LAS VEGAS - Willard Bruguier had never quite been on that type of stage. Literally.

Throwing in front of thousands in the crowd and in front of a nationally televised audience, the Pickstown man had never been in a dart-throwing atmosphere quite like the one he faced last week at the Professional Darts Corporation's North American Championship at the Tropicana Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas.

There were nerves, Bruguier said, but he never let them show, claiming the biggest championship in his career with a thrilling victory over Canada's Dave Richardson 6-5.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say that there weren't any nerves," Bruguier told The Daily Republic. "I just really tried to focus and I think I settled in and the crowd picked me up as well."

There's been a lot more attention on the 35-year-old Wagner Police Department officer, but Bruguier said he's willing to take it all in.

"There's been a lot of media and a lot of press," Bruguier said. "A lot of that kind of stuff but that's good."

Bruguier said there wasn't anything specific he had worked on that allowed him to get hot in Las Vegas, winning a qualifying event earlier in the week before rattling off three straight wins in the eight-person bracket for the championship.

"It was just my practice and really hitting my doubles," he said. "I knew that would be crucial."

The tournament was the best of 11 legs, playing to 501 in each leg. Richardson got Bruguier in an early 3-1 hole and down a break, much like in tennis. The situation was the same when Bruguier was down 4-2 but "Willie J," as he's known, won three straight legs to flip the match in his favor 5-4.

"The format they have set-up, that break is crucial but I was able to break them right back," he said. "Even down one break, I knew that if I could hold my own throw, I'd be right there."

Bruguier's wife and a couple of fellow South Dakota throwers were on hand to see him pull off the victory in person. He said the image of the final dart hitting the board - a double 18 - is one he won't soon forget.

"The emotion and seeing that last dart going in, it was just all emotion from there," he said. "It's been overwhelming."

The victory gives Bruguier $10,000 and an automatic trip to the PDC World Championship in London, England, which is played from Dec. 15 to Jan. 2. That is the biggest dart championship in the world, which drew 66,000 people to the event's finals earlier this year.

"It's something I've given a lot of thought," Bruguier said. "When you think about all of those people, I really can't wait."