JAMES Wade sealed his second Players Championship title of 2015 as he beat Kim Huybrechts to win the 13th event of the year in Wigan on Saturday.
Wade was back to his best at the Robin Park Tennis Centre as he confidently saw off a host of tough opponents before coming back to beat Huybrechts in a dramatic deciding leg in the final.
The 32-year-old began the afternoon in dominant fashion as he thumped Steve Douglas and Dirk van Duijvenbode for the loss of only one leg in his opening two matches before then edging out Dave Ladley 6-5 to win his board.
The Aldershot thrower would then defeat the dangerous Vincent van der Voort 6-3 in the Last 16 before beating Ian White - who had knocked out Phil Taylor in his previous game - 6-4 to set up a semi-final with Keegan Brown.
World Youth Champion Brown was enjoying another mightily impressive day at the oche, but Wade would again make light work of his opponent, running out a comfortable 6-1 victor to reach a sixth ProTour final of the year.
Huybrechts would also enjoy a strong start to the day as he opened up with a 6-2 victory against Steve Brown before then sealing consecutive 6-3 victories against David Pallett and Steve Beaton to win his board.
The Belgian then saw off Players Championship Ten winner Joe Murnan 6-4 in the Last 16 before edging out Kyle Anderson 6-5 in the quarter-finals.
Huybrechts would have to come through another tough test in the following round as he averaged 107.23 in a 6-4 victory against UK Open semi-finalist Andrew Gilding to set up the final with Wade.
It would be the Belgian who continued his form in the early exchanges of the final as he swiftly moved into a 3-1 lead before later extending his advantage to 5-3 to move one leg away from the win.
Wade, though, refused to be beaten as he produced a strong comeback to take the final three legs and secure the £10,000 winners’ cheque.
With Players Championship 13 being the penultimate ProTour event before the cut-off for BetVictor World Championship qualification, there was a twist as Australian ace Anderson's run to the quarter-finals saw him jump above Mark Webster in the provisional qualification places.
Welshman Webster is now £500 behind Anderson in the race for Blackpool places, with Darren Webster a further £2,000 behind in the battle to secure a World Matchplay place.
Huybrechts' run to the final also leaves one further possible twist, with a victory for the Belgian in Sunday's tournament able to move him into the world's top 16, while a quarter-final for Justin Pipe could move him above Raymond van Barneveld in the top 16.
The weekend's Players Championship action continues in Wigan on Sunday with Event 14 commencing from 12pm (BST) at the Robin Park Tennis Centre.
Players Championship 13
Saturday July 4, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
First Round
Michael Smith 6-0 Connie Finnan
Prakash Jiwa 6-3 Trevor Burkhill
Dean Winstanley 6-5 Jan Dekker
Jamie Robinson 6-4 Wayne Jones
Benito van de Pas 6-5 Matt Padgett
Ronnie Baxter 6-4 Ben Ward
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Mark Walsh
Kevin Thomas 6-3 Brian Woods
Mervyn King 6-2 Tony Richardson
Jamie Bain 6-5 Eddie Dootson
Keegan Brown 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Paul Milford 6-4 Johnny Haines
Justin Pipe 6-4 Andy Smith
Nathan Derry 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Stuart Kellett 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Alan Norris 6-2 Terry Temple
Ian White 6-4 Darren Johnson
Steve West 6-5 Steve Hine
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Tony Bradley
Pete Dyos 6-4 Stephen Willard
Jay Foreman 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Kevin McDine 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Phil Taylor 6-5 Thomas Seyler
