The Slovenians relished competing at their home venue as the top-four finishers came from the host nation.

Jelar secured the first World Cup victory of his career courtesy of jumps of 232.0 metres and 239m to earn 468.2 points.

Timi Zajc was the leader at the halfway point after scoring 218.12 points in the first run but failed to back it up as he slipped to fourth position.

He was overtaken by his Slovenian teammates as Peter Prevc finished second with 464.8 points and Anže Lanišek earned 458.5 for third, while Jelar secured top spot.

"I basically didn't know I had won," said Jelar.

"I came through the exit door and they told me I had won and to go on my shoulders.

"I can be very strong if I have the opportunity.

"I enjoy it, I enjoy the fight, I enjoy the euphoria."

In the battle for the overall crown, Kobayashi extended his advantage over Germany’s Karl Geiger.

The gap between the two has increased from 66 points to 89, putting Kobayashi on the cusp of sealing the Crystal Globe.

Kobayashi registered jumps of 223.5m and 237m to secure 452.8 points to finish in fifth position.

Geiger was down in 19th after the first run where he jumped 213m before bouncing back with 232.5m to increase his tally to 436.3 points to come 12th overall.

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with the qualification round before the final is set to be staged on Sunday (March 27).