Morgan Cibilic admitted to feeling the pressure in his second year on the Championship Tour after producing his best performance in a heat this season to remain in the Bells Beach Pro on Tuesday.
Cibilic won his elimination-round heat against fifth-ranked Seth Moniz of Hawaii and three-time world champion Mick Fanning.
Surfing at Winki Pop in four to six-foot waves, the Merewether surfer scored 7.17 on his second ride a third of the way through the 30-minute heat after earlier posting a 4.33 and held the lead until its completion.
He earned 7.67 for his third ride to finish with a best two-waves score of 14.84, well ahead of Fanning (11.90) and Moniz (8.90).
Cibilic's total was the best he has scored in a tour heat this year and his surfing was praised by World Surf League commentators as reminiscent of what he produced last year to make the top-five finals contest.
"I'm feeling a lot of pressure and I feel like that has been translating throughout my year," Cibilic said after winning his heat.
"I haven't felt like I've been in a rhythm in a heat until literally that one just then.
"I feel like I'm surfing all right, I just hope it converts in the heats."
Fanning, who Cibilic labelled "one of my heroes", retired from the tour in 2018 but has returned to Bells as a wildcard entrant.
The Aussie legend was busy in the heat, catching seven waves, and did enough to progress, while the eliminated Moniz was quiet compared to his previous showings this year.
Cibilic and fellow Novocastrians Ryan Callinan and Jackson Baker will now surf in the round of 32.
Cibilic and Callinan desperately need decent results to remain on the tour after the next event at Margaret River, when the field will be cut from 36 to 24 surfers.
They were both placed equal 31st and 4480 points outside the cut-off line before Bells.
Baker was ranked equal 23rd and about 1500 points outside the cut-off line.
The 12 surfers that don't make the cut after the Western Australia contest drop into the Challenger Series, an eight-event tour commencing at the Gold Coast in May.
In that tour, they will be joined by other lower-ranked surfers and all compete to rejoin the CT next year.
