Cameron Carolissen will make his Paddy Power World Darts Championship return in December, after denying Peter Wachiuri to triumph in Sunday’s gripping African Darts Group Qualifier.
South African star Carolissen won through a 105-player field in Nairobi to seal his place in the sport’s flagship event, defeating Kenyan favourite Wachiuri in an epic last-leg decider.
Wachiuri was bidding to become the first Kenyan player to qualify for the World Darts Championship, and he made a strong start to Sunday’s showpiece, racing into a 3-1 lead.
Carolissen responded with a run of four straight legs to seize the initiative, before Wachiuri reeled off back-to-back legs to level at five apiece.
The pair then traded four consecutive holds to set up a last-leg shoot-out, where Wachiuri almost made history with a sensational 154 checkout - wiring double 17 for a roof-raising checkout.
However, Carolissen kept his cool in the closing stages, pinning double eight to close out an 8-7 victory and confirm his second appearance at Alexandra Palace.
The 28-year-old - who succumbed to Danny Noppert at the 2020/21 World Championship - conceded just three legs in his opening four matches as he stormed through to the semi-finals.
Carolissen then ran out a 7-5 winner against Nathan Njeru in the last four, while Wachiuri converted a clinical 118 kill to defeat Ocheng Patrick by the same scoreline, having edged out South Africa’s former World Cup star Carl Gabriel in the quarter-finals.
Five more International Qualifiers for the 2024/25 World Darts Championship will be confirmed over the coming days, as further events take place around the globe.
The 2024 PDC Asian Tour will conclude in China next weekend, as Events 19-24 take place in Qingdao from October 4-6.
The top four players on the 2024 PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit will secure their spots at Alexandra Palace, alongside the winner of the DartPlayers New Zealand Qualifier in Hamilton on October 7.
Entries are also now available for the West Europe and East Europe Qualifiers, which will be held in November.
West Europe Qualifier
Saturday November 16, Wunderland Kalkar
Entry €90 via www.pdcplayers.com. Entries close November 13 2024
Open to players from the following nations: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Switzerland.
*Not open to players who compete in the 2024 PDC Europe Super League.
Open to players from the following nations: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan & Neutral players (as per PDC Order of Merit Rule 4.5).