Beachill was pegged back to 2-1 before claiming victory

The top seed overcame David Palmer, the Australian fourth seed and 2002 winner, 11-8 11-6 5-11 12-10.

Beachill now faces French second seed Thierry Lincou, who battled through his semi-final against Graham Ryding of Canada 6-11 11-3 11-4 7-11 12-10.

The unseeded Ryding had accounted for English third seed and former champion Peter Nichol in the quarter-finals.

A delighted Beachill said: "It's an amazing experience for me.

"First I became the world No. 1 and now I have reached the World Open final, which I so desperately wanted to do for as long as I can remember."

Beachill, who turned 27 last Sunday, trailed 10-8 in the fourth set to Palmer but forced a tiebreaker which he won 2-0 to advance.

He is the first Englishman to make the final since Del Harris in 1995.

Lincou was pushed to five sets for the second straight round, and barely hung on to beat Ryding.

"I hope I can recover from the long matches," he said.

Meanwhile, in the Qatar Classic semi-finals, women's world number one Rachael Grinham got the better of younger sister Natalie Grinham.

Rachael, who won the British Open last month, triumphed 9-5 9-3 9-4.

She will face third seed Vanessa Atkinson of the Netherlands in Friday's final.