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PRESS RELEASE DETAIL Click here to read Previous Releases Monday 15th of June 2009 Brand and Gibbens win titles in the second leg of the 2009 Quiksilver King of the Groms Series Brendon Gibbens of Kommetjie U20 Winner Davey Brand from Southern Cape, U16 Winner Quiksilver King of the Groms Southern Cape June 13/14 Brand and Gibbens win titles in the second leg of the 2009 Quiksilver King of the Groms Series (Heralds Bay, South Africa) Kommetjie local Davey Brand was crowned King of the Groms after winning the Under 16 title and the R3,500 winner's cheque in the second leg of the 2009 Quiksilver King of the Groms which was completed at Heralds Bay in the Southern Cape Sunday (June 14). In a repeat of the final of the first leg in Long Beach in March, Brand found himself up against fellow Kommetjie local Michael February, but was able to turn the tables on February. The pair are now tied for first place on the Quiksilver King of the Groms series ratings with the last leg due to take place in Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal on August 15 and 16. The eventual series winner will compete in the International Quiksilver King of the Groms which will be held in conjunction with the 2009 Quiksilver Pro France World Tour contest. "Today's result was a great one for me," said Brand on the beach afterwards, "and I'm really stoked I was able to reverse the result from Long Beach and join Mikey on the top of the ratings. The surf was really fun all day, especially in the earlier rounds, and I was really enjoying surfing my forehand out there." The semi-finals saw two relatively new names emerge as Victoria Bay local Vincent Withers put his local knowledge to excellent use to upset some big names and storm his way to tie third, while Tokai surfer Daniel Wilson almost caused the upset of the event as he came within seconds of eliminating eventual winner Davey Brand in their semi-final encounter. Brand was lying in second throughout the 20 minute semi-final after battling to find a decent wave, and only managed to sneak ahead of Wilson in the dying seconds of the heat. In the Under 20 division final Brendon Gibbens (Kommetjie) took on Umhlanga local Chris Leppan. Gibbens had his work cut out for him on his way to the final, Opening his account shortly after the start of the heat with a 6.25 wave score, Gibbens could only watch from behind as Leppan took off on one of the bigger waves of the final to secure an 8.00 and take the lead from his younger competitor. Gibbens quickly answered scoring an 8.75 out of a possible 10 and pushing him back into the lead. The heat leader then replaced his 6.25 with a 7 to push him even further ahead of Leppan and the victory was secured. "I'm really happy with my performance today," said Gibbens after the final. "Chris is a great surfer and I was a bit nervous going into the final with him, but I decided just to concentrate on my own surfing and do the best I could and everything just worked out in the end. I'm super happy with the win." Leppan's runner-up finish was enough to push him ahead of fellow Umhlanga surfer Beyrick de Vries (16) who won the Long Beach leg in March and backed it up with a tie third finish in Heralds Bay. Leppan's two second place finishes see him a mere 10 points ahead of de Vries going into the final event of the series in Scottburgh in August, but Gibbens has given himself a shot at the title and there are still several other surfers in contention. The eventual Under 20 Quiksilver King of the Groms series winner will receive a return air ticket to Hawaii - surfing's most hallowed proving grounds - for the 2009 winter season. Reigning ASP Africa Junior Champion Klee Strachan (Winkelspruit) contested the other semi-final against Gibbens, but couldn't find the form he needed to eliminate the eventual winner and was relegated to tie-third with de Vries. Consisting of an Under 16 and an Under 20 division, the focus of the King of the Groms series is primarily on the Under 16 division, and has become one of the driving forces in unearthing South Africa's blossoming surfing talent as entrants compete for R22,000 in prize money at each leg. The Quiksilver King of the Groms is presented by Virgin Mobile in association with Resolution, and is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa, the governing body for Surfing in South Africa.