IT WAS the revenge of the goofy-footers to dominate event five on the World Surf League World Championship Tour.

Matt Wilkinson, who was runner-up last year, stormed into the final and never looked back. Armed with a posse including coach Glen 'Micro' Hall, Wilkinson was cheered on by a flotilla of boats from the channel.

It wasn't a one-sided affair, however, with potential rookie of the year and fellow charging goofy-footer Connor O'Leary taking up the fight.

The lead changed a couple of times and it appeared that the dark horse O'Leary - who hails from Cronulla - was staring down his first WCT win.

That was until Wilkinson, originally from Copacabana, Central Coast and now based at Byron Bay, took the lead in the dying minutes to take the final and jump to the top of the rankings.

Last year, Wilkinson was on track for a world title after dominating the first half of the world tour with a win at Snapper and Bells Beach.

However, his campaign came apart at J-Bay and he never recovered the momentum. But the Byron battler is back big time as part of a huge world title race shake-up.

Hawaii's world champion John John Florence - who was previously leading the rankings - took an unexpected fall in the earlier rounds at the hands of red hot rookie, Leonardo Fioravanti, in what was the upset of the event.

Florence was favoured to do well in Fiji but it wasn't to be. Another big upset was O'Leary beating Kelly Slater in round three in a low-scoring heat.

The 11-time world champion has been to Tavarua 30 times, barely missing a year, apart from 2003, when he pulled out with an injury.

At 45, Slater was wrestling with bad back, being the reason he opted out of Brazil.

However, when Superbank turned on last month, Slater couldn't help himself. But Slater's opening round was - as he confessed - one of the worst heats he's surfed.

He bounced back in round two against North Stradbroke Island's Ethan Ewing, who hasn't been able to get past round two so far on the WCT.

When Slater faced O'Leary, anyone would have thought that Kelly would sail by the rookie, but O'Leary played a smart game in inconsistent waves, winning on percentages with a couple of five-point rides as Slater struggled to secure a back-up score.

Although, the king didn't appear to be too perturbed. As a sponsor of the event with his new sustainable clothing company, Outerknown, Slater also enjoyed a spot of commentary.

"You have to know how to play the game,” Slater said of the various scenarios that unfold like a chess game.

Ironically, O'Leary played the game, leaving Slater lost at sea. The world's greatest surfing competitor is now back in 18th, but as he said, he was in this position last year and can bounce back.

The ratings are now bunched at the top and a semi-final exit for Joel Parkinson at the hands of O'Leary has put the 2012 world champion in sixth, and back in title contention.

Anything is now possible going into Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa.