PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA - Ben Johns booked his spot in the men’s singles final in Atlanta with an 11-5, 13-11 victory over Tyson McGuffin.

It looked like Johns would finish a relatively routine victory when he got out to a 10-5 lead in the second game, but McGuffin saved six match points before eventually bringing the score to 11-11.

Johns expected nothing less of the tour veteran.

“He’s never really out of any match,” he said. “He’s always going to give every point his all, and he just rattled off some good points at the end there. On my end, it was just about locking down the net and trying to get a good serve in so that I could get an attackable ball after that.”

The No. 2 seed has a chance to earn his fourth singles title of the year on Sunday, but he’ll have to get through top-seeded Federico Staksrud to do so. 

“He’s a super solid and super consistent player,” Johns said of his next opponent. “He’s made every final, so you can always expect a high level from him.”

In the last meeting between the two heavyweights, Johns prevailed 7-11, 11-5, 11-6 in the final of the Fanatics Sportsbook North Carolina Cup.