Living on a prayer: deVault continues his dream run at Western Australia Margaret River Pro

Maui’s last remaining Championship Tour surfer Imaikalani deVault kept his season alive yesterday at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro, defeating CT rookie Alan Cleland Jr. (Mexico) to advance to his first quarterfinal of the year.

The win comes at a crucial moment for the 27-year-old, who is fighting to avoid the World Surf League’s Mid-season Cut. With fellow Maui surfer Jackson Bunch eliminated earlier in the day, deVault now carries his CT hopes into the final rounds of the seventh stop on the Tour.

deVault had a signature flow from the get-go. His second-highest score of the day—a 6.83—came early in the heat on a three-turn, variety-filled wave.

Later on, just as the commentators began listing off some of the legendary Maui surfers like Dusty Payne and Olomana Eleogram who have competed well at Margs, deVault channeled his best wave of the contest. Barely withstanding a late takeoff, with a wall of foam behind him, he smashed a layback jam, came off the lip on his second turn and stuck a big closeout finish after an airdrop.

“No such thing as pressure for a guy like Imai,” WSL commentator Joe Turpel said. “He’s feeling it at the moment.”

That may seem true—deVault has been on a tear, having taken down event-favorite Jack Robinson at his home break in the Round of 32 just one day earlier.

But to stay on Tour and requalify for next year, deVault will need to do something no male Maui surfer has ever done: win a CT event at Margaret River.

There has been an air of desperation at Margs, the seventh stop of the Tour, as the Mid-season Cut is being finalized. Surfers who don’t make the cut must campaign on the Challenger Series, which gives competitors just five events per year to fight for requalification. Fellow Mauian Jackson Bunch, a CT rookie, met that fate yesterday.

Still, you would’t notice the pressure watching deVault surf. The Maui born-and-bred athlete has unleashed some of his best surfing all season at Main Break.

“I’m just really enjoying how I’m surfing in my heats,” deVault said. “I’m just stoked to kind of be putting good performances together.”

The next stop on deVault’s survive-and-advance tour is the CT veteran, world No. 2 surfer Jordy Smith, of South Africa.

The upcoming heat between will not only decide deVault’s fate in the ladder-half of the season, it will also finalize the Mid-Season Cut for the men. Either deVault or Alejo Muniz will fill the coveted final spot.

“Hopefully the next round has good waves because Jordy [Smith] is probably one of the best out here, so it’s going to be a battle,” deVault said.

The Box ends Bunch’s 2025 Championship Tour journey

Maui surfer Jackson Bunch put it all on the line yesterday to keep his rookie season on the Championship Tour alive, but came up just short.

His Round of 16 heat versus Crosby Colapinto (USA) was held at The Box, a shallow-water slab that organizers were excited to bring back to the Tour for the first time since 2019—and it was pumping.

The right-handed barrels of The Box instantly put the goofy footed Bunch at a disadvantage, though he still had multiple chances to win.

It was a do-or-die match for both surfers. The winner would move above the cut line and stay on Tour, while the loser would be relegated to the Challenger Series.

Challenging conditions proved difficult for both Colapinto and Bunch. Neither surfer scored above a 4.50, and the heat remained wide open until the final minutes.

Bunch’s biggest scoring opportunity came at the 18-minute mark. The 21-year-old pulled into a slabby barrel that looked promising—until it wasn’t. A tricky, wobbly section sucked up and exposed dry reef, slurping Bunch up and over the wave’s face.

“That’s the kind of wave where you’d want a sponge and flippers, maybe a butt pad as well,” said the WSL cast of commentators.

After a couple of smaller scores, Bunch was left with a sliver of hope. With less than a minute remaining, Colapinto used his priority on a small wave that clamped shut, leaving the door open. But time ran out before Bunch could catch another.

In the end, Colapinto was finally able to breathe a massive sigh of relief at making the cut.

Bunch did not made the cut, and now joins a list of surfers who will need to fight their way back to the CT via the Challenger Series.

The Margaret River Pro returned to Main Break following Bunch’s heat. The contest continues into the quarterfinals with a window through May 27, 2025. The event is called OFF for the day. Next call will come tomorrow for the following days. Check WorldSurfLeague.com for live updates.