Comeback king now dreaming of Lakeside
Tony Randell is dreaming of Lakeside after taking home rich prizes from the BDO Wolverhampton Open - less than two months after back surgery.
The 40-year-old darter from Solihull came through a field of 93 players in the invitational non-ranking tournament at the city's Sports Arena.
He nudged past Richard Langley in the last leg with a thrilling 5-4 final win, earning him a spot at the World Masters and a play-off spot in the Lakeside World Championship.
Those opportunities were put on the line by the BDO and sponsors Winmau, who helped put on Saturday's event and are the main backers of the World Masters.
It's the Lakeside incentive that is of particular interest to Randell, who was just glad to be back at the oche so soon after going under the knife.
The former PDC player was operated on as recently as July 1 and continues to recover, but now with big targets for the rest of his year.
He said: "The doctor told me not to do anything too strenuous for eight to 12 weeks and the tournament was a lot more standing up than I should have been doing.
"I have been really itching to get back to playing darts and I knew, as soon as I walked into the venue, that the competition was there for the taking.
"I was playing in the PDC and then had to drop out, because my sponsor's company folded. I needed this win to see if I can attract that sort of interest again.
"Luckily enough, I have already managed to qualify for the World Masters, as I was in the top 20 for averages playing county for Worcestershire.
"But the big target for me is to get into Lakeside. It's fantastic and such a tradition for the sport, not to mention the great coverage it will get from the BBC.
"I want to, eventually rejoin the PDC, as it wasn't down to me that I couldn't compete for them last time. It's unfinished business for me."
A competitive last eight saw Rendell progress with a 4-1 success over Keith Philburn. He joined Langley, John Mann and Shifnal's Steve Ritchie.
Ritchie, an international thrower for Scotland, was pipped to the post by Langley 4-3 in the semi-final, while Rendell whitewashed 4-0.
The eventual winner prevailed over Langley in a keenly-contested decider and will now rest up before the World Masters starts.
