Pierre-Luc Gagnon has had a long and successful career in skateboarding and a huge year in 2008 with big wins at the Maloof Money Cup, Tampa Pro, and X Games 14. Now, after winning the PlayStation® Pro here in Orlando, he has the one prize that means the most to him: The Dew Cup.

“I’m feeling so good about everything I’ve done this year, but winning the Dew Cup is really special to me,” says Gagnon. “The crazy thing about the AST Dew Tour is that it’s not just about one day, you know, it’s about a whole year of accomplishments.”

Competition for this year’s Dew Cup was fierce, with five different skaters winning each of the five events. Two-time Dew Cup champ Bucky Lasek won the Panasonic Open in Baltimore, defending 2007 Dew Cup champ Shaun White won the Right Guard Open in Cleveland, Bob Burnquist won the Wendy’s Invitational in Portland, and Andy Macdonald won his first ever Dew Tour event at the Toyota Challenge last month in Salt Lake City.

“I think tonight was one of the best vert contests ever because there were four of us – me, Andy, Bob, and Bucky – who knew that any one of us could win the Dew Cup just by winning this event,” says Gagnon. “I came out here determined to just go all out and not leave anything behind and it paid off. I’ve never pulled runs like I pulled today. I made all three runs and improved my score each time I got on the ramp. You can’t ask for more.”

In the best-of-three runs format, PLG grabbed the early lead with a Run 1 score of 90.75. He improved his lead in Run 2 with a 96.00, and then sealed the deal in Run 3 with the run of his life, including a 360 flip to fakie, two 720s, and a switch heelflip for a score of 96.00, one of the highest scores in Dew Tour history.

PLG’s win at the PlayStation Pro pushes his overall Dew Cup points to 408, just ahead of Andy Macdonald, who took 2nd place at the PlayStation Pro. Bob Burnquist ends up in 3rd overall, followed by Bucky Lasek, Adam Taylor, and Sandro Dias.

Gagnon says he’s proud to share the PlayStation Pro podium with his good friends Andy Macdonald and 3rd place finisher Danny Mayer.

“I skate with these guys all year round at the YMCA back home and I’ve been sharing a room and hanging out with Danny for the whole Dew Tour,” says Gagnon. “I’m so proud of him for pulling a kickflip McTwist in his run to make his first Dew Tour podium. That was so ballsy.”

So what clicked for PLG to come on so strong in 2008, winning just about every major vert contest this year?

“I’ve just been working really hard, skating every day,” says Gagnon. “You know, what we do on a skateboard, it’s not something you learn overnight, it’s not something where you get into it and it pays off right away. I’ve been doing this for like 19 or 20 years, and everything I’ve learned, all the work I’ve put into it to get the experience and the confidence... it just finally came together this year. I’m so stoked. We’re going to party tonight.”