Gary Hunt took a huge step in the fight for the King Kahekili trophy with a crucial victory at the penultimate stop of the 2018 World Series in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Success at the historic Stari Most saw him leapfrog the current men's leader, Steven LoBue of the USA, to head to the final showdown in Polignano a Mare, Italy, in two weeks' time with a 20 point lead.
Czech Michal Navratil followed Hunt in second place, with wildcard Catalin Preda of Romania completing a stunning debut from 27m in third place.
Record winner Hunt as well came from behind after a below par second round dive which left him in tenth place before the final two rounds.
Not only did he make it a hat-trick of wins this season, but he also became the first diver to ever repeat a victory in Mostar.
The Brit now holds all the trumps to regain the title as the 2018 World Series marches towards an exciting climax in a place where houses rise from the rocks in Italy.
Hunt said afterwards, “It was a great competition! I made a mistake yesterday but I’ve been in that situation before and I tried to remember those times when I had to come back; that’s what I managed today. It definitely feels great to come back having won the competition last year.
Last year they told me I’ve never won diving off a bridge before; this year they said nobody has ever won this competition twice. I managed to do that. They’ve also said whoever won here in Mostar, has never won the World Series. So I have one more job to do.”