ANDERSON SEALS THIRD TRIUMPH OF 2014 GARY ANDERSON won his third title of the year after claming the first Players Championship of 2014 with a thrilling 6-5 victory over Andrew Gilding on a day which saw Adrian Lewis hit a nine-dart finish at the Barnsley Metrodome. Anderson, who has won the German Darts Championship and a UK Open Qualifier in a brilliant start to 2014, claimed the £10,000 first prize in Barnsley for the 15th title of his PDC career. Anderson started his road to a third title of the year with a 111 average in his opening game, against fellow Scotsman Gary Stone, before triumphs over John Henderson and James Hubbard saw him win through to the last 16. The Scot then defeated fellow Premier League star Wes Newton 6-3 before ending Andy Hamiltons day with a 6-3 quarter-final triumph, and the same scoreline was recorded by Anderson in his semi-final win against Mervyn King. In a thrilling final against Andrew Gilding, Anderson started quickly to lead 3-0 with legs of 15, 13 and 14 darts, before Gilding got off the mark by taking the fourth leg with a 13-darter of his own. Anderson restored his three-leg advantage with the aid of a 76 finish for another 14-darter, before Gilding produced a fabulous 134 checkout to win the sixth in only 12 darts. Gilding took the next two legs to level at four apiece, before Anderson stopped his opponents momentum with a brilliant 11-darter to edge ahead. Gilding won the tenth leg with another 14-darter to force a decider, only for Anderson to reply with one of his own - including a third 180 of the game - to claim the £10,000 first prize with a sensational 111.47 average. Gildings run, which saw him reach his second ProTour final in the space of a month, began with a 6-4 win against Jamie Caven in his opening game before he went on to defeat Mark Cox and 2006 Lakeside Champion Jelle Klaasen in progressing to the last 16. The 43-year-old from Suffolk extended his winning run by defeating Michael Smith and Darren Webster to reach the last four, where he produced a fine display to defeat James Wade by a 6-3 margin. After falling 3-0 down, Gilding produced a fabulous display in his second ProTour final, where he went on to average 107 against Anderson before being denied victory by the narrowest of margins. Mervyn King, who reached the semi-finals of last weekends Coral UK Open, backed up that display with an excellent run to the last four at the Barnsley Metrodome on Saturday. King, who defied a back injury to produce some excellent darts at the UK Open, defeated nine-dart hero Adrian Lewis in their quarter-final encounter with a fantastic 105 average, gaining revenge for his defeat to Stoke ace in Minehead. The former World Masters champion, who hit a ten-darter in his fabulous last eight display, hit five maximums in his last four clash against Anderson but it was not enough as he fell to a 6-3 loss to the Scot. James Wade showed excellent form during his run to the semi-finals, where he produced 104 averages in wins against Belgian brothers Kim and Ronny Huybrechts before coming from 5-3 down to beat Ronnie Baxter in their quarter-final clash. However, the seven-time major champion was denied a chance of tasting victory for the first time since October 2011 when he was defeated 6-3 by Gilding in their semi-final encounter. Last weeks UK Open champion Adrian Lewis produced a stunning standard en route to the last eight, were he averaged no worse than 101 in each of his four victories on Saturday. The highlight included a nine-dart finish against Joe Cullen in third leg of his 6-2 second round victory before backing that up with wins over Kevin Painter and Brendan Dolan - both with 101 averages. Lewis, though, ran in to in-form King, who defeated the two-time World Champion 6-4 in their quarter-final clash to bring his fine day to an abrupt end. Ronnie Baxter suffered a narrow 6-5 loss to Wade in the last eight, having led 5-3, while Andy Hamilton and Darren Webster both took away £1,000 for their good runs to