A conservative approach helped Merewether's Morgan Cibilic survive a hotly contested round of 48 heat at the Gold Coast Pro at Snapper Rocks on Monday.
Cibilic was locked in a tight battle with countryman Owen Wright and Frenchman Maxime Huscenot for the two spots on offer from their heat in the next round of the opening Challenger Series event.
Wright and Cibilic missed the mid-season cut to stay on the Championship Tour last week and are opening their campaigns on the second-tier series to rejoin the elite circuit in 2023.
Cibilic, last year's world No.5, opened with a heat-high 6.0 five minutes into the contest thanks to a long, flowing ride packed with snaps and wraps.
He backed it up with a 4.27 from a layback snap finish to lead 10.27 to 10.16 over Wright near the halfway mark of the 30-minute heat.
Huscenot (10.83), though, rocketed into top spot with scores of 5.33 and 5.5 to leave Cibilic and Wright battling for the other progressing position.
Inside the last six minutes, Cibilic used priority to find the right wave, putting together a long, linked ride for a 5.4 and a winning 11.4 total.
Wright needed a 5.4 late to beat Huscenot and progress but he came up short with a 5.37 to finish third 10.83 to 10.8. Te Kehukehu Butler (8.66) was also eliminated.
Cibilic resisted the temptation to chase barrels behind the rocks and the strategy proved a winning move.
"Dyl [Moffat] just got that one then, and that was a sick one, but you just see so many out there that are literally spitting their guts out," Cibilic said during the following heat.
"I just wanted to go out there so bad but no one else is going up there and I knew I could probably beat them down the end.
"I know if you fell on one out there you're just straight back to fourth priority and you're just all the way up the top. It makes it a bit frustrating but, I don't know, I'm just happy to get through that one. It was a real tricky heat for waves."
He next faces Connor O'Leary and Alister Reginato.
Clubmate Jackson Baker, who is still on the CT, chased a barrel in a later heat and was rewarded with an opening 7.67 en route to a win.
Baker rode out of a critical drop and a deep barrel to earn the score, which he backed up with a 4.67 with 13 minutes left for a 12.34 total. The two waves ridden were all he needed to beat Alex Ribeiro (11.87), Mihimana Braye (11.83) and Joao Chianca Brazil (11.1).
Baker said it wasn't his prettiest effort but getting to surf heats at Snapper Rocks was a dream come true. He takes on Ramzi Boukhiam and Michael Rodrigues in the round of 24.
"I guess I'm here to just practice heats, so if I'm putting myself in stressful situations and pulling through and staying composed, I guess that's a win," he said.
Merewether's Philippa Anderson (8.57) bowed out in the first round of the women's contest. She finished third behind Bronte Macaulay (13.83) and Brianna Cope (10.1). Redhead's Sarah Baum was last in her round of 32 heat late on Monday.
