In the closest, most exciting finish in the 26-year history of the event, the Werri Beach boys tore up the perfect 2m conditions to shock their more fancied rivals - just as they did when they took out last year's Jim Beam Surftag final at North Narrabeen.

Five clubs out of 34 battled for the prize on the final afternoon, with the Gold Coast's Snapper Rocks and Alley Boardriders and NSW teams Werri Beach, Cabarita and Coffs Harbour all tightly bunched after six of their compulsory eight team surfers had competed.

The penultimate heat of the day became the decider as Werri Beach surfer Matt Jones faced off against Snapper Rocks' high-profile professional Josh Kerr.

The equation was simple, Kerr or Jones had to win the final heat and their respective club would take the title.

Fresh off the elite ASP World Tour and surfing at his home break at Duranbah, Kerr opened up a big lead at the halfway point in the heat when he found an excellent tube ride and completed several fantastic on-face moves to score the event's highest scoring ride of an 8.67 out of a possible 10.

It left Jones chasing an achievable 7.4 ride but with five minutes remaining when he caught an average 5-point ride, Snapper looked secure as Jones faced a long difficult paddle, still requiring a high-scoring 7.4 ride.

With 30 seconds remaining and just out in position, the unbelievable happened for Jones as he caught a good wave, performing a series of critical turns. He was awarded a 7.6 to take the title.

"I can't believe we have won I knew 'Kerrsy' had scored big mid heat and the task to win was going to be hard, but I also knew there were some great waves out here and big scores in these conditions were there for the taking," Jones said.

"It was an absolute fairytale finish, riding that last wave. I could hear my team-mates yelling on the beach and I sort of knew I might be close to taking the win.