Finals day delivered the biggest surf of the week with six to eight foot of surf bombing the outer banks.

The men's final saw Western Australia's Jacob Willcox open in the first minute with a strong 7.4 ride which set him up to control most of the final,.

But it was the determination of defending event champion Banting that shone through.

The former Championship Tour surfer found a wave in the final two minutes which required a high score and he delivered with a 7.9 to take the win.

"It was an amazing final and I knew I had to fight hard to get ahead of Willcox after he opened so well," Banting said.

"The final wave lined up nicely for me and I just had to push hard because I knew I needed a close to excellent score.

"It's a fantastic feeling to win here again."

WA's Jacob Willcox felt right at home in the waves at the event and the runner-up result sets his season up very well.

"I would have loved to have won obviously but that's the way it goes sometimes. It's been a great event and the waves have been fantastic so I'm happy," he said.

Equal third placings went to Reef Heazlewood who went down to Banting in a very close semi-final while Byron Bay emerging talent Kyuss King went down to Willcox in an equally close semi.

WSL professional surfing will now look forward to the WSL Championship Tour kicking off at nearby Merewether Beach in Newcastle on April 1.

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