Exclusive: Sam McIntosh & Ryan Crosby Discuss Major WSL Changes

The WSL dropped a bomb on the surf world this week, and like Swedish captives, we all collectively cheered. On this episode of The Drop, Stab's co-founder Sam McIntosh is joined by the WSL's new CEO Ryan Crosby to discuss the League's major (and widely lauded) around for the 2026 CT season. Here's the TLDR version, ICYMI:
- The Final Five is dead.
- So is the mid-year cut
- So is the non-elimination opening round
- The 2026 Championship Tour will feature 12 events — with a late season ‘playoff’.
- It will start at Bells Beach in April and end at Pipeline in December, where points will be weighted at 150%.
- World Titles will once again be decided by cumulative points, not a single-day shootout. After that, Mikey and Buck hop on to discuss a few other stories from the week, including an incredible Greg Browning eulogy, a piece on lineup personalities, and an academic excuse for surfing more.