South African surfer Steven Sawyer has won the 2018 World Surf League (WSL) World Longboard Championship at the Taiwan Open of Surfing.
He beat longboarding legend Kai Sallas of Hawaii in clean, one-metre waves at Jinzun Harbour in Taitung, Taiwan.
The 24-year-old from Jeffrey's Bay was on fire all event but saved his best performances for the final day, posting excellent heat totals in all three heats, including a near-perfect 9.50 (out of 10) single wave score in the semi-finals, the highest of the entire event.
Sawyer's combination of traditional and progressive longboarding manoeuvres was impeccable as he went one better than his runner-up finish at the 2016 World Longboard Championship.
"I was watching Kai all week and he was looking to be the guy to beat so when I came up against him in the final I was really nervous," said Sawyer. "It was all good though, as I had such an incredible crew cheering me on from the beach that got me really pumped up to perform."
