NOOSA HEADS, Queensland / Australia (Sunday, March 22, 2026) – Today, Nicholas Brewer (AUS) and Malia Ilagan (USA) won the World Surf League (WSL) Noosa Longboard Pro, a Longboard Qualifying Series (LQS) 1000 event. Dreamy one-to-two-foot lines lined Noosa Heads’ famed First Point to provide the ideal canvas for a large range of the world’s best longboarders to compete.
California’s Ilagan made it back-to-back wins, while Noosa local Brewer claimed victory over a stacked international field to move straight to the top of the Australia/Oceania LQS regional rankings. Fourteen-year-old Gold Coast surfer Luana Matthies (AUS) finished runner-up to Ilagan, joining Brewer in pole position on the road to qualifying for the 2026/27 Longboard Tour (LT) with one more potential event to finalise rankings.
Nicholas Brewer (AUS) saved his best for last, posting his highest score of the event, an excellent 8.33 (out of a possible 10), in the last two minutes of the men’s Final to jump from third into first and claim the win. On one of the bigger set waves of the day, the 26-year-old held a long tight-five through a speedy section to jump ahead of Clinton Guest (AUS) and Kai McPhillips (USA), who placed second and third, respectively. After coming in clutch throughout the event, 18-year-old New Zealander Jaxon Willows (NZL) placed fourth. Having last competed on the LT in 2019, Brewer was excited by the prospect of rejoining the elite Tour, particularly for the chance to compete at the Bioglan Bells Beach Longboard Classic, should he be able to hold onto his rankings position.
“My heart’s in another place right now, I’m so shaky and nervy, but I got the wave in the end,” Brewer said. “The hometown provided, loving it. I was looking out and I was just like, yeah, it’s coming. I’ve been spending a bit of time out here the past few months, so it provided. I’d be frothing to surf Bells later in the year. Thanks everyone for supporting, I really appreciate it. It means the world. All the hard work pays off and I just hoped I could put on a show for everyone.”
Opening the women’s Final with an 8.67, Malia Ilagan (USA) set the pace from the start to control the heavy-hitting matchup that included current World No. 2 Avalon Gall (USA) and No. 8 Tully White (AUS), along with Luana Matthies (AUS). Ilagan delivered a variety of committed noserides and strong rail work throughout the event, posting the highest single wave score for the women, a near-perfect 9.33, to win her Semifinal. It was the 19-year-old’s third LQS victory and second in-a-row at the Noosa Longboard Pro.
“I think I said it last year, but I’m in such disbelief,” Ilagan said. “It was a really slow heat right in the middle there, and I know all of those girls could get the wave and get the scores they needed, especially with the scores being pretty tight at first. I got super blessed with two good waves that just came through with priority. It’s been a really hard season, so this one feels good. I didn’t do well in my home region, so I was just coming here to have fun, catch a few waves and get a little contest experience and QS experience under my belt. It’s been a tough season, but I’m just trying to gain that confidence back again and improve from there.”
The 2026 Noosa Longboard Pro was held as part of the Noosa Festival of Surfing in Noosa, Queensland, from March 19 – 22, 2026. For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
