There may be bigger waves of the professional surfing circuit but few have earned the same reverence as the right-hand reef break at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia.
Every year since 1961, the cream of the pro surfing world has converged on this little pocket of coast found an hour-and-a-half outside of Melbourne, with the who's who battling it out for the right to ring the bell over the Easter weekend.
And while superstars from the northern hemisphere have risen above the pack down under, Bells' champion has more often than not been a local.
From the pioneers of the longboard era to the household heroes of recent years, here is every male surfer to have won the Bells Beach Surf Classic.
| Year | Winner | Nationality | Score |
| 1961 | George Smith | Australian | - |
| 1962 | Glynn Ritchie | Australian | - |
| 1963 | Doug Andrew | Australian | - |
| 1964 | Mick Dooley | Australian | - |
| 1965 | Robert Conneely | Australian | - |
| 1966 | Nat Young | Australian | - |
| 1967 | Nat Young | Australian | - |
| 1968 | Ted Spencer | Australian | - |
| 1969 | Ted Spencer | Australian | - |
| 1970 | Nat Young | Australian | - |
| 1971 | Paul Neilsen | Australian | - |
| 1972 | Terry Fitzgerald | Australian | - |
| 1973 | Michael Peterson | Australian | - |
| 1974 | Michael Peterson | Australian | - |
| 1975 | Michael Peterson | Australian | - |
| 1976 | Jeff Hakman | Hawaiian | - |
| 1977 | Simon Anderson | Australian | - |
| 1978 | Mark Richards | Australian | - |
| 1979 | Mark Richards | Australian | - |
| 1980 | Mark Richards | Australian | - |
| 1981 | Simon Anderson | Australian | - |
| 1982 | Mark Richards | Australian | - |
| 1983 | Joe Engel | Australian | - |
| 1984 | Cheyne Horan | Australian | 2 |
| 1985 | Tom Curren | American | 2 |
| 1986 | Tom Carroll | Australian | 5 |
| 1987 | Nick Wood | Australian | 3 |
| 1988 | Damien Hardman | Australia | 126.6 |
| 1989 | Martin Potter | British | 123.5 |
| 1990 | Tom Curren | American | 111.3 |
| 1991 | Barton Lynch | Australian | 71.80 |
| 1992 | Richie Collins | American | 30.00 |
| 1993 | Damien Hardman | Australia | 22.00 |
| 1994 | Kelly Slater | American | 29.70 |
| 1995 | Sunny Garcia | Hawaiian | 34.70 |
| 1996 | Sunny Garcia | Hawaiian | 30.80 |
| 1997 | Matt Hoy | Australian | 26.50 |
| 1998 | Mark Occhilupo | Australian | 24.25 |
| 1999 | Shane Dorian | Hawaiian | 24.75 |
| 2000 | Sunny Garcia | Hawaiian | 23.05 |
| 2001 | Mick Fanning | Australian | 20.85 |
| 2002 | Andy Irons | Hawaiian | 24.45 |
| 2003 | Andy Irons | Hawaiian | 17.57 |
| 2004 | Joel Parkinson | Australian | 17.13 |
| 2005 | Trent Munro | Australian | 16.57 |
| 2006 | Kelly Slater | American | 15.44 |
| 2007 | Taj Burrow | Australian | 16.83 |
| 2008 | Kelly Slater | American | 15.63 |
| 2009 | Joel Parkinson | Australian | 17.40 |
| 2010 | Kelly Slater | American | 17.03 |
| 2011 | Joel Parkinson | Australia | 18.53 |
| 2012 | Mick Fanning | Australia | 18.80 |
| 2013 | Adriano De Souza | Brazilian | 16.26 |
| 2014 | Mick Fanning | Australian | 16.83 |
| 2015 | Mick Fanning | Australian | 15.27 |
| 2016 | Matt Wilkinson | Australian | 17.37 |
| 2017 | Jordy Smith | South African | 18.90 |
| 2018 | Italo Ferreira | Brazilian | 15.66 |
| 2019 | John John Florence | Hawaiian | 14.30 |
| 2020 | Event Not Held | - | - |
| 2021 | Event Not Held | - | - |
| 2022 | Felipe Toledo | Brazilian | 14.74 |
| 2023 | Ethan Ewing | Australian | 14.50 |
