A northwest swell provided big and beautiful 12- to 16-foot wave faces for the four-star World Qualifying Series event. Sunset put on its winter best for competitors with sunny skies, offshore winds and beautiful barreling waves.

”;Sunset is such a tricky wave, it's got so many different looks,”; said Sullivan, who is a 35-year-old, North Shore native. “;The swell was predominantly out of the west today, so I tried to just use my normal lineups and focus on being patient.”;

His takeoff spots and the waiting game paid off huge for Sullivan. He consistently found the best waves all day long and dominated the competition.

Sullivan utilized Sunset's tubes and classic power surfing to win his fourth Xcel Pro title. His other Xcel Pro victories came in 1998, 2000 and 2003. This win ties Sullivan with Michael Ho for all-time Xcel Pro championships.

”;This fourth Xcel Pro title feels really good to be up there with Michael Ho, who is one of my all-time heroes,”; Sullivan said. “;I think this [Xcel Pro title] is the best one yet. The fact that it was a really close final and the level of surfing was so high. It was awesome to be competing against those guys.”;

Fellow finalists Kamalei Alexander, Danny Fuller and Makua Rothman gave Sullivan a run for his money. All of the finalists put up huge scores in one of the best Sunset finals in pro surfing history.

”;It was just an amazing final and those guys were surfing so good,”; said Sullivan, who locked down the highest scoring wave of the event, a 9.77, in the first 2 minutes of the final. “;The level of performance was the highest in any event I ever surfed in, so it was a very gratifying win.”;

Kauai's Alexander, who finished as runner-up, nearly stole the victory away from Sullivan in the last 10 seconds with a double barrel ride, but it wasn't enough.

As a consolation, Alexander and Fuller qualified to compete in the upcoming 26th annual Vans Triple Crown of Surfing with their Xcel performances. Fourth-place finisher Rothman is automatically seeded into the Triple Crown because he is the defending O'Neill World Cup of Surfing champ.

The holding period for the Triple Crown begins on Tuesday with the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa.

This will be Sullivan's final Triple Crown campaign as a World Championship Tour surfer. He plans to retire in December. According to Sullivan, he planned to leave the tour earlier this year to spend more time with his wife and family.

”;I still have competitive aspirations, but I just want to tone it down a little bit,”; said Sullivan, who spent three years on the championship tour. “;I get to satisfy my competitive desires here in Hawaii on the North Shore, which is a lot more gratifying to me than competing on the World Championship Tour and being gone 200 days a year. So I feel really good about the decision to stay home.”;

With this win under his belt, Sullivan is looking good going into the rest of the winter. He has made finals appearances at Haleiwa, Sunset and Pipe, and is a clear favorite for an overall Triple Crown title.

”;This is a really good way to start the winter season,”; said Sullivan while his kids played with his over-sized prize check in the sand. “;I feel very blessed to surf Sunset six or seven times with only three other guys in the water.”;