World Surf League, Rip Curl WSL Finals Betting Guide

Rip Curl WSL Finals

The Rip Curl WSL finals are the final event of each of the WSL seasons. The top five finishing men and women in the regular season head off to an elimination playoff round in the finals. The finals are held at San Clemente, California in the Lower Trestles. The fifth ranking surfer in the regular season faces the fourth ranking surfer in the first match. The winner of the first match faces the third ranking surfer in the second match, and the winner of the second match faces the surfer who finished runner up in the regular season in the third match. In the title match, the winning surfer of the third match faces the winner of the regular season.

Both the men's WSL finals and women's WSL finals follow the same format, and the matches from both finals are all held on a single day.

How to Bet on the Rip Curl WSL Finals

Surfing is one of the most exciting sports to watch but it has yet to hit worldwide popularity. Because many of the tournaments and events were created only 40 or 50 years ago, the markets for betting have not become as extensive as other sports and sporting events that have been running for far longer. At sportsbooks where there are bets for surfing, there are a number of bets that are guaranteed to make the events even more thrilling.

There are a number of ways to research bets, as there are many factors that can affect each event. Surfing competitions are held in only a few countries, though they are hugely popular with locals and fans getting hyped for the highly anticipated events. Currently, the World Surf League has events in Hawaii, Australia, the United State, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, South Africa and French Polynesia. Australia has the most competitions, as it has the largest surfing fanbase and the sport has become nationally popular. The United States follows Australia closely, with a number of surfing organisations that were started in California in the 1970s, when surfing was finally able to hold professional leagues.

Factors to research include the weather conditions, as these will definitely affect the surfers. The top surfers will still be able to perform in the worst of weather conditions, but a number of surfers may not be able to rise to the challenge. The venue is also a hugely important factor, as some surfers may be more familiar with the temperament of the Australian waters, or they may be more comfortable with the Hawaiian tides. This is not so much like home advantage in other sports, as some surfers will be able to perform more manoeuvres and skilled moves only in certain waters, and not be able to replicate the same feats in others.

Winner

Bets can be placed on which surfer will win the event. In the Rip Curl WSL Finals, any of the top five surfers from the regular season can be bet on. The odds on each surfer are calculated by the sportsbook to represent what chance the book thinks they have of winning. Surfers with long odds are the underdogs and surfers with short odds are the favourites to win.

In the WSL finals, the odds on each of the contestants are quite high, as there are five possible winners, meaning that even a bet on the surfer who finished the regular season in the top place will still have generous odds. Betting on the surfer who finished in the fifth position will have huge odds, as they need to battle the surfers who finished in the fourth, third, second and first position in the regular season.

Nationality of the Winner

Bets can be made on the nationality of the winner of the Rip Curls finals. This may help narrow down the selection for punters who do not want to put all of their money onto one surfer, but may favour two or more surfers from the same country. Brazil is the most successful country in terms of who has won the most Rip Curls finals. Brazil has some of the world's best ranking surfers, such as Italo Ferreira, Gabriel Medina and Filipe Toledo.

This bet comes at shorter odds, but it has a much better chance of winning than making a bet directly on which surfer will win the finals.

Live Bets

Certain matches may present the option to place live bets. This is a huge bonus for fans who love watching the Rip Curl finals. Here, a number of factors can be seen first-hand and they can help influence the bet.

If live bets are available, spectators can inspect the weather and tide conditions on the day to see which surfers have the best chance of winning. Commentary and live statistics are also a great option to check from time to time, as they may have hints that provide insights into which surfer is likely to perform best.

In general, if there are live bets, it does a lot to make the competition more exciting for spectators and can potentially reward punters who try it out.