Stoklos, Smith Win U.S. Title : Beach volleyball: Crowd of 25,000 at Hermosa Beach Pier sees team beat Karch Kiraly and Brent Frohoff, 15-11.

Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos--volleyball’s “kings of the beach”--earned the sport’s biggest and brightest jewel Sunday.

Smith and Stoklos won the $200,000 Miller Lite USA Championships of beach volleyball, giving them a split of the winners’ share of $41,000--the richest payday in the history of the game.

“The money is secondary,” Smith said. “Randy and I take each tournament as a separate event. We don’t want to lose any tournament.”

Stoklos agreed. “The money is nice, but it’s still a gladiator sport.”

An estimated crowd of 25,000 ringed center court next to Hermosa Beach Pier and watched Smith and Stoklos--the sport’s winningest duo--outlast Karch Kiraly and Brent Frohoff, 15-11.

Most of the fans cheered for Kiraly and local favorite Frohoff--a South Bay native. But Smith and Stoklos were much fresher for the final than their rivals, who had to claw through the losers’ bracket into the championship match.

The fatigued Kiraly and Frohoff made several mistakes--including a lob serve from Stoklos that they let drop untouched between them for a point.

Smith battled distractions with the fans--even sparring verbally with factions in the crowd. But he and Stoklos held on for their 12th open victory of the year. They have earned a record-setting $221,437 apiece this season.

The gap between beach volleyball’s top two teams is narrowing, however. Kiraly and Frohoff won eight of 18 head-to-head meetings with Smith and Stoklos this year.

But to reach the final, Kiraly and Frohoff had to get past the intimidating power play of former Olympian Steve Timmons--an indoor specialist just getting his first taste of success on the beach--and partner Adam Johnson.

Timmons and Johnson took a 12-8 lead in the consolation bracket final, but Kiraly and Frohoff battled back to turn the match into a marathon.

Kiraly and Frohoff won the last five points of the match to advance, 15-13. But the grueling hour-plus on the sand before the championship match had taken its toll on Kiraly and Frohoff.

“Energy was a big factor in the final. We were at each other’s throats so much (in the consolation final) that it really wiped us out for the final.”

Timmons’ and Johnson’s third-place finish earned $19,500.