For 10 years the man known as "Micro" has battled on the grind of the World Qualifying Series without tasting victory.

The 28-year-old Umina goofy-footer finished third at Surfest in 2003, but nothing was going to stop Hall yesterday.

Despite sporting a body shape more accustomed to riding a thoroughbred than a surfboard, Hall blitzed the Merewether break and his South African opponent, Brandon Jackson, with a two-wave score of 16.67 to Jackson's 9.43.

"It's my first one and I'm getting old so it's been a long time coming," Hall said. "I always feel good surfing in Oz. I surfed my first ever WQS in Newcastle.

"As you get older you feel a bit more relaxed in those situations.

"In the final I wasn't nervous; I just kept doing what I was doing."

Surfing in a wetsuit in the emerald green of his adopted homeland of Ireland, Hall read the Merewether sandbank perfectly and opened proceedings with a 7.50 ride. He followed it with scores of 6.60 and 9.17 to shut out the Durban-based Jackson.

"I felt I dictated the heat," he said. "There was a little sneaky spot to sit, which I figured out.

"In the heat that I nearly dropped I was lost, I didn't know where I was and was scratching around like everybody else, so in the last two heats I felt good because I knew where I was."

Hall qualifies to compete for Ireland due to his mother. Last year he finished third on the European WQS tour.

At last year's Surfest, Hall's good friend and fellow Umina boy Drew Courtney lost the final to Jackson's countryman Travis Logie.

"It's good to represent Umina. A few of the boys are up here, and for me and Drew this is kind of like a home event where our mates can come watch," Hall said.

Hall beat Gold Coast's Shaun Gossman to reach the finals, but only narrowly reached the final four when he struggled to down Courtney in the quarter-finals.

Jackson, who spent the week struggling with a stomach bug, knocked out top seed and world No.22 Ben Dunn when he navigated a tube in the dying minutes of the semi-final.