Scottish Double For Thornton

ROBERT THORNTON claimed back-to-back PDC Pro Tour titles with a 6-2 victory over Dennis Priestley in the Blue Square UK Open Scottish Regional Final on Sunday.

Ayrshire ace Thornton was victorious in Saturday's Scottish Players Championship before taking another £6,000 title the following day.

His success, against Priestley for the second successive day, makes him only the third player - alongside Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis - to win both events on a PDC Pro Tour weekend.

He defeated Gibraltar's Dylan Duo, John Jenkins and Kevin McDine to reach the last 16, where he edged past Vincent van der Voort 6-5.

He then overcame Steve Maish 6-1 and Mark Webster 6-3 to reach the final, in a repeat of Saturday's decider.

Priestley led in the final with a 13-darter, only for Thornton to hit legs of 11, 12 and 14 darts to lead 3-1, before a 70 checkout put him three legs clear.

A 120 finish from Priestley, with Thornton waiting on 40, cut the gap, but the Scot hit a third 180 of the final in the next as he moved a leg away from the win, which was sealed on double top.

Priestley's run to the final included a 6-4 semi-final win over Colin Osborne, while Jelle Klaasen was defeated 6-1 in the quarter-finals.

The battling Yorkshireman overcame Denis Ovens 6-4 and also had 6-5 wins against practice partner Darren Johnson and Peter Wright during the day as he claimed £3,000 prize money.

Former Lakeside Champion Mark Webster reached his first PDC Pro Tour semi-final, although he had a narrow escape when Anastasia Dobromyslova missed eight darts to win the deciding leg of their third round contest.

Osborne's semi-final appearance was his third on the PDC Pro Tour this year, and included a quarter-final whitewash of Kevin Painter.

Lionel Sams and Steve Maish also reached the last eight, while Swedish newcomer Par Riihonen reached the last 16 for the first time in the PDC.

The third of eight UK Open Regional Finals will take place at Wigan's Robin Park Tennis Centre next Sunday in the second of two PDC Pro Tour events over the weekend.

Blue Square UK Open Scottish Regional Final
Preliminary Round

Kevin Harris 6-1 Steve Perkins
Owen Caffrey 6-3 Chris Daglish
Peter Wright 6-5 Sean Palfrey
Colin McGarry 6-2 Russell Mason
Chris White Bye (Scott Kirchner)
Dyson Parody 6-4 Robert Watson-Lang
Dennis Zijderhand 6-2 Ian Perkins
Darren Latham Bye (David Platt)
Danny King 6-1 Jon Archer
Jimmy Dunlop 6-1 Graeme Sottdart
Mark Webster 6-0 Jim Leighton
Andy Relf 6-3 Dave Ansell
John Jenkinson 6-3 Andrew Davies
James Barton 6-5 Ian Lever
Mark Stephenson 6-2 Jonathan Overton

