Simon Adams will make his first ever appearance at the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace in December. He won the African qualifying tournament in South Africa last weekend.
After an easy 6-1 win over Len McLean at the last 32, Adams had to go to the limit three times to advance a round. Against Evan Wambui, Adams turned a 3-5 deficit into a 6-5 win. Against Benson Ngari, Adams was leading 4-0, but his Kenyan opponent suddenly took five legs in a row. But Adams also won this match 6-5.
In the semifinal match against his South African compatriot Xander Faddel, Adams was again one leg away from elimination, but pulled this encounter 7-6 thanks to a 12-darter in the final leg.
Stefan Vermaak was the opponent in the final. Vermaak had beaten former World Darts Championship participant Charles Losper, among others, on his way to the final match. However, the final was an 8-0 triumph for Adams, who managed a creditable average of 93.94 in the final.
African World Championship Qualifier.
Quarterfinals
Stefan Vermaak 6-5 Charles Losper
Graham Filby 6-4 Tyrone Shackleton
Simon Adams 6-5 Benson Ngari
Xander Faddel 6-5 Giovanni Matthee
Semi-final
Stefan Vermaak 7-5 Graham Filby
Simon Adams 7-6 Xander Faddel
Final
Simon Adams 8-0 Stefan Vermaak