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Currumbin
surfing ace Corey Ziems has snapped up the chance to tackle the world’s best
surfers following a win at the final round of the Billabong Queensland Championship
Circuit (QCC ), the Billabong Queensland Open, held at Duranbah Beach today. 
With Yaroomba’s Dave Reardon-Smith already securing this
year’s Billabong QCC title along with two elusive WCT trials spots, Ziems
held only a slim chance of grabbing the other wildcard prize on offer, sitting
fifth on the QCC ratings coming into the final round. 
Ziems, 23, who has been a dominant force on Queensland’s
domestic circuit over the past twelve months including a win at the Billabong
Winter Classic, also at Duranbah, will now have a crack at the big time in the
trials of the only World Championship Tour (WCT) event on the Gold Coast in early
March next year . 
“Just to get the win tops off a great year for me,”
explained Ziems. “Dane (Hamilton) got the bomb
wave straight up in the final and surfed it really well. I knew that I had to
go well on the next couple of waves. In the end they came to me and I did alright.” 
Ranked no.36 at the completion of this year’s ‘QS
ratings following a round 5 placing at the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing in
Hawaii last week, Ziems was only one good result away from qualifying for next
year’s WCT ‘Dream Tour’. 
“I had only done three events on this year's QCC, so
I knew that I had to go better than everyone ahead of me in the ratings. When
I saw Scotty (Scott Wildin) get beaten I thought I was in with a chance.”
“It was a good finish and I can’t wait for
the trials,” added Ziems. 
In diminishing 3ft beach break conditions Ziems (17.5) utilised
a low swooping approach to out score his fellow finalists; Currumbin darkhorse
Dane Hamilton (14, formerly Sunshine Coast), Fingal ripper Jay Phillips (12.40)
and Coolangatta pocket rocket Brent Dorrington (11.15). 
In a seesawing final, Hamilton opened with a vertical barrage
of innovative lip blasts to post an 8-point ride within the first minute of the
final. However, in a truly consummate performance Ziems hit back with a rock solid
8.5 ride along with an even better 9 to secure his second QCC victory for the
year. 
For Hamilton, his runner-up placing behind Ziems was his best
result to date on the prestigious QCC after countless quarter and semifinal appearances
within the last two years. Earlier today, WCT trials
frontrunners Shane Bevan (Kingscliff) and Scott Wildin (Tweed Heads) succumbed
to some red-hot surfing in their quarterfinals, bowing out in the race for WCT
glory. A radical display of progressive surfing has
seen Coolangatta’s Shaun ‘Gossy’ Gossman grab four cartons of the
clean crisp taste of Toohey’s Extra Dry for the event's highest wave score,
a dazzling 9.6-points in his round of 32 heat. | 