First Round
Board One
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Louis Blundell
Kirk Shepherd 6-4 Larry Butler
Colin Monk 6-1 Martyn Turner
Steve Hine 6-2 Gary Storey
Board Two
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Paul Knighton
Ricky Williams 6-5 Jacko Barry
Dennis Smith 6-4 Bryan de Hoog
Colin Lloyd 6-0 Kevin Harris
Board Three
Denis Ovens 6-0 Andy Howarth
Alex Roy 6-3 Ian Lilley
Adrian Gray 6-2 Simon Craven
John Part 6-1 Owen Caffrey
Board Four
Wes Newton 6-2 Andy Callaby
Darren Johnson 6-3 Robbie Parker
Dennis Priestley 6-2 Garry Spedding
Peter Wright 6-2 Dave Askew
Board Five
Mark Frost 6-5 Ken Dobson
Steve Brown 6-3 Danny Pinhorne
Jamie Caven 6-2 John Quantock
Colin McGarry 6-2 Jan van der Rassel
Board Six
Mark Lawrence 6-4 Dave Ladley
Wayne Atwood 6-0 Geoff Wylie
John Kuczynski 6-0 Arron Monk
Kevin Painter 6-0 Chris White
Board Seven
Andy Hamilton 6-0 Brian Whybrow
Colin Osborne 6-4 Ben Burton
Gary Anderson 6-2 Wayne Jones
Chris Thompson 6-1 Dyson Parody
Board Eight
Chris Mason 6-5 Ian Eames
Par Riihonen (Co Stompe)
Michael Smith 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Dennis Zijderhand 6-5 Peter Manley
Board Nine
Mick McGowan 6-4 Chris Cooper
Terry Jenkins 6-1 Andy Fulton
Paul Nicholson 6-1 Pete Allen
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Darren Latham
Board Ten
Barrie Bates 6-5 Jim Withers
Lionel Sams 6-4 Lee Holden
Kevin Dowling 6-2 Andy Smith
Danny King 6-5 Tony Ayres
Board 11
Alan Caves 6-3 Richard Foster
James Wade 6-2 Joe Cullen
Mark Walsh 6-2 Jamie Harvey
David Fatum 6-5 Jimmy Dunlop
Board 12
Anastasia Dobromyslova 6-3 Dave Honey.
Stephen Hardy 6-5 Nick Fullwell
Ray Farrell 6-4 Wayne Mardle
Mark Webster 6-3 Steve Beaton
Board 13
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Dave Smith
Gary Mawson 6-4 Geoff Whitworth
Alan Tabern 6-3 Alan Green
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Andy Relf
Board 14
John MaGowan 6-5 Stuart Bousfield
Kevin McDine 6-4 Lee Williams
Robert Thornton 6-2 Dylan Duo
John Jenkinson 6-3 Alan Warriner-Little
Board 15
Ian Jopling 6-4 Michael Barnard
Steve Maish 6-5 Rocco Maes
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Chris Loudon
Tony Eccles 6-0 James Barton
Board 16
Mark Jodrill 6-3 Steve Grubb
Mark Dudbridge 6-0 Peter Aleman
Matt Clark 6-4 Stuart Holden
Mervyn King 6-3 Mark Stephenson

Second Round
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Kirk Shepherd
Colin Monk 6-5 Steve Hine
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Ricky Williams
Colin Lloyd 6-0 Dennis Smith
Denis Ovens 6-2 Alex Roy
John Part 6-2 Adrian Gray
Darren Johnson 6-1 Wes Newton
Dennis Priestley 6-5 Peter Wright
Mark Frost 6-3 Steve Brown
Colin McGarry 6-2 Jamie Caven
Wayne Atwood 6-2 Mark Lawrence
Kevin Painter 6-0 John Kuczynski
Colin Osborne 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Chris Thompson 6-3 Gary Anderson
Par Riihonen 6-3 Chris Mason
Dennis Zijderhand 6-5 Michael Smith 
Terry Jenkins 6-0 Mick McGowan
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Paul Nicholson
Lionel Sams 6-4 Barrie Bates
Danny King 6-4 Kevin Dowling
James Wade 6-2 Alan Caves
Mark Walsh 6-2 David Fatum
Anastasia Dobromyslova 6-3 Stephen Hardy
Mark Webster 6-5 Ray Farrell
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Gary Mawson
Alan Tabern 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Kevin McDine 6-2 John MaGowan
Robert Thornton 6-2 John Jenkinson
Steve Maish 6-2 Ian Jopling
Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Tony Eccles
Mark Jodrill 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Mervyn King 6-2 Matt Clark
Losers £200

