Winners of the day are Brazil's Gabriel Medina, left, and Australia's Julian Wilson, during the awards ceremony on the final day of the Billabong Pipeline Masters. Source: AFP

Australia's Julian Wilson surfs in the finals in Hawaii. Source: AFP

Brazil's Gabriel Medina pumps his arm after emerging from a barrel in the finals against Julian Wilson. Source: AFP

Gabriel Medina's stepfather Charles Serrano, left, is congratulated by Australia's Mick Fanning on Gabriel winning the world title. Source: AFP

Julian Wilson celebrates after emerging from a barrel in the finals. Source: AFP

A boy holds a flag bearing the name of Brazil's Gabriel Medina during the final day. Source: AFP

Brazil's Gabriel Medina holds the world title trophy. Source: AFP

Wilson has shaded Brazilian Medina 19.63 to 19.20 in a high-scoring final.

The 26-year-old Queenslander scored 9.93 on his first wave, but Medina led for much of the final after posting a perfect 10 followed by an 8.83, with his second and third waves.

In a dramatic climax, each man pulled out a big score with their final wave.

Wilson recorded a 9.70 and his win was confirmed a few seconds later, as Medina’s’s final wave scored a 9.20.

Medina earlier clinched his nation’s first men’s world surfing title after Australia’s Mick Fanning was eliminated in the fifth round.

He was joined by three Australians in the semi-finals, where he beat Josh Kerr 13.60 to 9.43 and Wilson scored a 13.16 to 3.17 win over Adrian Buchan.

Fanning’s quest for a fourth crown ended with his elimination in the season-ending Pipeline Masters. To have any realistic hope of retaining the title, Fanning needed to take out the event and hope Medina missed out on the final.

However, the 33-year old Australian was unable to keep the pressure on the younger man, as he fell at the third hurdle of a drama-charged Friday local time and Medina advanced to the final.

Fanning struck late in his third-round heat against Frenchman Jeremy Flores, pulling off a late 8.17 wave to shade the heat 10.84 to 7.67.

Finishing second to compatriot Ace Buchan in round four meant Fanning faced the gruelling prospect of surfing six times in a day to win the event.

He scored just 6.47 to Buchan’s 6.86 and again found it hard to post a good score in his fateful must-win fifth-round heat against Brazilian giant-killer Alejo Muniz.

The Australian opted to take seven waves, the first four of which all scored less than a point.

His last three were only marginally more productive, gleaning 1.27, 1.17 and 1.57 respectively.

He finished with just 2.84 points, while Muniz, who beat American 11-time world champion Kelly Slater of the US in round three, effectively won the heat with a modest best score of 5.50.

Muniz would probably not have believed beforehand he could have toppled Fanning with a score of just 6.53.

The much less-experienced Medina handled the pressure with aplomb.

He produced two scores of 8.83 in his third-round heat against Hawaiian Dusty Payne to breeze through to round four.

Medina showed his class in his fourth-round heat, when he produced an 8.67 wave late in the three-man heat to shade compatriot Felipe Toledo by less than half a point to advance directly to the quarter-finals.

He again edged Toledo 4.30 to 3.27 in a low-scoring quarter-final and was joined in the semis by three Australians, Buchan, Josh Kerr and Wilson.

Medina was first into the final with a 13.60 to 9.43 win over Kerr and Wilson then beat Buchan to book the other spot.

AAP