Noa Deane and Moana Jones Wong Stand Supreme in Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang

It wasn’t your typical Padang Padang, but it was entertaining nonetheless. The 2024 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang concluded on the Bukit yesterday, with Noa Deane and Moana Jones Wong taking top honors. The event was called on after numerous delays due to a lack of swell and a lot of onshore wind, which meant many waves that did find their way to the reef either had no barrel to enter or clamped hard at the end.

But Noa and Moana still picked the eyes out of it and peaked when it mattered most. The top four men’s surfers didn’t change from Round 1, so Noa, Mason Ho, Joel Parkinson and Made ‘Bol’ Adi Putra made the final on account of their scores from the first round last week. Noa delivered the best wave of the final heat, weaving through high and tight pockets for a 7.67 ride, seducing a 13.5 total and the W. 43-year-old Joel Parkinson got runner-up.

“I never thought I would win,” Noa said. “My intention was pure fun and surfing with my hero Mason Ho. It turns out I was the winner, and this is the best feeling ever.”

The Queen of Pipeline, meanwhile, added to an already decorated competitive resume. In her first heat of the day, she read a slow playing field expertly to get past Erin Brooks, who never found a rhythm in the sleepy ocean. Moana won the first-ever full women’s Championship Tour contest at Pipeline in 2022. Now, she’s Padang’s first women’s division champion ever.

“This win is unreal,” Moana said. “The conditions were challenging, but that’s what makes it so satisfying. You never really know what the ocean's going to throw at you, and that’s the beauty of it. Surfing with such amazing women and coming out on top—there's nothing better. Padang Padang is just magical.”

The post-event celebration ensued on the beach after the finals. One can assume many Bintangs went missing. You can catch the full replay of the final day below.