The 23-year-old won three of the four events and came in third once, beating the German Freund by 27 points on aggregate.

In the last event in Bischofshofen he emerged on top in the first series with a jump of 139 metres, opening a seven-point gap to Freund.

In the final second series Freund mounted a serious challenge by jumping the day's distance of 141 metres, but Prevc retorted with a distance of 142.5 metres.

Prevc had been the favourite, coming into the tournament as the overall World Cup leader.

Accordingly, he faced huge expectations in Slovenia and thousands of supporters made the trip to Bischofshofen today.

He said the support meant a lot. "I thought it was the season finals in Planica," he told TV Slovenija in reference to the famed Slovenian ski jumping centre.

Visibly elated, Prevc said he felt "huge relief" when he saw the jump would succeed. "Everything that had been building up inside for the past five days rushed through me."

This is the 12th World Cup victory of his career, bringing him within three wins of Slovenia's best ski jumper of all time, Primož Peterka.

Indeed, Prevc won the Four Hills Tournament 19 years to the day after Peterka managed the feat as the only Slovenian to have previously won the event.