The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing is a prestigious event in surfing held annually at Sunset Beach in Hawaii. The event attracts over a hundred elite surfers from around the world. It is the second event of the Triple Crown of Surfing. The first competition was held in 1975. Of the 22 surfers who have won the event, 7 went on to become world champions. Top performers of the event share a prize money of $125,000 along with points which go to the Triple Crown competition.


The O’Neill World Cup of Surfing is the second men’s contest of the 2008 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing and is the final WQS event on the ASP World Qualifying Series Tour schedule. Its results will help determine the WCT lineup for the 2009 ASP World Tour.
Sunset Beach is the venue of this event. Easily picking up swell from a variety of directions, the surf break of Sunset is a deep-water spot several hundred yards out to sea, so it’s best to bring your binoculars for this event to get truly close to the action. The main peak features a heaving, jacked-up takeoff that reshapes itself into a hollow, sucky and THICK wall of water. Not for the feint-hearted, Sunset Beach is notorious for hideous wipeouts and long hold-downs underwater for those who haven’t yet mastered the break.
Defending champion:
Makua Rothman (Hawaii)