Lanišek landed a jump of 233.0 metres to register 227.1 points from the judges, moving ahead of compatriot Timi Zajc at the Slovenian venue.

Zajc jumped further as he hit the 235.5m marked but failed to get as many points from the judges as Lanišek as he totalled 226.5 points.

Johann André Forfang of Norway scored 224.3 points following a jump of 225.5m to seal third spot.

Polish ski jumpers Kamil Stoch and Dawid Kubacki also made it into the top-five after earning 222.5 and 219.5 points respectively.

Ryōyū Kobayashi of Japan is in the pole position in the race for the men's overall World Cup title, leading Germany’s Karl Geiger by just 66 points heading into the double-header in Planica.

With the first of those crucial events due to take place tomorrow, Kobayashi warmed up with a leap of 224m for 214.4 points to finish the qualification round in 11th place.

Geiger will be hoping to overcome Kobayashi tomorrow but finished 17th today as a jump of 219m earned him 208.6 points.

A total of 40 of the 66-strong field have advanced to tomorrow’s final where ski jumpers are due to complete two runs.