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Nic Lamb of Santa Cruz committed to the bowl, kept charging even after enduring the most wipe outs, and took home the 2016 Titans of Mavericks trophy Friday off the coast of Half Moon Bay.Lamb described Mavericks as, "Mount Everest meets Niagara Falls."After the horn blew ending the final, Lamb looked stunned as he paddle up to his boat and realized he won it all."I'm over the moon," 27-year-old Lamb said.Some of the world's best professional big wave surfers caught 25-foot waves while battling it out at the annual contest.The swell grew from Friday morning into the afternoon. A dropping tide made waves even more hollow and steep, and increasing northwest winds put some choppy texture on wave faces.Four surfers from Santa Cruz advanced to the semifinals: Lamb, Zach Wormhoudt, Anthony Tashnick, and Tyler Fox.PHOTOS: Titans of Mavericks highlightsDuring the semifinal, Lamb had amazing composure and finesse while turning his heavy board on one beast of a wave. He made the drop on another, but was swallowed up by white water and took four waves on the head. A jet ski helped him avoid being dragged into Mavericks' treacherous rocks. But Lamb never looked rattled for long.Fox dominated the quarterfinals and semifinals. He looked perfectly in rhythm with the ocean's surging waves, had total control during drops, and glided into strong bottom turns.Fox is an Aptos High School graduate and most well known for his surfing performances at Ghost Tree in Pebble Beach. He placed 4th overall.The most surprising surfer to make it into the final was Travis Payne, a young surfer from Pacifica who started out the week as an alternate. Big wave heavyweights Carlos Burle of Brazil, Jamie Mitchell of Australia, Greg Long of California, also surfed the final.Payne finished second and Long finished third. Long also won the "big drop" award.In Maverick's lineup of 24 competitors, Santa Cruz was also represented by Ryan Augenstein, Shane Desmond, and Ken "Skindog" Collins.Collins burst his eardrum during a scary wipe out in Round 1. He started out the heat looking aggressive and strong as he caught one of the biggest waves of the day.On his second wave, "about two-thirds the way down, I thought I had it. And then I felt the whole ocean land on me, and it hit me in the head really hard," Collins said.Titans of Mavericks competitors wear safety vests at the sometimes-deadly surf spot."When I was underwater, I was spinning around. I could feel water going inside my head. I blew my eardrum wide open. My equilibrium was going all directions. I didn't know which way was up. If I didn't have this vest and pulled that cord, I would have had a hard time getting to the top," Collins said.