PRAIA DO PARAISO, Costa da Caparica, Portugal (Saturday, April 19, 2025) - Francisca Veselko and Jorgann Couzinet won the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) Caparica Surf Fest 2025 today in bumpy, four-to-six foot surf that improved throughout the day for an incredible men's and women's final that saw excellent scores across the board. Alys Barton and Thomas Debierre finished runners-up respectively.
It was a long week with all kinds of conditions in Caparica, testing the surfers in high-pressure moments with massive implications for Challenger Series qualification. This wraps up the 2024/2025 regional QS season for Europe, crowning Jorgann Couzinet and Tya Zebrowski as the regional winners.
The men's Final was an all-French affair between the two best surfers of the event, Thomas Debierre (FRA) and Jorgann Couzinet (FRA). It was a close battle, with both surfers pushing each other to go bigger and better with every wave. Debierre, in his first-ever QS final, didn't seem to have any nerves coming up against the 2024/2025 WSL European QS champion.
Debierre was on a tear, connecting the sections with incredible power, speed and flow. Couzinet, fired up and under pressure, showed his big match temperament by locking in a massive 9.10 (out of a possible 10) and 8.23 for his trademark layback maneuvers and huge carves, scoring an excellent heat total of 17.33 (out of a possible 20) to take the win and end his season on a high.
"Wow, what a year it's been," Couzinet said. "Winning the last contest, I couldn't be happier. Thanks to everyone for the support. I'm really happy for this final, every time I'm surfing in a final, it's always hard coming up against guys that drop excellent scores. I'm over the moon to have a final like that with a fellow Frenchman, Thomas (Debiiere) did really well."
Couzinet's season included a runner-up finish in Pantin and a win in Morocco that pushed him to the top of the rankings, earning his fourth WSL European QS title.
Francisca Veselko (POR) earned her first win in Caparica in front of her home crowd, capping off an incredibly consistent season as she finished No.2 on the European QS rankings. Veselko was one of the standout surfers of the event, earning an excellent heat total of 16.00 (out of a possible 20) in the Final against the British 21-year-old, Alys Barton (GBR). It was an emotional victory for Veselko, who will go on to compete on the 2025 Challenger Series to realise her dreams of competing on the Championship Tour.
"It doesn't get much better than this, finishing the season like this" Veselko said. "Being able to turn this year around like I wanted to, winning in Morocco and now winning here at home in really hard conditions, that's what I've been working on. I'm really happy to take this win with my friends, family and the Portuguese crowd."
As the surf increased in size for the women's Final, it all became a bit trickier in the lineup, throwing Veselko and Barton off-kilter, making a few mistakes. The heat really only got started halfway through, when Veselko found a meaty end section, hitting it with speed, commitment and perfect timing to fall out of the air for an excellent 8.50. Barton was on her heels, chipping away at the required score, but Veselko found a solid backup for a 7.50, the judges rewarding her commitment for a big closeout turn.
"These aren't usually my type of waves," Veselko said. "In the past I've always struggled in conditions like this, but it's good to see all my hard work has been paying off. I can't wait to go to Australia," said Veselko. "I've never been to Newcastle, so I'm excited to go and train there two weeks before the competition with Frederico (Morais) and Teresa (Bonvalot)."
In the women's Semifinals, it was bittersweet for Teresa Bonvalot (POR) who lost to good friend and training partner, Francisca Veselko (POR). Veselko got off to a quick start and kept improving her score, putting Bonvalot in a combination situation with a total of 15.97.
Alys Barton (GBR) surfed a smart and calculated heat against Sarah Leiceaga (FRA), connecting the dots and making better wave choices to advance to the Final.
Charly Quivront (FRA) started with an excellent 8.33 in his Semifinal against Thomas Debierre (FRA), but Debierre stayed patient and found his own excellent wave, an 8.40 to take the lead from Quivront. Both improved their scores in the final five minutes, but Debierre held on to the top spot to advance to his first-ever QS Final.
Ido Hagag (ISR) has been ruffling a few feathers all event long, and came up against European regional champion Jorgann Couzinet (FRA). The two went blow-for-blow with explosive surfing, and Hagag had Couzinet against the ropes. Couzinet's experience in pressure-cooker moments like these showed when he scored the best wave of the heat, an 8.70 to take the win.
Europe's Regional Challenger Series Qualifiers Announced
As the 2024/2025 WSL Europe QS season comes to a close, the top six men and top four women on the rankings qualify for the 2025 Challenger Series.
The top four women who qualified are Tya Zebrowski (FRA), Francisca Veselko (POR), Anat Lelior (ISR) and Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri (EUK).
Nadia Erostarbe (EUK), Yolanda Hopkins (POR), Tessa Thyssen (FRA) all requalified based on their 2024 Challenger Series rankings.
The top six men who qualified are Jorgann Couzinet (FRA), Keoni Lasa (EUK), Charly Quivront (FRA), Afonso Antunes (POR), Yago Dominguez (EUK), Adur Amatriain (EUK), and Maxime Huscenot (FRA).
Catch up on the highlights at WorldSurfLeague.com, on the free WSL app and the WSL YouTube.
The Caparica Surf Fest ran from April 15 to April 19, 2025 at Costa da Caparica, Portugal.
The Caparica Surf Fest is proudly supported by Almada City Council, Visit Portugal, Estrella Galicia, MEO, Millennium BCP, Wotels, Hertz, Cabreiroa with media partners SIC, SportTV, Radio Comercial, M80, Cidade FM, Expresso, Record, and MEO Beachcam.