For the second consecutive year, the South Shore team won the Red Bull Rivals Surf contest at Sandy Beach, beating the North Shore team and taking their surfboards. This unique competition pits The Country (North Shore) against Town (South Shore), with the losing team giving up their boards to the victors.

It was a close battle in the 4-foot faces at Half Point with the final score 8-6. Sandy Beach has a reputation as a challenging spot to surf where local knowledge plays a big factor, said South Shore MVP Ezekiel Lau.

"If you don’t know this wave, it’s one of the hardest waves in the world because (the takeoff spot on the wave) is always moving," said Lau of Sandy’s tricky waves. "You have to surf here a lot to kind of predict where it’s going to go or you’re not going to know what’s going on."

Each team has 11 surfers total, with at least one female and one grommet (youth surfer). Ten of the surfers are voted onto each squad by the fans via an online poll, and the final spot on the team is a "ringer" that is chosen by the team captain. The Red Bull Rivals has a unique man-on-man-contest format, with two surfers squaring off against each other in a heat.

"This format is a lot more fun and relaxed, but it’s real competitive," said Lau. "When you’re looking at the format, it’s a lot like ‘UFC Ultimate Fighter,’ where the winning team gets to pick who they want to surf against and has control — it’s pretty sick."

The first heat yesterday set the tone for the second annual Red Bull Rivals, with Lau squaring off against Country Boy TJ Barron.

On his opening ride, Barron boosted a giant, air reverse 360, which eventually won the heat to put the North Shore ahead. Lau surfed brilliantly in that heat, but the judges gave the heat victory to Barron.

"That should have been the final, I think," said Barron of his battle with Lau.

Lau used the loss to stoke his competitive fire. Twelve heats later, with the Town team in the lead 7-6, Lau paddled out in the final heat of the day against the North Shore’s Ezra Sitt.

"I remembered what happened in that first heat and I told myself that I was going to go big or go home," said Lau. "So I tried my hardest to get the better waves this time and not go on the inside."

Lau was fired up and went huge in the final. He nailed two high-speed air reverse 360s to seal the win.