- Carissa Moore is an outright favorite against the rest of the WSL field with -125 odds.
- Johanne Defay is the only surfer near her in the rankings, and she has +450 odds.
- No WSL Champion over the past five seasons has been any worse than the top overall seed.
- Betting on Moore to win may be the best bet based on her lead and two prior championships.
JEFFREYS BAYS, South Africa – The ninth event of the 2022 Women’s World Surfing League Championship Tour gets underway on Tuesday. Carissa Moore is closing in on her third straight WSL Championship, with online sportsbooks favoring her versus the entire field.
Odds To Win The WSL Championship
- Carissa Moore (HAW) -125
- Johanne Defay (FRA) +450
- Lakey Peterson (USA) +600
- Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) +600
- Tatiana Weston Webb (USA) +1000
- Tyler Wright (AUS) +1200
Carissa Moore has the best odds, and currently has 46,840 points in the WSL Women’s Rankings to Defay’s 42,865. Betting on the two-time reigning champ may be the best bet based off that lead and previous history.
Betting Off Rankings
The playoff format of the WSL makes it vital to be the top-seeded surfer to win the championship. Only the top five seeds make it to the championship (i.e. The Final 5), but once there it is of considerable advantage to be ranked as highly as possible.
The surfer’s seed is how many individual matches they must win to win the championship. Hence, the number one seed is automatically in the championship game.
Carissa Moore currently holds a nearly 4,000-point lead over second-place Johanne Defay. Third place is over 6,000 points behind Defay, meaning it is really a race between Defay and Moore for the top seed.
The history of this playoff format indicates why that race between Moore and Defay is so key. Over the past five full WSL seasons, both the men’s and women’s top seed has won the championship.
Advertising Disclosure
USAOnlineSportsbooks.com provides you with the most current information regarding sports betting and fantasy with the help of commissions we receive from links you may click on our site.
Moore has been the top seed twice and taken home the championship both times.
Past Five Champions Of The WSL
| Year | Men’s Winner (Seed) | Women’s Winner (Seed) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Gabriel Medina (1) | Carissa Moore (1) |
| 2019 | Italo Ferreira (1) | Carissa Moore (1) |
| 2018 | Gabriel Medina (1) | Stephanie Gilmore (1) |
| 2017 | John John Florence (1) | Tyler Wright (1) |
| 2016 | John John Florence (1) | Tyler Wright (1) |
The Competition Between Carissa Moore And Johanne Defay
Over their past three competitions, Carissa Moore and Johanne Defay have been riding a hot streak. That hot streak has come after both surfers had poor performances at the Margaret River Pro competition that saw both their scores get dropped from the rankings.
Since then, they have been neck-and-neck.
- Carissa Moore: Moore won her most recent event, the Oi Rio Pro. She came in second at the Roxy Pro G-Land earning 7,800 points. She has scored 22,545 points over the past three events.
- Johanne Defay: Defay has won more than half her season-long points over her past three contests. Defay has come in no worse than third at those contests, earning 23,885 points over that time.
Defay has proven to be a worthy opponent to Moore this season, but this comeback may be too little too late. Only two events remain, and online sportsbooks have valued Moore’s lead as they should.
