Dean Etheridge
The 2023 World Surf League (WSL) continues this weekend with the Surf Ranch Pro event taking place at Lemoore California. The defending champions are Filipe Toledo in the men’s, and Johanne Defay in the women’s. Below we take a look at their chances of defending their titles with our latest Surfing betting picks.
- What; World Surf League 2023 – Surf Ranch Pro
- Where; Lemoore, California, United States
- When; May, 27th-28th, 2023
The Surf Ranch Pro is Event 6 of the Championship Tour. There is both a men and women’s competition, and with a new format being introduced this year that sees competitors eliminated from the opening qualifying round, the pressure is on right from the start.
When this event was held in 2018, it became the first ever WSL event to be staged in an artificial wave pool. This obviously makes this event unique, as a slightly different skills set is required.
Current world number two @Filipetoledo77 is looking to defend his 2021 #SurfRanchPro crown. 👑
Watch Filipe live May 27-28 on https://t.co/ie0ZfMWjFw.@805Beer pic.twitter.com/YrtCCyrbxH— World Surf League (@wsl) May 24, 2023
There was no competition in 2022, but in 2021 the men’s competition was won by Brazil’s Filipe Toledo, who beat compatriot Gabriel Medina into second place. Over in the women’s competition, Johanne Defay of France was victorious, with Carissa Moore the runner-up.
Surf Ranch Pro Betting; Men’s Event
From the five WSL events we’ve had so far in the 2023 season, we’ve seen five different winners. At the moment, Joao Chianca leads the overall standings, with last year’s WSL men’s champion, Filipe Toledo in second place. Toledo is the favorite to win and retain his title though, at the moment Toledo is +325, just ahead of Jack Robinson and the table topping Chianca, who are both +400.
In the betting to win the Surf Ranch Pro, it’s Filipe Toledo and Gabriel Medina leading the way. Both surfers are +300. Toledo is the 2021 Surf Ranch champion, Medina the 2018 and 2019 winner. Both guys know what they are doing here.
In fact, for both of Medina’s wins, Toledo was the runner-up. And for Toledo’s win, Medina was the second placed surfer. These two seem to have a hold on this event at the moment. But with five different winners on the men’s tour so far this year, could this be the season that their hold breaks?
Behind Toledo and Medina in the betting to win the Surf Pro is John John Florence. Florence currently sits sixth in the World Championship table, and has yet to register a WSL event win this year. The best Florence has managed is two third places in the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach (event 4), and the Margaret River Pro (event 5). If nothing else, Florence has shown he is coming into form, and he can be backed to win at +600.
| 2023 Surf Ranch Pro; Men's Winner |  |  |  |
| Filipe Toledo | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Gabriel Medina | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| John John Florence | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Griffin Colapinto | +700 | +700 | +700 |
| Jack Robinson | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Ethan Ewing | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Italo Ferreira | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Yago Dora | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
The above odds are taken from the best online sportsbooks. You can read more about them on our best sports betting apps and mobile options page.
Our Men’s Pick
It’s pretty clear that Filipe Toledo and Gabriel Medina have proven track records here, and it’s not difficult to see why they are joint favorites. At +300, it’s possible to back both and be in profit, but those odds aren’t really long enough to be hedging our betting picks.
In their most recent events, Toledo has been 5th, 3rd, and 17th. Medina has been 1st, 9th, and 9th. Toledo has been more consistent this season, but Medina is arriving here on the back of a victory.
It’s a real close call, but we feel we need to go with Filipe Toledo. He has the most recent win at this venue, and has also been the more consistent performer in the WSL this season.
Surf Ranch Pro Betting; Women’s Event
In the women’s event, it’s the 2018 champion and the 2021 runner-up, Carissa Moore who leads the betting at +300. Moore is followed by the trio of Tyler Wright, Caroline Marks, Stephanie Gilmore, who are all at +600.
In this event in 2021, Carissa Moore was runner-up to Johanne Defay. Defay is a large looking +1000 to retain her title.
| 2023 Surf Ranch Pro; Women's Winner | | | |
| Carissa Moore | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Tyler Wright | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Caroline Marks | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Stephanie Gilmore | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Molly Picklum | +700 | +700 | +700 |
| Tatiana Weston-Webb | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Johanne Defay | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Caitlin Simmers | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Lakey Peterson | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
Stephanie Gilmore is the current world champion, but the eight times world title holder is well off the pace this year. Gilmore sits down in sixth position in the championship table, and is a huge +1000 to win a ninth world crown.
The current favorite to be the 2023 Women’s World Champion is Carissa Moore at +175. Moore currently sits second in the table behind Australia’s Tyler Wright, who is proving to be a worthy contender herself, and is the second favorite in the betting to be this year’s world title winner at +275.
Our Women’s Pick
It’s tight at the top of the women’s championship. Tyler Moore has 31,685 points, and Carissa Moore has 29,490. Moore has just won the Margaret River Pro, but Wright finished second in that event. Tyler Wright also won the previous event at the Rip Curl Pro Bells beach, Moore finished fifth in that event held in Victoria, Australia.
There really is little to choose between the two women, but Carissa Moore does have the better record at Lemoore with her win in 2018, and her runner-up position in 2021. This must be what’s giving her the advantage with the betting sites.
We’re going to go with Carissa Moore’s impressive record here, and we make her our pick to win.
