Miguel Pupo

Brazilian surfer and long-serving Championship Tour competitor who reached world number one for the first time in his career in 2026, after 15 years on tour, by winning the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.

At 34 and the father of four, Miguel Pupo won the 2026 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in the first all-Brazilian final in that event's history, briefly reaching world number one for the first time across a professional career stretching back to 2008. Unlike Medina and later countrymen Italo Ferreira and Caio Ibelli, Pupo spent much of the following decade fighting to retain his tour position rather than contending for titles. Pupo's best season came in 2022, when he reached a career-high ranking of world number six and won his first Championship Tour event, the Billabong Pro Teahupoo, defeating France's Kauli Vaast in the final. Injury cost him his tour place in 2023, though a wildcard kept him competing into 2024. In April 2026, at age 34 and the father of four children, Pupo produced one of the most improbable results of his career, winning the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach in the first-ever all-Brazilian, all-goofyfoot final in the event's history, defeating compatriot and reigning world champion Yago Dora. The win, Pupo's second Championship Tour title, briefly moved him to world number one for the first time in his 15-year career. Described within the sport as a 'people's champion' for his perseverance through years of underappreciated results, Pupo remains one of Brazil's most respected veteran competitors on tour.

Powerful, versatile goofyfoot surfer

Regarded as a beloved 'people's champion' for his perseverance through a long, underappreciated career

• Won the Billabong Pro Teahupoo, his first Championship Tour title (2022)
• Won the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach at age 34, briefly reaching world number one (2026)