Australian Taj Burrow has edged out South African Jordy Smith to claim the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast in one-metre waves at Snapper Rocks on Friday.
While the young South African led throughout the first half of the 40-minute final, it was Burrow who changed the tide with a mid-heat assault, racking up several solid scores in a larger set of waves amidst the deteriorating conditions.
"I'm so so happy right now - it's the best feeling on earth," he said.
"I didn't feel like I surfed my best in the final. I kind of just did what it took to win. I just waited for the best waves, did a couple nice turns - nothing too wild."
"I'd rather have taken Jordy's approach - catch lots of waves and just let loose. That's kind of my strategy normally. But being a bit more patient and selective than usual definitely paid off."
Burrow has won his past two events - the Pipeline last December and Burleigh Heads in February.
Smith went on a giant-killing spree at the event, eliminating nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slate in Thursday's Round 4 before posting the best result of the 22-year-old's career.
"It's unfortunate that the waves went kind of dead in our heat there, but we tried our best," Smith said.
American Dane Reynolds looked the form surfer of the event on Thursday, beating defending champion Joel Parkinson with an impressive 19.20 out of a possible 20.
However, the young Californian was unable to find a rhythm in Friday's challenging conditions, bowing out of the event with an equal third.
Fellow USA surfer Bobby Martinez, equal third, matched his best Gold Coast result.
But the 27-year-old was clearly upset about the deteriorated conditions.
"It's disappointing to finish when it's windy like this today. We all want to surf when it's glassy, and I'm disappointed that we have to finish today. I did my best to mix it up out there, but it's very challenging out there on your backhand today," Martinez said.
The next stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour is the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach from March 30 to April 10.
Meanwhile, Australians Stephanie Gilmore and Chelsea Hedges will face off with Coco Ho and Melanie Bartels respectively in the semi-finals of the Roxy Pro.