the quarter-finals. Joe Murnan, who secured a Tour Card at Qualifying School in January for the second time, enjoyed his best run in a PDC ProTour event as he reached the last 16, which included the notable scalps of former Lakeside Championship finalists Dave Chisnall and Dean Winstanley. World number one Michael van Gerwen came from 4-1 down to defeat Josh Payne 6-5 in their second round encounter, before losing to Norwichs Darren Webster by a 6-3 margin at the last 32 stage. Premier League stars Robert Thornton and Dave Chisnall were notable first round casualties while World Champions John Part and Mark Webster suffered the same fate. Sunday sees a second Players Championship event held at the Barnsley Metrodome, with £50,000 in prize money on offer once again to complete the PDC ProTour double-header. Players Championship 1 Barnsley Metrodome, March 15 2014 First Round Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-1 James Richardson Josh Payne 6-4 Mark Webster Darren Webster (32) 6-1 Joey Ten Berge Michael Barnard 6-3 Marc Dewsbury Brian Woods 6-1 John Part (16) Wayne Pepper 6-4 Nick Fullwell Justin Pipe (17) 6-1 Andy Jenkins Robert Owen 6-5 Jim Walker Andrew Gilding 6-4 Jamie Caven (8) Mark Cox 6-3 Steve West Jelle Klaasen (25) 6-1 John Newland Andy Parsons 6-4 William OConnor Steve Beaton (9) 6-5 Matthew Edgar Kevin Thomas 6-5 Rowby-John Rodriguez Michael Smith (24) 6-3 Stuart White Stephen Bunting 6-3 Gerwyn Price Peter Wright (5) 6-3 Mark Hylton Johnny Haines 6-0 Steve Hine Jamie Lewis (28) 6-1 Daryl Gurney Ryan De Vreede 6-4 Kyle Anderson Ian White (12) 6-2 Darron Brown Ben Ward 6-1 Steve Grubb Ronnie Baxter (21) 6-5 Ross Smith Denis Ovens 6-1 Glenn Spearing Kim Huybrechts (4) 6-3 Stuart Anderson Mick Todd 6-3 Gino Vos James Wade (29) 6-4 Jyhan Artut Ronny Huybrechts 6-5 Arron Monk Simon Whitlock (13) 6-2 Dave Ladley Scott Rand 6-3 Kevin Voornhout Stuart Kellett (20) 6-2 Matt Padgett Pete Dyos 6-4 Joey Palfreyman Joe Murnan 6-4 Dave Chisnall (2) Chris Aubrey 6-5 Jason Hogg Vincent van der Voort (31) 6-2 Mareno Michels Dean Winstanley 6-3 Campbell Jackson Andy Hamilton (15) 6-3 Jamie Bain Dan Russell 6-5 Christian Kist Paul Nicholson (18) 6-2 Martyn Turner Tony Newell 6-3 Antonio Alcinas Gary Anderson (7) 6-1 Gary Stone John Henderson 6-0 Conan Whitehead Terry Jenkins (26) 6-4 Dennis Priestley James Hubbard 6-5 Keegan Brown Wes Newton (10) 6-2 Kevin Dowling John Bowles 6-4 Paul Amos Raymond van Barneveld (23) 6-3 Michael Mansell Nigel Heydon 6-2 Jerry Hendriks Mark Walsh 6-4 Robert Thornton (6) Mark Dudbridge 6-5 Steve Brown David Pallett 6-3 Richie Burnett (27) Colin Osborne 6-2 Adam Hunt Mervyn King (11) 6-3 Darren Whittingham Ron Meulenkamp 6-4 Benito van de Pas Mark Barilli 6-4 Andy Smith (22) David Dodds 6-3 Tomas Seyler Brendan Dolan (3) 6-2 Kevin McDine Ian Moss 6-2 Peter Hudson Wayne Jones (30) 6-4 Zoran Lerchbacher Darren Johnson 6-1 Colin Lloyd Adrian Lewis (14) 6-0 Ryan Harrington Joe Cullen 6-2 Terry Temple Kevin Painter (19) 6-3 Ricky Evans Dennis Smith 6-5 Kirk Shepherd Second Round Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Josh Payne Darren Webster 6-3 Michael Owen Brian Woods 6-4 Wayne Pepper Justin Pipe 6-1 Robert Owen Andrew Gilding 6-0 Mark Cox Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Andy Parsons Steve Beaton 6-5 Kevin Thomas Michael Smith 6-4 Stephen Bunting Peter Wright 6-4 Johnny Haines Ryan De Vreede 6-4 Jamie Lewis Ian White 6-4 Ben Ward Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Denis Ovens Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Mick Todd James Wade 6-3 Ronny Huybrechts Simon Whitlock 6-4 Scott Rand Stuart Kellett 6-2 Pete Dyos Joe Murnan 6-3 Chris Aubrey Dean Winstanley 6-5 Vincent van der Voort Andy Hamilton 6-3 Dan Russell Tony Newell 6-3 Paul Nicholson Gary Anderson 6-2 John Henderson James Hubbard 6-4 Terry Jenkins Wes Newton 6-0 John Bowles Nigel Heydon 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld Mark Dudbridge 6-5 Mark Walsh David Pallett 6-2 Colin