Honolulu’s Ezekiel Lau fought his way to the Vans World Cup of Surfing victory at Sunset Beach today.

Lau, 25, made it through three heats just to get to the final, where he defeated three others — Griffin Colapinto of San Clemente, Calif., Joan Duru of France, and Jesse Mendes of Brazil — in 20-foot-plus wave faces.

Lau, who is ranked No. 18 on the WSL’s championship tour, is now a two-time World Cup champion. He also won the event at Sunset in 2013.

Lau also improved his standing in the chase for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championship. He is now among the top two — along with Australia’s Joel Parkinson — for the title that goes to the best surfer among the three season-ending events.

Parkinson, who won the world title in 2012, captured the first stop of the 2018 Triple Crown — the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa’s Alii Beach Park — in November. The holding period for the Triple Crown’s final stop — the Billabong Pipe Masters at Ehukai Beach — runs Saturday through Dec. 20.

Colapinto is the defending Triple Crown champion.