Margaret River Pro is The Last Event Before the Mid-Year Cut. Here's What You Need to Know

We're down to the final event before the mid-season cut. What does that mean for your Fantasy Surfer teams headed to Margaret River? Let's dive in a little further.

First of all, there are several former world champions who are teetering on the edge of dropping off the tour. Currently on the men's side, Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira sit above the cut line, but one disastrous heat–combined with a few great performances from lower-ranked competitors–could spell their doom.

And it's not smelling like roses for former world champ Tyler Wright either, who needs a strong event at Margaret River to keep her spot on tour. Right behind her is a duo of surfers who have multiple event wins in their careers–Sally Fitzgibbons, and Lakey Peterson. With such a slim point advantage, Wright will need to perform up to her standards if she wants to stay on for the remainder of 2024 and qualify for the 2025 season.

Who will be left standing after the battle out West? Set your FantasySurfer teams now!

WHO: The Men's WSL Championship Tour Top 34 plus 2 wildcards, and the Women's WSL Championship Tour Top 17 plus 1 wildcard.

WHAT: Event no. 5 of 10 on the 2024 World Championship Tour.

WHEN: Event waiting period begins on April 11th, at 8am local time. Event waiting period ends on April 21st, 2024.

WHERE: Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia

HOW TO WATCH: Tune in to WorldSurfLeague.com for live event coverage and come back here to Surfer.com for daily event wrap-ups.

PAST EVENT WINNERS COMPETING: John Florence (2017, 2019), Jack Robinson (2022), Gabriel Medina (2023); Tyler Wright (2016), Sally Fitzgibbons (2017), Johanne Defay (2018), Lakey Peterson (2019), Tatiana Weston-Webb (2021), Isabella Nichols (2022)

INJURY UPDATE: As of today (April 8), Joao Chianca is the only injured surfer to withdraw from the Western Australia Margaret River Pro.

WILDCARDS:  Kelly Slater and Brisa Hennessey have been given season-long wildcards for all of 2024. Event wildcards for the men are George Pittar, Reef Heazlewood, and local trials winner Otis North. The women’s wildcard is former 'CT surfer Bronte Macauley.

HEAT DRAW:

MEN'S 2024 Western Australia Margaret River Pro

Heat 1: Barron Mamiya, Imakalani deVault, Eli Hanneman

Heat 2: Jack Robinson, Gabriel Medina, Deivid Silva

Heat 3: Jake Marshall, Ramzi Boukheim, Kelly Slater

Heat 4: John Florence, Ian Gentil, George Pittar*

Heat 5: Ethan Ewing, Kade Matson, Reef Heazlewood*

Heat 6: Griffin Colapinto, Seth Moniz, Otis North*

Heat 7: Kanoa Igarashi, Italo Ferreira, Callum Robson

Heat 8: Cole Houshmand, Ryan Callinan, Caio Ibelli

Heat 9: Crosby Colapinto, Yago Dora, Frederico Morais

Heat 10: Jordy Smith, Matthew McGillivray, Jacob Willcox

Heat 11: Rio Waida, Connor O'Leary, Samuel Pupo

Heat 12: Liam O'Brien, Leo Fioravanti, Miguel Pupo

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WOMEN'S 2024 Western Australia Margaret River Pro

Heat 1: Molly Picklum, Luana Silva, Alyssa Spencer

Heat 2: Johanne Defay, Lakey Peterson, Sophie McCulloch

Heat 3: Caitlin Simmers, Sawyer Lindblad, Bronte Macauley

Heat 4: Caroline Marks, Gabriela Bryan, India Robinson

Heat 5: Bettylou Sakura Johnson, Tyler Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons

Heat 6: Brisa Hennessey, Tatiana Weston-Webb, Isabella Nichols

* - Wildcard / Injury replacement