Osborne Mervyn King 6-4 Ron Meulenkamp Mark Barilli 6-2 David Dodds Brendan Dolan 6-2 Ian Moss Wayne Jones 6-3 Darren Johnson Adrian Lewis 6-2 Joe Cullen - Adrian Lewis hits nine-dart finish Kevin Painter 6-5 Dennis Smith Losers £250 Third Round Darren Webster 6-3 Michael van Gerwen Justin Pipe 6-5 Brian Woods Andrew Gilding 6-2 Jelle Klaasen Michael Smith 6-4 Steve Beaton Peter Wright 6-3 Ryan De Vreede Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Ian White James Wade 6-0 Kim Huybrechts Stuart Kellett 6-5 Simon Whitlock Joe Murnan 6-5 Dean Winstanley Andy Hamilton 6-0 Tony Newell Gary Anderson 6-4 James Hubbard Wes Newton 6-5 Nigel Heydon Mark Dudbridge 6-5 David Pallett Mervyn King 6-3 Mark Barilli Brendan Dolan 6-2 Wayne Jones Adrian Lewis 6-2 Kevin Painter Losers £500 Fourth Round Darren Webster 6-5 Justin Pipe Andrew Gilding 6-3 Michael Smith Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Peter Wright James Wade 6-4 Stuart Kellett Andy Hamilton 6-4 Joe Murnan Gary Anderson 6-3 Wes Newton Mervyn King 6-4 Mark Dudbridge Adrian Lewis 6-2 Brendan Dolan Losers £1,000 Quarter-Finals Andrew Gilding 6-2 Darren Webster James Wade 6-5 Ronnie Baxter Gary Anderson 6-3 Andy Hamilton Mervyn King 6-4 Adrian Lewis Losers £1,500 Semi-Finals Andrew Gilding 6-3 James Wade Gary Anderson 6-3 Mervyn King Losers £2,500 Final Gary Anderson 6-5 Andrew Gilding Winner £10,000 Runner-up £5,000 Final - Leg-by-Leg Andrew Gilding v Gary Anderson 0-1 - Anderson holds throw in the opening leg by taking out a 53 finish. 0-2 - The Scotsman kicks-off with two 140 scores and goes to break Gildings throw at the first time of asking. 0-3 - Anderson continues the high standard as he converts a 65 checkout to move further ahead. 1-3 - Gilding leaves 40 after 12 darts and goes on to win the leg against the throw.. 1-4 - Anderson restores his three-leg advantage by landing a 76 checkout. 2-4 - Both players fire in 180s before Gilding produces a fabulous 134 checkout to stay in the hunt. 3-4 - Anderson misses two attempts at doubles and Gilding takes out 48 to claw another leg back. 4-4 - Anderson hits scores of 171 and 139 to leave 32 after 12 darts, only for Gilding to hit an 85 finish to draw level. 4-5 - The former Premier League champion hits back with scores of 180, 140 and 130 before hitting double eight to edge ahead. 5-5 - Anderson misses one dart for the match and Gilding capitalises to force a deciding leg. 5-6 - The Scotsman starts the deciding leg with a 180 and goes to take it on double eight to win a thriller. SUNDAY BEST FOR VAN GERWEN MICHAEL VAN GERWEN won the second Players Championship of the year courtesy of a 6-1 victory against Dean Winstanley at the Barnsley Metrodome on Sunday. The reigning World Champion began his road to a third title of 2014 with a trio of 6-2 wins over Andy Parsons, Andy Jenkins and John Part before defeating Wales Gerwyn Price 6-3 to secure a quarter-final spot. There, the world number one defeated World Youth Champion Michael Smith 6-4 with the aid of a 164 checkout, before sealing a place in the final thanks to a 6-3 win over Belgian number one Kim Huybrechts. Van Gerwen faced Dean Winstanley for the £10,000 first prize, and after sharing the first two legs the Dutch sensation won the third leg with a 125 checkout. The world number one broke throw in the next after Winstanley wasted chances to level, before van Gerwen streaked away to a 5-1 lead with the aid of 104 and 140 checkouts. Winstanley hit his second maximum of the game in the seventh leg, but it was not enough to stop the Dutchman as double top saw him secure the title - his 20th PDC victory - in just 12 minutes. Winstanley, who enjoyed the best performance of his PDC career to date, came through hard-fought games Matt Padgett, UK Open finalist Terry Jenkins and Joe Murnan to reach the last 16 phase. The former Lakeside Championship finalist then overcame Kevin Dowling before recording an excellent victory against Saturdays Players Championship winner Gary Anderson, coming