Nigel Heydon 6-5 Chris Dobey
James Wade 6-0 Steve Douglas
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Mick Todd
Mark Webster 6-4 Robbie Green
David Ladley 6-3 Ricky Evans
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Adam Hunt
Andy Parsons 6-2 Michael Barnard
Jamie Caven 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Tony Newell 6-2 Mickey Mansell
Magnus Caris 6-2 Adrian Lewis
Andy Jenkins 6-5 James Forster
Darren Webster 6-5 Darron Brown
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-3 Jason Wilson
Robert Thornton 6-0 Jonny Clayton
Shaun Griffiths 6-4 Curtis Hammond
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Lee Palfreyman
Alan Tabern 6-4 Colin Lloyd
Dave Chisnall 6-3 William O'Connor
Jason Lovett 6-2 Robert Owen
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Max Hopp
Dimitri van den Bergh 6-1 Mark Barilli
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Dennis Smith
Jim Walker 6-3 Martyn Turner
Stephen McNally 6-3 John Henderson
Gary Stone 6-1 Ross Twell
Mark Frost 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Mike Zuydwijk 6-4 John Bowles
Joe Murnan 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Roxy-James Rodriguez 6-2 Jason Marriott
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Steve Brown
David Pallett 6-5 Josh Payne
Steve Beaton 6-4 Ronny Huybrechts
Mark Dudbridge 6-2 Joey Ten Berge
Peter Wright 6-2 Kevin Bambrick
Christian Kist 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Kyle Anderson 6-4 Ross Smith
Ian Moss 6-3 James Wilson
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Wes Newton
Jyhan Artut 6-5 Barrie Bates
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Kevin Painter
Cristo Reyes 6-1 Matt Clark
Second Round
Prakash Jiwa 6-4 Michael Smith
Jamie Robinson 6-4 Dean Winstanley
Benito van de Pas 6-3 Ronnie Baxter
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Kevin Thomas
Mervyn King 6-3 Jamie Bain
Keegan Brown 6-1 Paul Milford
Justin Pipe 6-3 Nathan Derry
Alan Norris 6-3 Stuart Kellett
Ian White 6-1 Steve West
Andy Hamilton 6-1 Pete Dyos
Jay Foreman 6-5 Kevin McDine
Phil Taylor 6-1 Nigel Heydon
James Wade 6-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
David Ladley 6-5 Mark Webster
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Andy Parsons
Tony Newell 6-5 Jamie Caven
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Magus Caris
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-4 Darren Webster
Robert Thornton 6-1 Shaun Griffiths
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Alan Tabern
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Jason Lovett
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Dimitri van den Bergh
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Jim Walker
Gary Stone 6-3 Stephen McNally
Mark Frost 6-2 Mike Zuydwijk
Joe Murnan 6-3 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 David Pallett
Steve Beaton 6-4 Mark Dudbridge
Christian Kist 6-5 Peter Wright
Kyle Anderson 6-1 Ian Moss
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Jyhan Artut
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Losers: £250
Third Round
Jamie Robinson 6-5 Prakash Jiwa
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Benito van de Pas
Keegan Brown 6-4 Mervyn King
Alan Norris 6-3 Justin Pipe
Ian White 6-2 Andy Hamilton
Phil Taylor 6-3 Jay Foreman
James Wade 6-5 David Ladley
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Tony Newell
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-1 Andy Jenkins
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 Robert Thornton
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Gary Stone
Joe Murnan 6-4 Mark Frost
