Dolan Wins Second Title Of The Year

BRENDAN DOLAN won his fourth ProTour title in the space of six months, and his second of 2014, after claiming a whitewash victory over Michael Smith to win Players Championship 5 at the Robin Park Tennis Centre on Saturday.

The Northern Irish ace, who lost seven times in PDC finals before crossing the winning line in Wigan last November, produced an excellent standard on Saturday to claim his second £10,000 winner’s cheque of the year.

Dolan began his run to the final with a 6-0 win over Kettering’s Ricky Evans before taking a 6-3 triumph over 2012 Lakeside Champion Christian Kist to reach the last 32 stage.

Dolan then defeated the Dutch duo of Joey Ten Berge and Kevin Voornhout for the loss of just three legs before claiming a narrow 6-5 win over Dean Winstanley, after both players had previously missed chances to win a tight contest.

Dolan hit a 145 checkout in a comfortable 6-1 semi-final win over James Hubbard, and continued that form in the final against Michael Smith, where he hit two 13-darters in the opening two legs.

The former World Grand Prix finalist also won the next two legs to move 4-0 up before his recording his third 13-darter of the game to go a leg away from triumph.

Dolan then ended the contest in the next leg to confirm a whitewash win thanks to an accurate first attempt at double top to win the title.

Reigning World Youth Champion Smith started his run to a second final of the year with narrow wins over Glenn Spearing and Peter Hudson before dismissing Jamie Caven 6-2 to reach the last 16.

The St Helens ace claimed another 6-2 win, over Wayne Jones, before defeating five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals with the aid of four maximums.

That excellent win saw Smith face his manager and mentor, Gary Anderson, in the last four - and he overcame the Scotsman with a 6-4 win before running out of steam against Dolan in the decider.

Former World Youth Champion James Hubbard enjoyed his best result to date on the ProTour circuit with an excellent run to the semi-finals.

Hubbard’s fine day at the Robin Park Tennis Centre included a stunning 6-0 win over top ten star Wes Newton in the second round before he took a fantastic 6-4 win over reigning World Champion Michael van Gerwen.

That win over the world number one put Hubbard through to the last eight, where he knocked out Mervyn King by a 6-4 margin before falling to Dolan in the semi-finals, having to settle for the £2,500 in prize money.

Betway Premier League Darts star Anderson, who has enjoyed an impressive 2014 so far, produced another strong performance to reach the semi-final stage before being denied a chance of winning his fifth title of the year after a 6-4 loss to his protégé Smith.

Major champions Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade and Mervyn King took away £1,500 for their runs to the last eight, while Dean Winstanley also reached the quarter-finals to continue his good run of form over recent weeks.

Holland’s Kevin Voornhout enjoyed his best performance in a PDC ProTour event with an excellent run to the last 16, losing to eventual winner Dolan but continuing his emergence on the circuit this year.

Kent’s Josh Payne also enjoyed his best run in a ProTour event by reaching the last 16, with the 20-year-old recording excellent wins over three-time World Champion John Part and former UK Open winner Robert Thornton.

Fellow Youth Tour competitor Keegan Brown - who has won through to the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Final next month - matched his best performance on the ProTour by reaching the same stage as Payne, defeating 2010 Players Championship Finals winner Paul Nicholson en route.

Phil Taylor suffered a second round loss to Aberdeen’s Jamie Bain while fellow Betway Premier League Darts stars Simon Whitlock, Peter Wright and Dave Chisnall were all first round casualties.

Sunday sees a second Players Championship event of the weekend contested at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan, where £50,000 will be on offer once again.

