Aphibarnrat birdied the final hole to fend off an inspired fightback from Karlsson who won three holes in a row to send the pair down the 18th fairway locked together.
It was a third European tour title for Aphibarnrat, known as the Asian John Daly after the long-hitting American twice major champion, and his first outside his home continent.
"My body was getting so tired, so my swing wasn't at 100 per cent, but I just tried to hit my shots," the Thai told the European Tour website.
"Robert is such a good player -- he's played Ryder Cups, so I knew he could come back. My caddie just told me to stick to my game and not worry about what he does.
"John Daly was my hero -- we have very similar swings. But especially this week my driver helped me a lot. In the first four days I was hitting it miles and down the fairways."
England's David Howell beat Marc Warren of Scotland by one hole to win the third-place playoff.
(Reporting by Ed Osmond; editing by Martyn Herman)
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