SHANE TICHOWITSCH has sealed his place in the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship, while Gordon Mathers defeated Russell Stewart in the final of the season's penultimate DPA Australian Grand Prix event.
The final weekend of the AGP season began on Friday, with Tichowitsch and Sean Reed remaining locked in their battle to finish at the top of the DPA Order of Merit.
The pair won through to face off in the quarter-finals of the event in what became a play-off for a place in the World Championship, Queenslander left-hander Tichowitsch prevailed 6-2 to ensure his lead at the top of the Order of Merit is unassailable.
Tichowitsch went on to lose 6-4 in the semis to Gordon Mathers, who claimed the title by defeating veteran star Russell Stewart by the same scoreline in the final.
Tichowitsch previously played in the World Championship two years ago, and said: "I'm over the moon.
"To finally finish the DPA season on top of the Order of Merit, and to now have another shot at the World Championship, is amazing for me."
Tichowitsch admits that the visit of 15-time World Champion Phil Taylor to Australia in August was a huge boost for the sport Down Under, and inspired his bid to return to Alexandra Palace.
"It's been a great year this year in the DPA," he added. "We had Phil over for the Australian Open, something no Aussie ever thought would happen.
"Phil's visit and the work the DPA have put in has been great, we now see more and more junior players coming to play in our events and renewed interest from old faces in the game.
"The Australian Grand Prix has been a great battle between myself and Sean and fittingly it came down to this weekend to finally decide the winner."
Saturday sees the season's final AGP event take place before the DPA Oceanic Masters tournament is held on Sunday, with the winner of that tournament joining Tichowitsch in progressing to play in the World Championship.
DPA Australian Grand Prix
Friday October 26
Last 16
Dave Marshall 6-5 Craig Gwynne
Kyle Anderson 6-1 Rod Crawford
Russell Stewart 6-1 Jackson Wilson Young
Dave Platt 6-3 Bill Aitken
Harley Kemp 6-1 Aaron Marsh
Gordon Mathers 6-4 Ben Gaitor
Sean Reed 6-4 Michael Lean
Shane Tichowitsch 6-1 Josh Townsend
Quarter-Finals
Kyle Anderson 6-4 Dave Marshall
Russell Stewart 6-1 Dave Platt
Gordon Mathers 6-4 Harley Kemp
Shane Tichowitsch 6-2 Sean Reed
Semi-Finals
Russell Stewart 6-5 Kyle Anderson
Gordon Mathers 6-4 Shane Tichowitsch
Final
Gordon Mathers 6-4 Russell Stewart