Akito Watabe's third-place finish at the men's Nordic combined event on Sunday was enough to finally earn the Japanese skier his long-awaited first World Cup overall title.

After finishing third behind Germany's Fabian Riessle and Johannes Rydzek, Watabe's 212-point lead over Norway's Jan Schmid is enough to ensure his first-place standing despite two events remaining in the season.

"I'm so happy I don't know what to say. This is so big for me since I've been working at it for seven years," Watabe said.

The 29-year-old, who has finished every World Cup season in the overall top three since 2011-2012, took the pole position after a 134-meter jump but fell behind around the 4-kilometer mark of the race.

"I ran fine, but I felt like I lost power when it flattened out," he said. "It's disappointing that I couldn't win today, but I'm happy to win overall."

Watabe, who won his second Olympic silver medal at the Pyeongchang Games last month, is the first Japanese to win the overall title since Kenji Ogiwara's three-season run between 1992 and 1995.

Over 21 events so far this season, Watabe has won six World Cup titles and stood on the podium a further six times.