Glory for Willcox in Newcastle finals face-off

Margaret River’s Jacob Willcox has broken through to earn his maiden Challenger Series victory as he looks to find his way back to the elite Championship Tour after missing the mid-season cut in his rookie season of 2024.

The super-talented goofy-footer has been pegged as a title threat since his junior years but has struggled to make a huge impact in the competitive arena, until Sunday, where he took his biggest win to join the likes of Kelly Slater (USA), Mark Occhilupo (AUS), Mick Fanning (AUS) and Joel Parkinson (AUS) as a winner at Newcastle SURFEST.

“This has been a long time coming,” Willcox said.

“I’ve had a lot of losses to get this win, and it feels incredible to finally get it.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work to get here, and that was the best moment of my life on the beach just then.

“Coming in and having my crew tell me that I probably had it and share that moment with them was so special.”

After an impressive showing throughout the event, Willcox came up against fellow goofy-footer and Olympic gold medallist Kauli Vaast (FRA) in the final, with both surfers getting a great start early, trading mid-range scores with Willcox getting a slight advantage.

From around the halfway point, the ocean slowed right down and left both competitors waiting for a wave for over 10 minutes until a quick flurry in the dying seconds gave Vaast one more chance to clinch the lead.

Unfortunately for him, the wave didn’t offer the opportunity to convert, leaving Willcox to take the win with a two-wave total of 12.30 (out of a possible 20).

“The final was pretty slow in the end, but I was just telling myself that sometimes the ocean just gets on your side and gives you some luck, and you find some rhythm, and I feel like this week I found some rhythm and some luck,” Willcox said.

“That’s the thing with our sport, you just never know when you’re going to get your moment.

“My moment was today, so I was stoked.”

Portuguese surfer Francisca Veselko claimed the women’s competition in a thrilling final against Aussie Sally Fitzgibbons, in front of huge crowds checking out the three-to-four foot surf at Merewether Beach.