Van Gerwen's Glory In Dublin

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN claimed his fourth PDC Pro Tour title of the year thanks to a thrilling deciding-leg win against Robert Thornton in the final of Players Championship 13 at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin.

The Dutch youngster, who has been in excellent form over the last four months, claimed the £6,000 first prize ahead of his first round clash against Colin Lloyd in the PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix on Tuesday evening.

Van Gerwen began his day with a 6-4 victory over Andrew Gilding before dispatching Dennis Smith and former Players Championship Finals winner Paul Nicholson to advance to the last eight.

There, he defeated Yorkshire's Joe Cullen by a 6-2 scoreline with the aid of a 103 average and then thumped former World Youth Champion Arron Monk 6-1 with the aid of a 170 finish.

In the early stages of the final the Dutchman fell 4-1 down to Thornton, who hit a 135 finish to break throw in the fourth leg.

Van Gerwen won the next two legs to reduce the deficit to 4-3 before the Scotsman broke throw for a second time to move a leg away from the title.

But van Gerwen was not to be denied as he took the ninth leg before producing finishes of 124 and 110, in the deciding leg, to stun Thornton and win the match.

Thornton, who dramatically won the Speedy Services UK Open title against Phil Taylor back in June, started his run to final with victories against Kevin McDine, Mike Veitch and Mervyn King as he reached the last 16.

The Stevenston thrower defeated Ian White by a 6-1 scoreline before taking a tense deciding-leg win against Denis Ovens to reach the last four, after falling 5-2 down.

In the semi-final, Thornton was 5-2 down to Scott Rand but produced another superb comeback to win 6-5 before suffering a taste of his own medicine against van Gerwen in the final.

Arron Monk enjoyed his best ever performance in a PDC Pro Tour event as he reached the semi-finals for the first time.

The current PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit leader secured notable victories against Dennis Priestley, Roland Scholten and Mark Webster, all major champions, before falling to young rival van Gerwen.

Scott Rand also reached the last four in his best performance on the PDC ProTour since reaching the same stage of a UK Open Qualifier back in February.

The man from Coventry defeated Wes Newton and Kevin Painter on his away to the semi-finals before suffering last-leg heartache against Thornton, having held a commanding lead.

Among the early casualties were top-ten stars Adrian Lewis, Newton, Andy Hamilton and Raymond van Barneveld, which set the trend for a day of surprises.

Sunday will see a second Players Championship held ahead of the start of the PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix on Monday evening at the Citywest Hotel.Players Championship 13
Saturday October 6 2012, Citywest Hotel, Dublin
First Round
Justin Pipe (1) Bye
Paddy Meaney 6-2 Tony Littleton
Reece Robinson 6-5 Wayne Jones (32)
Denis Ovens 6-3 Joe Murnan
Vincent van der Voort (16) Bye
Matthew Edgar 6-4 Paul Rowley
Brendan Dolan (17) Bye
Kevin Dowling 6-5 Chris Aubrey
Ian White (8) Bye
James Hubbard 6-5 Magnus Caris
Michael Smith (25) 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Steve Brown 6-1 Connie Finnan
Mervyn King (9) Bye
Alan Tabern 6-1 Adam Smith-Neale
Robert Thornton (24) 6-2 Kevin McDine
Mike Veitch 6-4 Mark Hylton
Simon Whitlock (5) Bye
Terry Temple 6-1 Jim Walker
Gary Anderson (28) 6-5 Alex Roy
Barrie Bates 6-4 Adrian Gray
Kim Huybrechts (12) Bye
Tony West 6-4 Ross Smith
John Henderson 6-5 Mark Walsh (21)
Darren Webster 6-5 John MaGowan
Wes Newton (4) Bye
Scott Rand 6-0 Stephen Hardy
Kevin Painter (29) 6-1 Steve Hine
Mareno Michels 6-3 Paul Barham
Andy Hamilton (13) Bye
Shaun Griffiths 6-5 Bernd Roith
John Part 6-0 Steve Beaton (20)
Darren Johnson 6-2 Mark Forman
Dave Chisnall (2) Bye
John Scott 6-5 Darren Whittingham
James Richardson (31) 6-1 Gino Vos
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Michael Barnard
Colin Osborne (15) Bye
William O'Connor 6-0 Steve Grubb
Mark Webster (18) Bye
Dave Ladley 6-2 Glenn Spearing
Adrian Lewis (7) Bye
Roland Scholten 6-5 Richie Howson
Peter Wright (26) 6-3 Prakash Jiwa
Arron Monk 6-4 Dennis Priestley
Ronnie Baxter (10) Bye
Mark Jones 6-3 Stuart Kellett
Andy Smith (23) 6-2 Mark Dudbridge
Scott Coleman 6-1 Dave Kelly
Michael van Gerwen (6) Bye
Andrew Gilding 6-0 Gaz Cousins
Dennis Smith 6-4 Jamie Caven (27)
Gareth Pass 6-2 Steve Maish
Terry Jenkins (11) Bye
Ted Hankey 6-5 Brian Woods
Paul Nicholson (22) 6-5 Michael Mansell
Sam Hill 6-5 Glen Fitzpatrick
Raymond van Barneveld (3) Bye
John Bowles 6-0 Mick Todd
Joe Cullen (30) 6-1 Nigel Heydon
Peter Hudson 6-1 Keith Stephen
Colin Lloyd (14) Bye
Johnny Haines 6-5 Dean Winstanley
Richie Burnett (19) Bye
Brandon Walsh 6-4 Mick McGowan