Players Championship 5
Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan, April 12 2014
First Round
Michael van Gerwen (1) Bye
Kurt Parry 6-2 Andrew Gilding
James Richardson 6-5 Richie Burnett (32)
William O'Connor 6-4 Stuart White
Andy Jenkins 6-3 Kevin Painter (16)
Kirk Shepherd 6-4 Scott Mackenzie
Wes Newton (17) 6-2 Mark Cox
James Hubbard 6-3 Michael Barnard
Mervyn King (8) 6-5 Mark Walsh
Brett Claydon 6-2 Michael Mansell
Terry Jenkins (25) 6-2 Steve West
Prakash Jiwa 6-2 Robert Owen
Robert Thornton (9) 6-3 Jason Hogg
John Henderson 6-2 Pete Dyos
Tony Newell 6-4 Jamie Lewis (24)
Josh Payne 6-0 John Part
Brendan Dolan (5) 6-0 Ricky Evans
Christian Kist 6-3 Gino Vos
Gary Stone 6-4 Andy Smith (28)
Joey Ten Berge 6-3 Jeff Batham
Phil Taylor (12) 6-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jamie Bain 6-2 Jason Lovett
Stuart Kellett (21) 6-4 Nigel Heydon
Kevin Voornhout 6-1 Steve Hine
Kim Huybrechts (4) 6-4 Terry Temple
Ben Ward 6-4 Dennis Smith
Dean Winstanley (29) 6-2 Chris Aubrey
Ryan De Vreede 6-3 Matt Padgett
David Pallett 6-2 Simon Whitlock (13)
Keegan Brown 6-4 Joe Cullen
Paul Nicholson (20) 6-0 Paul Amos
Darren Johnson 6-1 Ross Twell
Gary Anderson (2) Bye
Mark Barilli 6-4 Martyn Turner
Vincent van der Voort (31) 6-1 Campbell Jackson
Andy Parsons 6-2 Wayne Pepper
Kevin McDine 6-1 Justin Pipe (15)
Colin Lloyd 6-2 John Newland
Connie Finnan 6-4 Ronnie Baxter (18)
Ross Smith 6-3 Conan Whitehad
Steve Beaton (7) 6-1 Steve Brown
Arron Monk 6-5 Johnny Haines
James Wade (26) 6-2 Dan Russell
John Bowles 6-2 Marc Dewsbury
Ian White (10) 6-1 Joey Palfreyman
Daryl Gurney 6-2 David Ladley
Jelle Klaasen (23) 6-2 Joe Murnan
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Brian Woods
Mareno Michels 6-4 Peter Wright (6)
Ian Moss 6-4 Ron Meulenkamp
Wayne Jones (27) 6-5 Andy Pearce
Ronny Huybrechts 6-3 Jim Walker
Jamie Caven (11) 6-1 Steve Grubb
Kevin Thomas 6-2 Magnus Caris
Michael Smith (22) 6-5 Glenn Spearing
Peter Hudson 6-0 Scott Rand
Zoran Lerchbacher 6-3 Dave Chisnall (3)
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Colin Osborne
Darren Webster (30) 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Kyle Anderson 6-1 Tony Richardson
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Andy Hamilton (14)
David Dodds 6-3 Mark Webster
Raymond van Barneveld (19) 6-0 Darron Brown
Kevin Dowling 6-2 Denis Ovens

Second Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Kurt Parry
James Richardson 6-3 William O'Connor
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Kirk Shepherd
James Hubbard 6-0 Wes Newton
Mervyn King 6-3 Brett Claydon
Prakash Jiwa 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Robert Thornton 6-2 John Henderson
Josh Payne 6-1 Tony Newell
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Christian Kist
Joey Ten Berge 6-4 Gary Stone
Jamie Bain 6-4 Phil Taylor
Kevin Voornhout 6-5 Stuart Kellett
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Ben Ward
Dean Winstanley 6-3 Ryan De Vreede
Keegan Brown 6-0 David Pallett
Paul Nicholson 6-1 Darren Johnson
Gary Anderson 6-3 Mark Barilli
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Andy Parsons
Kevin McDine 6-4 Colin Lloyd
Ross Smith 6-3 Connie Finnan
Arron Monk 6-2 Steve Beaton
James Wade 6-3 John Bowles
Ian White 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Ian Moss 6-4 Mareno Michels
Wayne Jones 6-5 Ronny Huybrechts
Jamie Caven 6-3 Kevin Thomas
Michael Smith 6-4 Peter Hudson
Stephen Bunting 6-0 Zoran Lerchbacher
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Darren Webster
Benito van de Pas 6-2 David Dodds
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Losers £250

Third Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 James Richardson
James Hubbard 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Mervyn King 6-4 Prakash Jiwa
Josh Payne 6-5 Robert Thornton
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Joey Ten Berge
Kevin Voornhout 6-4 Jamie Bain
Dean Winstanley 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Keegan Brown 6-3 Paul Nicholson
Gary Anderson 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Kevin McDine 6-5 Ross Smith
James Wade 6-4 Arron Monk
Ian White 6-2 Jelle Klaasen
Wayne Jones 6-4 Ian Moss
Michael Smith 6-2 Jamie Caven
Stephen Bunting 6-0 Kyle Anderson
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Benito van de Pas
Losers £500

Fourth Round
James Hubbard 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Mervyn King 6-0 Josh Payne
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Kevin Voornhout
Dean Winstanley 6-2 Keegan Brown
Gary Anderson 6-5 Kevin McDine
James Wade 6-5 Ian White
Michael Smith 6-2 Wayne Jones
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Losers £1,000

Quarter-Finals
James Hubbard 6-4 Mervyn King
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Dean Winstanley
Gary Anderson 6-2 James Wade
Michael Smith 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Losers £1,500

Semi-Finals
Brendan Dolan 6-1 James Hubbard
Michael Smith 6-4 Gary Anderson
Losers £2,500

Final
Brendan Dolan 6-0 Michael Smith
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £5,000

Final - Leg-by-Leg
Brendan Dolan v Michael Smith
1-0 - Dolan enjoys an excellent start as he leaves 32 after 12 darts, before landing double 16 at the first attempt to win the opening leg.
2-0 - The Northern Irishman builds on that good start with consecutive 140 scores to leave 40, which he converts for another 13-darter to break Smith's throw.
3-0 - Both players waste opportunities to win the leg before Dolan lands double four to move further ahead.
4-0 - Dolan edges closer to the winning line by hitting double eight following a missed dart at tops from Smith.
5-0 - Smith starts the leg with a 180 but consistent scoring from Dolan sees him leave 24 after 12 darts, and he hits double 12 for a third 13-dart-finish.
6-0 - Dolan completes a comfortable win by hitting double top to claim the £10,000 first prize.

Match Stats