MARGARET RIVER, WA – April 2025 — Local surfing hero Jack Robinson has made an unexpected early exit from his home event, the Margaret River Pro, after falling to world No. 32 Imaikalani deVault of Hawaii during Tuesday’s final heat of the day.
Robinson, who won the event in 2022 and 2024, was one of several top seeds to be knocked out in powerful 8-10ft conditions at Main Break. Five of the top seven surfers in the World Surf League’s (WSL) Championship Tour were eliminated in a dramatic round-of-32.
World No. 1 Italo Ferreira of Brazil was also sent home, losing to local wildcard Jacob Willcox. Other surprise exits included No. 2 Yago Dora (Brazil), No. 5 Ethan Ewing (Australia), and No. 6 Filipe Toledo (Brazil). Only No. 3 Jordy Smith (South Africa) and No. 4 Kanoa Igarashi (Japan) remain as the highest-seeded competitors in the final WSL stop before the mid-season cut.
In his match-up, Robinson made several uncharacteristic mistakes. Twice he got caught too deep in the barrel, and with under six minutes remaining, he mistimed a critical wave, getting clipped on the lip and wiping out. Despite scoring a 6.00 ride late in the heat, he couldn’t close the gap. Robinson finished with a combined two-wave total of 11.33, falling short of deVault’s 14.33.
DeVault, who needed a win to remain on the Championship Tour, said he had nothing to lose going up against the local favorite.
“Jack’s the guy to beat here — everybody knows that,” deVault said. “My plan was to find the best waves and just follow him. He actually gave me space on one of the good ones, and luckily it lined up better than it looked.”
Australian wildcard Mikey McDonagh pulled off another upset earlier in the day by defeating Yago Dora, reaching the round of 16 at the CT level for the first time in his career.
However, it was a disappointing outing overall for the Australian contingent. Ewing, George Pittar, Winter Vincent, Liam O’Brien, and Joel Vaughan were all eliminated. Pittar and O’Brien, along with Ryan Callinan — who was knocked out in the elimination round — are now officially below the mid-season cut line.
The Margaret River Pro continues with just two top-five seeds still in contention as the tour prepares for a critical reshuffling after this event.