Third Round
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Colin Monk
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Colin Lloyd
Denis Ovens 6-3 John Part
Dennis Priestley 6-5 Darren Johnson
Colin McGarry 6-4 Mark Frost
Kevin Painter 6-4 Wayne Atwood
Colin Osborne 6-5 Chris Thompson
Par Riihonen 6-4 Dennis Zijderhand
Terry Jenkins 6-2 Andy Jenkins
Lionel Sams 6-4 Danny King
Mark Walsh 6-3 James Wade
Mark Webster 6-5 Anastasia Dobromyslova
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Alan Tabern
Robert Thornton 6-1 Kevin McDine
Steve Maish 6-1 Ronnie Baxter
Mervyn King 6-3 Mark Jodrill
Losers £300

Fourth Round
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Adrian Lewis
Dennis Priestley 6-4 Denis Ovens
Kevin Painter 6-1 Colin McGarry
Colin Osborne 6-3 Par Riihonen
Lionel Sams 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Mark Webster 6-5 Mark Walsh
Robert Thornton 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Steve Maish 6-4 Mervyn King
Losers £400

Quarter-Finals
Dennis Priestley 6-1 Jelle Klaasen
Colin Osborne 6-0 Kevin Painter
Mark Webster 6-1 Lionel Sams
Robert Thornton 6-1 Steve Maish
Losers £800

Semi-Finals
Dennis Priestley 6-4 Colin Osborne
Robert Thornton 6-3 Mark Webster 
Losers £1,500

Final
Robert Thornton 6-2 Dennis Priestley 
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000


News Updates
Preliminary Round

Mark Webster whitewashes Jim Leighton.
Holland's Dennis Zijderhand defeats Ian Perkins 6-2, while Steve Perkins is defeated by Kevin Harris.
Ireland's Owen Caffrey is 6-3 winner against Chris Daglish.
World Championship qualifier Mark Stephenson sets up first round game with Mervyn King after 6-2 defeat of Jonathan Overton.
Peter Wright and James Barton take deciding-leg wins against Sean Palfrey and Ian Lever respectively.
Dyson Parody wins 6-4 against Robert Watson-Lang.
Jimmy Dunlop defeats Graeme Stoddart 6-1, with Danny King taking victory by the same scoreline against Jon Archer.

First Round
Jelle Klaasen opens with 6-3 victory against Louis Blundell.
Mick McGowan enjoys 6-4 win against Chris Cooper.
Mark Lawrence defeats Dave Ladley 6-4 to progress.
Anastasia Dobromyslova knocks out Dave Honey with 6-3 victory, taking final three legs without reply to move into second round.
Denis Ovens whitewashes Andy Howarth 6-0.
Adrian Lewis begins his challenge with 6-2 win over Paul Knighton.
Kirk Shepherd sets up second round game with Klaasen after 6-4 win over former World Matchplay winner Larry Butler.
Wes Newton wins 6-2 against Andy Callaby.
Andy Hamilton whitewashes Brian Whybrow, while Alex Roy is 6-3 winner against Ian Lilley.
Chris Mason edges out Ian Eames in a deciding leg, with Barrie Bates and Stephen Hardy also winning 6-5.
Terry Jenkins will meet Mick McGowan in round two after 6-1 win over Andy Fulton.
Vincent van der Voort is 6-4 winner against Dave Smith, while Ian Jopling defeats Michael Barnard by the same score.
James Wade takes 6-2 win against youngster Joe Cullen.
Kevin McDine wins 6-4 against Lee Williams, with Lionel Sams defeating Lee Holden by the same scoreline.
Ricky Williams takes out 150 to win a deciding leg clash with Jacko Barry, who was waiting on 60 for the game.
Steve Hine wins 6-2 against Gary Storey, Steve Maish edges out Rocco Maes in a decider and Gary Mawson wins 6-4 against Geoff Whitworth.
Wayne Mardle suffers a second successive first round loss with a narrow 6-4 defeat to Ray Farrell.
Kevin Painter whitewashes American Chris White.
Colin Osborne wins 6-4 against Ben Burton and now meets Hamilton.
Dutch youngster Dennis Zijderhand edges out Peter Manley 6-5, with Andy Jenkins winning by the same scoreline against Darren Latham.
Mark Walsh ends Jamie Harvey's hopes with 6-2 win.
Robert Thornton, Saturday's Players Championship winner, enjoys 6-2 win over Gibraltar's Dylan Duo.
Dennis Priestley begins his challenge with 6-2 win over Garry Spedding.
Andy Smith, a semi-finalist on Saturday, loses 6-2 in his opener against Kevin Dowling.
Ronnie Baxter defeats Scottish newcomer Chris Loudon to progress.
Scottish star Gary Anderson defeats Wayne Jones 6-2.
Mark Webster wins the battle of former World Champions with 6-3 defeat of Steve Beaton.
Tony Eccles whitewashes James Barton.
Colin McGarry overcomes Jan van der Rassel.
Colin Lloyd whitewashes Kevin Harris to move into second round.

