Les Francis came through from a field of 158 hopefuls to win the fourth edition of the PDC South African Open in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Francis comes out of tough qualifying to win South African open
Les Francis came through from a field of 158 hopefuls to win the fourth edition of the PDC South African Open in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The 53-year-old from Gauteng beat Devon Petersen 4-3 in the final at the Emperors Palace Casino to book his place at the World Darts Championship at Alexandra palace in December.
Francis lost out in the semi-finals last year but this time went all the way and will now be able to play on the biggest stage of them all this winter.
In a frantic three-hour qualifying phase, where all players try to finish a 501 leg in as few darts as possible, Francis hit a 13-darter to make it through.
A 3-0 win over Grant Simpson in the last 16 was followed by wins of Nolan Arendse in the quarter-finals and Christo Meiring in a final-leg decider in the semis.
Delighted
"I'm absolutely delighted," said Francis. "Devon played really well and made it a great final but I'm so happy to have won.
"I'd like to thank the PDC and Emperors Palace for creating this tournament. It's given South Africa's best players a great chance and I'm looking forward to playing in the World Championship now."
The PDC South African Open also saw a welcome return to form for Cape Town's Wynand Havenga, the inaugural winner in 2006 who has been dogged by shoulder problems since.
He also posted a 13-darter in qualifying for the knockouts, and reached the semi-finals before losing 3-2 to Petersen.
There was, though, disappointment for two-time South African Open winner Charles Losper, who missed out on qualifying after posting a 15-dart leg late on but failing to better that tally.