out on top narrowly in a deciding leg following a high-quality clash. The Yorkshire ace followed up that fine victory by ending Raymond van Barnevelds hopes of the title with a 6-4 win before falling short in the decider against van Gerwen. Belgian ace Huybrechts reached his second semi-final of 2014 in a run which included a fine win over James Wade in the last 32 stage - gaining revenge for his 6-0 thrashing from the Aldershot star 24 hours earlier. Huybrechts, who teamed up with brother Ronny to reach the final of 2013 PDC World Cup of Darts, overcame the ever-steady Ian White 6-4 before ending Christian Kists day with a 6-2 victory. That put the Belgian through to the last four but he was denied a place in the final by van Gerwen, having to settle for £2,500 in prize money. Van Barneveld enjoyed his best run in a PDC ProTour event so far in 2014 with a strong run to the last four, but was denied a place in the final after a 6-4 loss to Winstanley, despite ending the game with a 101 average. Saturdays Players Championship winner Anderson was narrowly defeated at the quarter-final stage by Winstanley, while Norwichs Darren Webster reached the last eight for a second successive day to complete a consistent weekend. 2012 Lakeside Champion Christian Kist reached the last eight for the second time since joining the PDC circuit in January before having his good run ended by Huybrechts. while Michael Smith took away £1,500 for his run to the quarter-finals. Welsh newcomer Gerwyn Price enjoyed his best run in a ProTour event since securing his Tour Card at the Qualifying School in Wigan two months ago. The 28-year-old Cross Keys rugby union player defeated former Players Championship Finals winner Paul Nicholson and promising Kettering youngster Ricky Evans before losing 6-3 to van Gerwen. Andrew Gilding, who produced a superb performance in Saturdays tournament - losing in the decider to Gary Anderson - was brought back down to earth by a 6-1 defeat to Joe Murnan. Major championship finalists Andy Hamilton, Mervyn King and Brendan Dolan were all first round casualties, while Premier League star Dave Chisnall suffered a first round exit for the second successive event. Players Championship 2 Barnsley Metrodome, March 16 2014 First Round Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-2 Andy Parsons Andy Jenkins 6-4 Mark Barilli John Part (32) 6-3 Terry Temple John Henderson 6-2 Wayne Pepper Ricky Evans 6-3 Andy Hamilton (16) Arron Monk 6-3 Scott Rand Paul Nicholson (17) 6-1 Joey Palfreyman Gerwyn Price 6-1 Zoran Lerchbacher Steve Beaton (8) 6-3 Martyn Turner Denis Ovens 6-5 Mark Webster Jamie Lewis (25) 6-5 Joe Cullen Keegan Brown 6-3 Josh Payne Peter Hudson 6-4 Jamie Caven (9) Robert Owen 6-4 John Bowles Michael Smith (24) 6-2 Adam Hunt Stuart White 6-5 Kevin Voornhout Kim Huybrechts (5) 6-5 James Hubbard Ron Meulenkamp 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez James Wade (28) 6-3 Pete Dyos Ben Ward 6-5 Gino Vos Ian White (12) 6-2 Ian Moss David Ladley 6-0 Kevin Thomas Stuart Kellett (21) 6-1 Steve Hine Matthew Edgar 6-3 Daryl Gurney Christian Kist 6-5 Dave Chisnall (4) Mareno Michels 6-5 James Richardson Richie Burnett (29) 6-4 Joey Ten Berge Mark Cox 6-1 Darren Whittingham Simon Whitlock (13) 6-3 Darron Brown Steve West 6-4 Ryan Harrington Brian Woods 6-5 Andy Smith (20) Darren Johnson 6-4 Antonio Alcinas Gary Anderson (2) 6-5 David Dodds Steve Brown 6-3 Marc Dewsbury Vincent van der Voort (31) 6-2 Campbell Jackson Ronny Huybrechts 6-0 Glenn Spearing Kirk Shepherd 6-4 Justin Pipe (15) Benito van de Pas 6-3 Michael Mansell Kevin Painter (18) 6-3 Jason Hogg Kevin McDine 6-5 Mark Dudbridge Robert Thornton (7) 6-3 Jim Walker Joe Murnan 6-1 Andrew Gilding Terry Jenkins (26) 6-1 Dan Russell Dean Winstanley 6-5 Matt Padgett Wes Newton (10) 6-5 Stephen Bunting Mark Walsh 6-1 Jerry Hendriks Mark Hylton 6-5 Jelle Klaasen (23) Kevin Dowling 6-1 Chris Aubrey Tony Newell 6-5 Peter Wright (6) Dennis Smith 6-5 Gary Stone Wayne Jones (27) 6-5 Ross