Tommy Morris became just the sixth non-tour card holder to win a PDC ranking event as he beat former world champions Rob Cross and Luke Humphries on his way to claiming the Players Championship 34 title in Leicester on Thursday.
Morris, playing in the event as a challenge tour top-up player, will feature at the Grand Slam of Darts at the end of November and the World Championship at Alexandra Palace.
"I've come from nothing. I haven't even got a Tour Card," an emotional Morris said.
"For me to come here and do that, I'm just flying my flag for where I live. I'm doing it for my family. I'm so happy. Luke is one of the guys that I really look up to. Last year I was watching him on the TV and I said to myself: 'I can do that.'
"For me to beat Luke like that, I'm very, very proud of myself. This is my dream. I had a target at the start of the year to reach the World Championship."
The 34-year-old had shown what he was capable of when making it to the Players Championship 32 final in Den Bosch last week where he was beaten by Chris Dobey.
With his victory at the Mattioli Arena on Thursday -- sealed via a 161 checkout -- Morris denied Humphries back-to-back tournament triumphs after the world No. 3 won Players Championship 33 on Wednesday.
As well as beating Cross and Humphries, Morris saw off Rob Owen, top-seed Wessel Nijman, Jermaine Wattimena and fan-favourite Ricky Evans who now faces an uphill battle to qualify for December's World Championship.
"My next target is to get a tour card and be with these boys full-time. They've made me feel so welcome," Morris said.
"It's a breath of fresh air to be around them, and to win one of these PDC events is very overwhelming for me.
"I've beaten some great players over the last few weeks, and putting the cherry on top is beating Luke.
"This is definitely the door opening for me. I'm very honoured. I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."
Anderson, Smith make the cut for Minehead but Rock, Joyce miss out
Elsewhere, Dobey hit a nine-darter during his 6-1 thrashing of Tom Bissell in the third round. Dobey averaged a head-turning 113 in a standout performance.
Another couple of former world champions, Gary Anderson and Michael Smith, ensured they will be playing in Minehead after securing their respective places in the top 64 over the past two days in Leicester.
However, world No. 8 Josh Rock will be absent after he missed the cut-off following a 6-3 defeat to Harry Ward in round two. Ryan Joyce will also play no part in the Players Championship Finals after quickly losing to Ricardo Pietreczko.
- Phil Taylor: Luke Littler should have been better in Netflix £501,000 event
Players Championship 34 results
Round of 16
Tommy Morris 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 James Wade
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Chris Dobey
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Derek Coulson
Luke Humphries 6-3 Ricardo Pietreczko
Jack Aldridge 6-5 Archie Self
Danny Noppert 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Quarterfinals
Tommy Morris 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Cristo Reyes 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Luke Humpries 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Jack Aldridge 6-4 Danny Noppert
Semifinals
Tommy Morris 7-4 Cristo Reyes
Luke Humphries 7-5 Jack Aldridge
Final
Tommy Morris 8-5 Luke Humphries