Who’s the best U18 surfer in the world?
That’s the question we wanted to answer. And we didn’t resort to 20-minute heats to do it.
After a six-year hiatus, we brought our King Of The Groms event back for 2026. It began with an online qualifying phase, where U18 surfers from around the world posted their best single wave to enter. More than 120 surfers from six continents (maybe next year, Antarctica) participated, and judges Griffin Colapinto and Kauli Vaast narrowed that field down to a top eight.
From there, there were two rounds of head-to-head matchups, with four surfers advancing to the final stage: Mananalu “Mana” Chandler (Hawaii), Brody Mulik (Australia), Kash Brown (Australia), and Dylan Donegan dos Santos (Canary Islands).
The finalists spent six days at the Quiksilver house on the North Shore while judges Griffin Colapinto, Hughie Vaughan and Reef McIntosh watched every session. They saw airs. Turns. Combos. Tubes. And a little bit of something different from everyone.
In the end, it came down to a battle between Brown and Donegan dos Santos, but the judges unanimously awarded the win to the Australian. Hit the video above to watch highlights from the final in Hawaii and see if you think they got it right.
With the victory, Brown takes home $10,000 and the King Of The Groms crown, joining a lineage of past winners that includes both world champions and some of surfing’s most exciting freesurfers.
Just like that, a new King has been crowned — until next year, that is.
