Pipeline is the most well-known wave on Earth. A reef break located in Hawaii on O'ahu's North Shore, Pipeline is known for huge, hollow, barreling waves that break in shallow water just above a cavernous reef. There are three reefs at Pipeline in progressively deeper water that activate according to the increasing size of approaching swells. This is the sport’s ultimate proving ground and the site of the WSL Championship Tour’s opening event at the Billabong Pro Pipeline.

Sunset Beach was the site of the first-ever WSL Championship Tour event over four decades ago and today the break hosts the season’s second event. The iconic North Shore lineup is spread across a wide playing field, making it a test not only of experience, but of endurance. The wave at Sunset is notorious for being powerful and unruly, forcing surfers to focus on riding bigger boards, exhibiting traditional rail-to-rail surfing, and making deep barrel rides.

Bells Beach sits along Australia’s Great Ocean Road and is steeped in surfing heritage. Home to one of the sport’s longest-running events, the wave is a beefy pointbreak made up of several distinct sections. Bells is known for the introduction of the three-fin Thruster surfboard design that changed the sport forever. The deep sense of history, combined with the location’s passionate crowds, makes winning an event there and ringing “The Bell” trophy one of the great honors in the sport.

A thirty-mile stretch of coast in Western Australia, Margaret River is renowned for its powerful reef waves and bucolic beachfront settings. Dozens of world-class waves are in the area, including Margaret River, the left-breaking reef located near the town that gives the area its name, as well as the pointbreak North Point and the slabbing barrel at The Box. The Western Australia Margaret River Pro is the halfway point in the WSL Championship Tour season and the location for the Mid-season Cut.

Grajagan Bay, also known as “G-Land,” is a remote surf destination on the southeast tip of Java, Indonesia. For surfers, the adventure to get there is worth all the effort. With only a few surf camps in the area, G-Land’s left point break is uncrowded and near perfect. The WSL Championship Tour held contests there from 1995 to 1997, events that are now immortalized in grainy VHS tapes. In 2022, after over two decades away, the world’s best surfers returned to compete at the infamous spot.

El Salvador’s southwest coast has a wave-rich region that attracts surfers from across the globe and now hosts a WSL Championship Tour event, earning it the nickname “Surf City.” The best wave in the area (and the site of the tour’s contest) is Punta Roca, a cobblestone right pointbreak that offers opportunities for multiple turns, radical maneuvers, and some airs. When the tide drops, surfers must be wary of “Mama Roca,” a huge rock near the takeoff zone that sits just below the surface.

Rio is the most unique atmosphere on the WSL Championship Tour, boasting fun waves, breathtaking landscapes, and tens of thousands of Brazilian fans on the beach cheering on the event. Rio’s premier wave is Saquarema. The peaky, powerful, and unpredictable beach break offers a wide variety of conditions. Surfers can score big on both lefts and rights and the wave provides opportunities for heavy barrels or crowd-pleasing airs depending on the day.

South Africa’s Jeffreys Bay is one of the most perfect pointbreaks on Earth. The speed of the break makes it extremely technical, but skilled surfers can be treated to a potential 300-meter wave. There are many distinct sections along the length of J-Bay - the fast, hollow Boneyards, the main break Supertubes, and the tube section Impossibles. The wave was featured in the iconic 1966 surf documentary The Endless Summer and now hosts the WSL Championship Tour’s penultimate event.

On the island of Tahiti awaits the most extreme and intimidating wave on the WSL Championship Tour and perhaps in the entire surfing world: Teahupo’o. The break at Teahupo'o pulls over a reef that sits just 20 inches below the water, creating a thick, steep mutant wave that’s actually below sea level. The awe-inspiring left barrel hosts the tour’s last regular season event, deciding which five men and five women will be competing for the year’s World Title.