Everything looks different after the Rip Curl Pro in Portugal. Coming into the European leg of the 2014 ASP World Tour, Brazilian Gabriel Medina was over 6,000 points ahead of his nearest competitor, and it appeared that he had a stranglehold on his first ASP world title.

Now Medina's lead has been cut in half, and he has defending world champion Mick Fanning staring him down heading into the final event of the year, the Pipeline Masters in Hawaii.

With the media focused on Medina, Kelly Slater and John John Florence, Fanning has almost been an afterthought in Europe. But he was the last man standing Monday, winning the Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal over South Africa's Jordy Smith. It was Fanning's third win of 2014.

"That's where I like to fly, under the radar," said Fanning. "Even with those guys losing, I still had to capitalize on it. Just stoked to get a win, and it's been about five years since I've won here."

Medina is still in the driver's seat for the title. If he makes the final at Pipeline, he wins regardless of any other results. But his seemingly smooth road to the crown has gotten a lot more bumpy.

And Medina has no one to blame but himself. He has looked unsettled in his last three events. And he was especially rattled in his Round 3 heat against Brett Simpson in Portugal. Medina paddled into the beach after surfing a wave at the two-minute mark, thinking that he had gotten the score he needed to overtake Simpson. The judges disagreed, and Medina lost a huge opportunity to paddle back out and find a wave to get the score he needed. It's hard to say whether it was nerves, hubris or spite that got the better of Medina. He now has almost two months to think about what's wrong and how to fix it.

Hawaii's Florence also looked like he was going to get himself in the world title mix. He was absolutely dominant in Portugal, seemingly posting 10s at will before going down to Smith in the semifinals. The loss took Florence out of world title contention for the season.

With Pipeline looming, it's now a three-man race for the world title for Medina, Fanning and Slater. Fanning and Slater have been in this situation many times before and are ready for the pressure it will bring. But Medina? After his bizarre behavior on the beach in Peniche, all bets are off.