Losper Retains SA Open Title -  September 2008

CHARLES LOSPER has retained the Emperors Palace PDC South African Open title, with a 4-1 win over Mark Jackson seeing him earn a place in the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.

Losper showed his status as the leading darts player in South Africa by claiming the title in the two-stage tournament, staged at the Emperors Palace Casino in Johannesburg, for a second successive year.

He was the leading player from the three-hour "Saturday Frenzy", where 156 players battled to score a leg of 501 in the fewest possible darts, hitting a 12-darter to head the field.

Losper, an armed response unit policeman from Cape Town, then won the knockout phase featuring the top 16 players, claiming a 3-1 win over Mike Ryder Snr, a 3-0 whitewash of Paul Bann in the quarter-finals and a 3-2 defeat of Shawn Hogan with a superb 14-darter in the deciding leg of their semi-final.

He produced a 103 finish to open the final against Durban's Mark Jackson, and moved 3-0 up before sealing a 4-1 victory.

Losper will now return to London's Alexandra Palace in December to compete in the World Darts Championship for a second time, guaranteeing him a minimum of £2,500 prize money.

"This is amazing, I'm so happy," said Losper. "I was pleased with how I played throughout the day and I'm so honoured to have won this tournament again.

"I feel more confident than I did last year and the experience I have probably helped me at the crucial times."

Jackson overcame Les Francis 3-0 in the semi-finals, with finishes of 97, 79 and then 90, checking out on the bullseye, seeing him reach the final.

Hogan included a 110 finish in coming from 2-1 down to defeat Francois de Villiers 3-2 to reach the semi-finals - with the South African Open's last four facing Phil Taylor, James Wade, John Part and Wayne Mardle in Sunday's Emperors Palace South African Masters.

Losper will take on Mardle, while Hogan takes on Taylor, with Francis meeting James Wade and Jackson earning a clash with World Champion John Part.

The Emperors Palace South African Masters will be shown live in South Africa on SuperSport from 9pm-12am and in the UK on Nuts TV from 8pm-11pm - Sky channel 196 and freeview channel 42.

2006 Emperors Palace South African Open winner Wynand Havenga, who went on to reach the last 16 of the World Championship, missed the tournament as he continues to struggle with a shoulder injury.

Emperors Palace PDC South African Open   2008
Phase One Final Leaderboard

12 Darts
Charles Losper

13 Darts
Philip van Staden
Mark Jackson
Jacques Coetzee

14 Darts
Gavin Klue
Mark McMahon
Jakes Ferreira

15 Darts
Marian Fourie
Mario Galvan
Mike Ryder Snr
Shawn Hogan
Johan Niemand
Chris Bezuidenhout
Chris Kruger
Sydney Ketelo
Les Francis
Marius Willemse
Mike Ryder Jnr
Francois de Villiers
Paul Bann

Phase Two
Preliminary Round
Les Francis 3-0 Chris Bezuidenhout
Shawn Hogan 3-2 Marius Willemse
Sydney Ketelo 3-0 Marian Fourie
Chris Kruger 3-1 Mike Ryder Snr

Last 16
Paul Bann 3-2 Mario Galvan
Charles Losper 3-1 Mike Ryder Jnr
Francois de Villiers 3-2 Gavin Klue
Shawn Hogan 3-2 Jacques Coetzee
Mark Jackson 3-0 Chris Kruger
Mark McMahon 3-2 Sydney Ketelo
Les Francis 3-0 Philip van Staden
Johan Niemand 3-2 Jakes Ferreira
R3,000

Quarter-Finals
Charles Losper 3-0 Paul Bann
Shawn Hogan 3-2 Francois de Villiers
Mark Jackson 3-2 Mark McMahon
Les Francis 3-1 Johan Niemand
R5,000

Semi-Finals
Charles Losper 3-2 Shawn Hogan
Mark Jackson 3-0 Les Francis
R7,500

Final
Charles Losper 4-1 Mark Jackson
Winner: Place in Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship
Runner-up: R15,000

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