Smith Colin Osborne 6-2 Tomas Seyler Ross Twell 6-2 Mervyn King (11) Conan Whitehead 6-3 Paul Amos Raymond van Barneveld (22) 6-1 David Pallett Kyle Anderson 6-2 Steve Grubb Jyhan Artut 6-5 Brendan Dolan (3) Michael Barnard 6-3 Stuart Anderson Darren Webster (30) 6-1 Ryan De Vreede Mick Todd 6-1 John Newland Adrian Lewis (14) 6-5 William OConnor Johnny Haines 6-4 Jamie Bain Ronnie Baxter (19) 6-1 Dennis Priestley Nigel Heydon 6-3 Colin Lloyd Second Round Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Andy Jenkins John Part 6-4 John Henderson Ricky Evans 6-1 Arron Monk Gerwyn Price 6-5 Paul Nicholson Steve Beaton 6-4 Denis Ovens Jamie Lewis 6-0 Keegan Brown Peter Hudson 6-1 Robert Owen Michael Smith 6-4 Stuart White Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Ron Meulenkamp James Wade 6-2 Ben Ward Ian White 6-3 David Ladley Matthew Edgar 6-1 Stuart Kellett Christian Kist 6-3 Mareno Michels Mark Cox 6-5 Richie Burnett Simon Whitlock 6-3 Steve West Darren Johnson 6-4 Brian Woods Gary Anderson 6-3 Steve Brown Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Ronny Huybrechts Kirk Shepherd 6-2 Benito van de Pas Kevin Painter 6-4 Kevin McDine Joe Murnan 6-3 Robert Thornton Dean Winstanley 6-4 Terry Jenkins Wes Newton 6-4 Mark Walsh Kevin Dowling 6-1 Mark Hylton Tony Newell 6-4 Dennis Smith Wayne Jones 6-0 Colin Osborne Ross Twell 6-3 Conan Whithead Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Kyle Anderson Michael Barnard 6-2 Jyhan Artut Darren Webster 6-4 Mick Todd Adrian Lewis 6-1 Johnny Haines Ronnie Baxter 6-0 Nigel Heydon Losers £250 Third Round Michael van Gerwen 6-2 John Part Gerwyn Price 6-4 Ricky Evans Jamie Lewis 6-4 Steve Beaton Michael Smith 6-4 Peter Hudson Kim Huybrechts 6-4 James Wade Ian White 6-0 Matthew Edgar Christian Kist 6-0 Mark Cox Simon Whitlock 6-1 Darren Johnson Gary Anderson 6-1 Vincent van der Voort Kevin Painter 6-1 Kirk Shepherd Dean Winstanley 6-4 Joe Murnan Kevin Dowling 6-5 Wes Newton Wayne Jones 6-0 Tony Newell Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Ross Twell Darren Webster 6-3 Michael Barnard Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Adrian Lewis Losers £500 Fourth Round Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Gerwyn Price Michael Smith 6-5 Jamie Lewis Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Ian White Christian Kist 6-5 Simon Whitlock Gary Anderson 6-5 Kevin Painter Dean Winstanley 6-1 Kevin Dowling Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Wayne Jones Darren Webster 6-1 Ronnie Baxter Losers £1,000 Quarter-Finals Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Michael Smith Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Christian Kist Dean Winstanley 6-5 Gary Anderson Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Darren Webster Losers £1,500 Semi-Finals Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Kim Huybrechts Dean Winstanley 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld Losers £2,500 Final Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Dean Winstanley Winner £10,000 Runner-up £5,000 Final - Leg-by-Leg Michael van Gerwen v Dean Winstanley 1-0 - Winstanley wastes chances for an early break and van Gerwen capitalises by converting a 60 finish. 1-1 - The Yorkshireman levels by hitting double five with van Gerwen waiting on a two-darter. 2-1 - Winstanley hits the first 180 of the game only for the world number one to follow up with a 125 checkout on double top. 3-1 - Winstanley posts three ton plus scores only for van Gerwen to hit two 180s. Winstanley is first to a finish but more missed doubles sees van Gerwen break throw. 4-1 - van Gerwen moves further ahead with an excellent 104 finish. 5-1 - The world number one goes a leg away from the title as he records a brilliant 140 checkout. 6-1 - Winstanley hits a maximum but van Gerwen hits double top to win the match and the £10,000 first prize.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 21:10:49 +0000
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