Second Round
Justin Pipe 6-1 Paddy Meaney
Denis Ovens 6-4 Reece Robinson
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Ian White 6-1 James Hubbard
Michael Smith 6-2 Steve Brown
Mervyn King 6-2 Alan Tabern
Robert Thornton 6-1 Mike Veitch
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Terry Temple
Gary Anderson 6-2 Barrie Bates
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Tony West
John Henderson 6-4 Darren Webster
Scott Rand 6-2 Wes Newton
Kevin Painter 6-0 Mareno Michels
Shaun Griffiths 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Darren Johnson 6-2 John Part
Dave Chisnall 6-1 John Scott
Andy Jenkins 6-3 James Richardson
Colin Osborne 6-3 William O'Connor
Mark Webster 6-1 Dave Ladley
Roland Scholten 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Arron Monk 6-4 Peter Wright
Mark Jones 6-1 Ronnie Baxter
Andy Smith 6-3 Scott Coleman
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Dennis Smith 6-4 Gareth Pass
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Ted Hankey
Paul Nicholson 6-4 Sam Hill
John Bowles 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Joe Cullen 6-2 Peter Hudson
Colin Lloyd 6-3 Johnny Haines
Richie Burnett 6-2 Brandon Walsh
Losers £200

Third Round
Denis Ovens 6-2 Justin Pipe
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Vincent van der Voort
Ian White 6-5 Michael Smith
Robert Thornton 6-4 Mervyn King
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Gary Anderson
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 John Henderson
Scott Rand 6-1 Kevin Painter
Shaun Griffiths 6-2 Darren Johnson
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Mark Webster 6-1 Colin Osborne
Arron Monk 6-4 Roland Scholten
Mark Jones 6-3 Andy Smith
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Dennis Smith
Paul Nicholson 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Joe Cullen 6-3 John Bowles
Colin Lloyd 6-2 Richie Burnett
Losers £400

Fourth Round
Denis Ovens 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Robert Thornton 6-1 Ian White
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Simon Whitlock
Scott Rand 6-1 Shaun Griffiths
Mark Webster 6-1 Andy Jenkins
Arron Monk 6-1 Mark Jones
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Paul Nicholson
Joe Cullen 6-5 Colin Lloyd
Losers £600

Quarter-Finals
Robert Thornton 6-5 Denis Ovens
Scott Rand 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Arron Monk 6-3 Mark Webster
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Joe Cullen
Losers £1,000

Semi-Finals
Robert Thornton 6-5 Scott Rand
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Arron Monk
Losers £2,000

Final
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Robert Thornton
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000

Final - Leg-by-Leg
Robert Thornton v Michael van Gerwen
1-0 - Thornton starts the final confidently with four consecutive ton plus scores before taking the leg in 14-darts.
1-1 - Van Gerwen replies to level up the scores with the aid of a 96 finish.
2-1 - The Dutchman kicks-off the leg with a 177 score but Thornton holds throw to reclaim the lead.
3-1 - Thornton hits a superb 135 checkout to break his opponent's throw.
4-1 - The Scotsman takes out 80 to move three legs clear of van Gerwen.
4-2 - Van Gerwen converts a 108 finish to remain in touch.
4-3 - The Dutch youngster takes out 70 to win the leg against the darts.
5-3 - Thornton breaks-back immediately by taking out 55 to move a leg away from victory.
5-4 - Van Gerwen continues to fight and hits a 70 finish for the second time in the contest.
5-5 - Van Gerwen hits the first 180 of the match and follows that with a 124 checkout to force a deciding-leg.
5-6 - Thornton holds the advantage of throw but van Gerwen lands a 110 finish to secure an excellent victory.

Match Stats