Brazilian surfer Filipe Toledo has knocked out Australian Joel Parkinson en route to winning the World Surf League event in Portugal, and now sits just 200 points behind Mick Fanning with one stop remaining in the title race.
Toledo, 20, dispatched Parkinson in the quarter-finals before going on to beat tour rookie and compatriot Italo Ferreira in the final at Superturbos on Friday.
The win means Toledo moves into second place in the world rankings behind Australian Fanning ahead of December's Billabong Pipe Masters in Hawaii.
Toledo started Friday's final with a bang, claiming the event's second perfect 10 point ride for a combination of two aerial manoeuvres and transitional floaters to launch his assault towards a third event title this season.
"I have no words, I'm just so stoke," Toledo said after securing the win in solid six-foot surf.
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"The final to me is the best heat, I don't have anything to lose and I just go for it."
Six surfers remain in with a mathematical chance of clinching the world title if No.1-ranked Fanning doesn't win in Hawaii - but the main contenders are Toledo and fellow Brazilians Adriano de Souza (currently ranked No.3) and Gabriel Medina (No.4).
Australia's Owen Wright rounds out the top five and can still be world champion too if all those above him exit relatively early in Hawaii.
Fanning suffered a shock elimination from the Rip Curl Pro in Portugal last weekend but his world championship lead was preserved when de Souza was also upset by a local.
Fanning, seeking his fourth world crown, went down to Portuguese surfer Frederico Morais in the third round on Sunday.
