Nobody saw Miguel Pupo coming at Bells – except maybe Miguel who arrived in Australia a month early to practise. The prep’ paid off because on the most successful day of Brazilian surfing in recent history (three of the four semi-finalists plus Sammy Pupo in the quarters) it was the Godfather of ‘The Storm’ who walked up the Winki stairs a winner. It will be the first time in Pupo’s career that he will wear the yellow jersey when surfers join the lineup next week at Margaret River.
“Honestly, it’s everything I’ve always dreamed of. There was a lot of hard work this preseason, a lot of sacrifice. I came to Australia twenty days earlier focused on this moment, and thankfully it all came together”, Pupo Told tracks in the locker room after the event.
It was a particularly emotional day for the Pupo family. Miguel had extra reasons to celebrate the win and shared a special memory from Bells Beach. “It’s my oldest daughter’s birthday, she turns nine today and nine years ago I was standing on those same stairs watching Samuel win the Trials.”
“This has always been the event I struggled with the most. It’s always been the hardest one for me. The best result I had here was a quarterfinal in 2022, and I had never even made it through a heat at Winkipop. And this year, I ended up winning all my heats at Winkipop, surfing well, which is the most important thing. Like I said, I woke up today thinking about this, visualising myself in yellow. And it’s funny because I was up against Yago, who was wearing yellow, and in the end that jersey came to me. I’m really happy, it’s my first time ever wearing yellow, my first time being World No. 1. and anything can happen now. I’m 34 years old, after 14 seasons… you’d think I was probably on my way out, but now it feels like I’m back at the start line again.”
Brazilian dominance is in full force again after Yago Dora’s 2025 world title, with Brazilians having won the men’s trophy in eight of the past 11 seasons. It’s early days but the rankings now feature four Brazilians in the top five, with Griffin Colapinto the only exception after being defeated by Miguel at Winkipop in the semis. Pupo is an event champion for only the second time; he had a memorable finals win in 2022 against heavily-favoured Kauli Vaast at Teahupo’o. Bolstered by the confidence of his early-season victory, the quietly determined Miguel sounded intent on ensuring the good results keep flowing. “My goal is to always keep improving and give my best, because the results will come.”
Pupo had the opportunity to be part of – and come out on top of – a historic day for the Brazilian Storm. It was the team’s best event in terms of the number of surfers reaching the quarterfinals. Miguel made sure to celebrate and acknowledge his fellow Brazilians, while also making it clear they’ll have to deal with an experienced competitor still hungry for success.
“It’s amazing. As the oldest, I kind of feel like a father figure to everyone, like a big brother at the same time. But they also make me feel young. They give me a lot of energy. It’s because of them that I try to reinvent myself every single day, to keep improving. And I feel like, with my talent, I’m still capable of doing that, that’s why I’m still here.”
During the trophy presentation in the Bells car park, the Brazilian fans who were scattered throughout the crowd showed their love and cheered for Miguel Pupo and Yago Dora, who brought home the Bells trophy that every surfer dreams of carrying. Before the event there was much talk about the push from the new posse of Australians on tour, but the Brazilian Storm is coming with thunder and lightning heading into Margarets, led by the oldest of them all, Miguel Pupo.
