The 19-year-old cemented his status as a rising star in the sport and offered Japanese fans a glimpse of what they could see when skateboarding makes its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

Horigome laid down three consecutive scores of nine or over on his way to finishing on a total of 35.1 points, a full point ahead of French rookie Vincent Milou.

The Frenchman used the best trick segment of the final to catapult himself into second place.

Brazil's Kelvin Hoefler was languishing down near the bottom of the leaderboard but an excellent last best trick attempt saw him end a pulsating event in third on 33.5 points.

A beaming Horigome, who registered second and third place finishes last year, said he was "very, very happy" with his triumph, played out in front of a considerable crowd inside the venue.

Milou admitted he thought his chances of a top-three result were over after a disappointing opening best run section.

But he recovered with his best trick, demonstrating his considerable talent and prowess to end behind the dominant Japanese skateboarder.

"It feels so good, I have been dreaming about this for years," said Milou.

"I was in pretty much last place and then somehow I finished second - magic."

The event was the most prominent showcase for the sport since it gained Olympic inclusion.

The SLS World Tour events will form part of the qualification process for Tokyo 2020, starting from January 1, after the organisation signed a deal with World Skate - the International Olympic Committee recognised federation for the sport.

The two-day competition here is also the first of the season, with the series due to continue in Los Angeles on July 7.

The circuit then heads to Rio de Janeiro on August 26 before the World Championship, to be held under a new format, takes place later this year.

Exact dates and the location of the World Championship are yet to be revealed but SLS chief executive CJ Linares told insidethegames an announcement could be made within the next month.