Australian Ethan Ewing's bid for consecutive J-Bay crowns has come crashing down in devastating fashion after Brazilian Filipe Toledo produced a masterclass in the final.
Ewing beat countryman Connor O'Leary and three-time world champion Gabriel Medina on Wednesday to secure a spot in the decider.
But world No.1 and defending world champion Toledo was simply untouchable in the final, producing a two-wave total of 18.76 to blow Ewing away.
It was the second highest heat total for the whole 2023 Championship Tour, and included a near-perfect 9.93 ride.
Ewing could only muster a two-wave tally of 7.80, blowing his J-Bay defence to bits.
"Filipe was just too good. He was the best surfer in the world today," Ewing told the WSL broadcast.
Toledo, who injured his knee at the recent Rio Pro in Brazil, was thrilled to just be able to compete at J-Bay.
"It surely does have a big place in my heart," Toledo said after winning his third J-Bay crown.
"I love this place, I love the vibes here.
"Coming back from an injury in Rio, the first few days I was like, 'I can't believe I'm going to miss J-Bay'.
"There was a little bit of swelling, and I thought it wasn't going to happen (to compete in South Africa).
"But with my team ... they gave me a lot of support. I couldn't do it without them."
Although Ewing missed out on a second consecutive J-Bay title, he has at least secured his spot in the end-of-season finals in California, where the top five surfers will battle it out for the world title.
With Ewing now No.2 in the world and Toledo No.1, it's highly likely the pair will cross paths in the world title battle.
Ewing also made the finals last year, but he bombed out at the first hurdle and is desperate to make amends.
"Last year I had a good year, but just not performing in the finals left a sour taste in my mouth," Ewing said.
"I've been working on everything with my surfing, trying to be better overall.
"A shot at the world title is cool, so I'm going to do everything I can."
Ewing has also secured provisional qualification for the 2024 Olympic games in Paris.
West Australian Jack Robinson's J-Bay run was brought undone by Toledo in the quarters, leaving him eighth in the rankings with just one event remaining before the finals.