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Steve Beaton
Kyle Anderson 6-2 Christian Kist
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Losers: £750
Last 16
Jamie Robinson 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Keegan Brown 6-2 Alan Norris
Ian White 6-5 Phil Taylor
James Wade 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Joe Murnan
Kyle Anderson 6-0 Gerwyn Price
Losers: £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Keegan Brown 6-2 Jamie Robinson
James Wade 6-4 Ian White
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Mensur Suljovic
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Kyle Anderson
Losers: £2,000
Semi-Finals
James Wade 6-1 Keegan Brown
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Losers: £2,500
Final
James Wade 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Winner: £10,000
Runner-Up: £5,000
BetVictor World Matchplay
Provisional Rankings For Qualification - Players Championship 14 Prize Money To Be Added
PDC Order of Merit Top 16
|
1 |
van Gerwen, Michael |
£979,750 |
|
2 |
Anderson, Gary |
£583,000 |
|
3 |
Taylor, Phil |
£581,750 |
|
4 |
Lewis, Adrian |
£378,000 |
|
5 |
Wright, Peter |
£361,000 |
|
6 |
Wade, James |
£294,250 |
|
7 |
Chisnall, Dave |
£241,500 |
|
8 |
Whitlock, Simon |
£229,000 |
|
9 |
White, Ian |
£214,500 |
|
10 |
Thornton, Robert |
£212,750 |
|
11 |
Dolan, Brendan |
£209,250 |
|
12 |
King, Mervyn |
£206,250 |
|
13 |
Jenkins, Terry |
£198,250 |
|
14 |
Smith, Michael |
£196,750 |
|
15 |
van Barneveld, Raymond |
£187,750 |
|
16 |
Pipe, Justin |
£186,000 |
|
17 |
Huybrechts, Kim |
£178,500 |
ProTour Order of Merit
Provisional World Matchplay Qualifiers Marked with *
|
1 |
van Gerwen, Michael |
£206,250 |
|
2 |
Smith, Michael |
£97,000 |
|
3 |
Wade, James |
£85,000 |
|
4 |
Lewis, Adrian |
£83,750 |
|
5 |
Wright, Peter |
£81,500 |
|
6 |
Anderson, Gary |
£73,000 |
|
7 |
White, Ian |
£57,750 |
|
8 |
Chisnall, Dave |
£55,500 |
|
9 |
Dolan, Brendan |
£55,250 |
|
10 |
King, Mervyn |
£53,000 |
|
11 |
Pipe, Justin |
£52,750 |
|
12 |
Huybrechts, Kim * |
£48,500 |
|
13 |
Whitlock, Simon |
£47,250 |
|
14 |
Jenkins, Terry |
£42,250 |
|
15 |
van der Voort, Vincent * |
£39,500 |
|
16 |
Klaasen, Jelle * |
£38,500 |
|
17 |
Thornton, Robert |
£38,250 |
|
18 |
van de Pas, Benito * |
£37,000 |
|
19 |
Bunting, Stephen * |
£32,750 |
|
20 |
Suljovic, Mensur * |
£30,250 |
|
21 |
Price, Gerwyn * |
£29,250 |
|
22 |
Taylor, Phil |
£29,000 |
|
23 |
Beaton, Steve * |
£28,000 |
|
24 |
Caven, Jamie * |
£27,750 |
|
25 |
Brown, Keegan * |
£24,500 |
|
26 |
Gilding, Andrew * |
£24,250 |
|
27 |
Henderson, John * |
£23,750 |
|
28 |
Lewis, Jamie * |
£23,000 |
|
29 |
Murnan, Joe * |
£21,500 |
|
30 |
Hamilton, Andy * |
£20,250 |
|
31 |
Anderson, Kyle * |
£19,500 |
|
32 |
Webster, Mark |
£19,000 |
|
33 |
Webster, Darren |
£17,000 |
|
34 |
Winstanley, Dean |
£16,750 |
|
35 |
Smith, Andy |
£16,250 |
|
36 |
Kist, Christian |
£16,000 |
|
37 |
Painter, Kevin |
£15,750 |
|
38 |
Gurney, Daryl |
£14,750 |
|
39 |
Hopp, Max |
£14,500 |
|
40 |
van Barneveld, Raymond |
£14,250 |
|
41 |
Rodriguez, Rowby-John |
£13,500 |
|
42 |
Huybrechts, Ronny |
£13,250 |
|
43 |
Reyes, Cristo |
£13,000 |
|
44 |
de Zwaan, Jeffrey |
£12,750 |
|
45 |
Cullen, Joe |
£12,500 |
|
45 |
Evans, Ricky |
£12,500 |
|
47 |
Pallett, David |
£11,500 |
|
48 |
Newton, Wesley |
£11,000 |
|
48 |
O'Connor, William |
£11,000 |
|
48 |
Wilson, James |
£11,000 |
|
51 |
McDine, Kevin |
£10,500 |
|
52 |
Bain, Jamie |
£10,250 |
|
53 |
Baxter, Ronnie |
£10,000 |
|
54 |
Kellett, Stuart |
£9,750 |
|
54 |
van Duijvenbode, Dirk |
£9,750 |
|
56 |
Jones, Wayne |
£9,500 |
|
56 |
Smith, Ross |
£9,500 |
|
58 |
Bowles, John |
£9,250 |
|
58 |
Mansell, Mickey |
£9,250 |
|
58 |
Norris, Alan |
£9,250 |
|
61 |
Artut, Jyhan |
£9,000 |