Breaking: John John Florence Is Your 2017 Champion Of The World!

They will be celebrating large and loud in Hawaii tonight because John John Florence has been crowned the 2017 WSL World Champion.

“This has been my dream to win here at home,” said Florence when the WSL broadcast found him in the throngs of local celebration.

John John was confirmed as the 2017 champ after Gabriel Medina was unable to progress past the quarter-finals of the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons and close the gap in the rankings between he and the World No.1.

STAY TUNED: A Sean Doherty recap on the World Title will go live shortly. Till then, check out Doherty’s excellent report from yesterday.

Medina had to win the event outright – and hope Florence would lose his semi-final to Ian Gouveia – to take the Title away from the Florence, while Florence could claim the crown by just qualifying for the final. But it was a victory from Jeremy Flores, the former Pipe Master, over Medina in their quarter-final that ultimately confirmed a back to back WSL World Title for Florence.

The 2017 World Title marks John John Florence as the first surfer to win back to back World Titles since Kelly Slater defended his 2010 World Title in 2011.

In 2018, Florence will be vying to become the first surfer to win three World Titles in a row since Andy Irons in 2004.

By winning his second World Title, John John becomes the eighth male surfer in history to win more than one World Title. He joins a list of surfing’s greatest names in Mark Richards, Tom Carroll, Tom Curren, Damien Hardman, Kelly Slater, Andy Irons, and Mick Fanning.