Brazilian wonder-kid Adriano de Souza earned his first career victory today, moving back into third place in the ASP World Tour rankings after taking the Billabong Pro in Spain. The youngster remains the leading dark horse for a world title as the battle has heated up significantly over in Europe.

The situation for this year's title race just got a lot more interesting as the tour heads for Portugal. 9-time world champion Kelly Slater emerged from his sand trap just long enough to put himself within striking distance with a 3rd place finish, although he's deep in the cabbage and in still in dire need of a good approach shot.

The green in this crappy little analogy is Pipeline, where Slater has won a half dozen times. But in order to get in another long putt-for-the-win situation he'll need to show us a solid 7 iron shot in Portugal. And as usual, it's tough to know where Slater's head is. He was complaining of a knee injury after his golf trip to Scotland between events. Whether it's real or imagined seems debatable because his surfing remained sharp.

But Slater's ego might have been damaged after the new tour changes he endorsed was dealt a few blows by the ASP last week. ASP backers announced reforms that are placating some critics for now. Coincidentally, talk of Slater's knee injury began circulating just after the the big meetings were held and decisions were made. His knee was so bad he contemplating a trip home.

Yet the smell of blood proved too much for Slater to resist, especially after Parko lost yesterday. After suffering through the same torture early this season Slater was empathizing with Parko. Then Fanning stumbled too, and fate's scriptwriters decided a nice tight tour race might do pro surfing well in a crappy economy.

CJ Hobgood, Kelly Slater and Adriano de Souza did their best to close the gap in the crappy conditions. The level of surfing was actually pretty good at Mundaka, which despite the weather was offering some solid targets to hit. It was a lot harder to watch at Sopelana, unless you're a fan of groveling.

Fanning has the obvious edge with two events left to go. Parko is still suffering with a bad ankle, while all of Mick's cylinders are firing. His boards are working and he's mentally and physically prepared for the battle ahead. The big moat he and Parko have built up doesn't hurt either. But neither of them can afford to slip up again in Portugal.

Regardless of what happens next week, the title will ultimately be decided at Pipeline in December, where Andy Irons and Kelly Slater are sure to have an impact even if they're only playing spoiler roles. Just like that, we've got a nice little race on our hands.

Results of Billabong Pro Mundaka
1. Adriano de Souza
2. Chris Davidson
3. Kelly Slater, CJ Hobgood
5. Dede Durbidge, Drew Courtney, Fred Patacchia, Taj Burrow

Ratings After Billabong Pro Mundaka
1. Mick Fanning 6350
2. Joel Parkinson 6306
3. Adriano de Souza 5773
4. CJ Hobgood 5748
5. Bede Durbidge 5524
6. Kelly Slater 5514

Photos by Lucia Griggi and ASP/Getty Images