Zealand Pro in Raglan on Sunday afternoon.

The Brazilian, who started his week by celebrating his 30th birthday on Monday, ended it in some sort of style, too, after producing an aerial for the ages to wow the crowd in this history-making World Surf League Championship Tour event at Manu Bay.

Up against American Cole Houshmand, who hadn’t progressed beyond the second round at any of the three season-opening events in Australia, Dora was on the brink, with just over three minutes remaining in his heat and requiring a lofty 9.50 score to advance, after Houshmand had notched successive impressive 8.50s.

Never fear, the ‘King of clutch’ was here, a nickname Dora has had bestowed on him given his ability to pull off the miraculous in the dying moments.

And this was that, and then some, as with what was the last wave of the heat, the goofy-footer (right foot forward and left foot at the back) proceeded to surge his way into the wind on the famed, and goofy-favoured, left-hand break, then pull off a stunning full rotation air reverse, and landing it clean, before throwing in a few more crisp turns for good measure, as the five judges all delivered their double-digit scores, for what was the first 10 of the season.

“That feels so good. I’m just thanking God for that opportunity,” Dora said on the host broadcast, soon after coming to terms with what he had just achieved.

“For a moment everything just seemed like it was lost… and I was just praying for an opportunity, really, I knew I could get the 9.5 that I needed, I just needed a wave to really go for.

“It was a mental battle in my head, it’s easy to kind of give up on those moments when you need such a big score, and there was a long low before that wave came.

“And the last wave, when I popped up I saw that little pocket forming and I was like ‘OK, this is it I’m going to throw it’, and went all the way to the flats and just struck it perfectly, and I knew I just had to finish the wave after that.”

Dora, who is in his ninth year on the tour, and last year claimed his maiden world title, came to New Zealand third in the season standings, but on the back of being bundled out in his first ride at the last event, the Gold Coast Pro.

He now advances to the semifinals against fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira, the 2019 world champ and 2021 Olympic gold medallist, who, thanks to a 9.00, got past series leader, and another Brazilian, Miguel Pupo 16.63 to 12.17 in their quarterfinal.

The other men’s semifinal will feature American Griffin Colapinto against Australia’s Morgan Cibilic. Colapinto prevailed against Brazil’s Filipe Toledo in the first quarterfinal heat (17.10 to 15.83), while Cibilic edged Indonesia’s Rio Waida 13.60 to 13.50.

Monday’s women’s final will be a showdown between American Sawyer Lindblad and Hawaii native Carissa Moore, the five-time world champion.

Lindblad snuck past Alyssa Spencer in a battle of all-California, goofy-foot surfers (15.76 to 15.73) in a close one to qualify for her first final of the season. In the all-Hawaiian semifinal, Moore delivered the highest combined heat total of the year with best scores of 9.80 and 9.20 for a total of 19 against Bettylou Sakura Johnson (13.70).

Due to small swell, Sunday’s action hadn’t got underway until 1pm, so the event will stretch to Monday’s final day of the 11-day competition window, where an early-morning start is planned for the men’s semifinals, to be followed by the women’s and men’s finals.