Second Round
Jelle Klaasen is first man into last 32 with 6-4 victory over Kirk Shepherd.
Wayne Atwood moves through with 6-2 defeat of Mark Lawrence.
Terry Jenkins enjoys 6-0 whitewash of Mick McGowan.
Anastasia Dobromyslova wins 6-3 against Stephen Hardy to reach round three.
Denis Ovens wins 6-2 against Alex Roy to move into last 32.
Par Riihonen takes 6-3 victory over Chris Mason.
Colin Monk is narrow 6-5 winner against Steve Hine.
Steve Maish reaches last 32 with 6-2 defeat of Ian Jopling, and Mark Frost defeats Steve Brown 6-3.
Andy Jenkins is 6-4 winner against Paul Nicholson.
Darren Johnson wins 6-1 against Wes Newton to progress to round three.
Vincent van der Voort is 6-2 winner against Gary Mawson, while Mark Jodrill knocks out Mark Dudbridge 6-3.
John Part hits a 170 finish in 6-2 win over Adrian Gray.
Mark Webster overcomes Ray Farrell 6-5 and now meets Anastasia Dobromyslova in third round.
Adrian Lewis is 6-3 winner against youngster Ricky Williams.
Dennis Zijderhand enjoys 6-5 win over Michael Smith.
Colin McGarry will meet Mark Frost in last 32 after 6-2 win over Jamie Caven.
Kevin McDine progresses with 6-2 win over John MaGowan.
James Wade defeats Alan Caves 6-2, while Lionel Sams overcomes Barrie Bates and Ronnie Baxter is deciding-leg winner against Tony Eccles.
Mervyn King takes 6-2 win over Matt Clark to reach third round.
Robert Thornton wins 6-2 against John Jenkinson.
Chris Thompson ends Gary Anderson's hopes with 6-3 victory.
Colin Lloyd sets up third round clash with Adrian Lewis after whitewash of Dennis Smith.
Alan Tabern moves into third round with 6-4 win over Brendan Dolan.
Danny King defeats Kevin Dowling 6-4.
Dennis Priestley battles from behind to defeat Peter Wright 6-5, and now meets practice partner Darren Johnson in last 32.

Third Round
Kevin Painter reaches last 16 with 6-4 win over Wayne Atwood.
Jelle Klaasen wins a deciding leg against Colin Monk, hitting two 180s in an 11-darter for victory.
Terry Jenkins defeats namesake Andy 6-2 to move into last 16.
Mark Webster comes from 4-2 and 5-4 down to win a deciding leg against Anastasia Dobromyslova, who missed eight match darts in the 11th leg.
Denis Ovens enjoys 6-3 win against John Part.
Colin McGarry and Par Riihonen take 6-4 wins against Mark Frost and Dennis Zijderhand.
Steve Maish powers into last 16 with 6-1 defeat of Ronnie Baxter.
Adrian Lewis reaches fourth round with 6-2 defeat of Colin Lloyd.
Mervyn King takes 6-3 win over Mark Jodrill to progress.
Saturday's champion Robert Thornton moves into last 16 with 6-1 defeat of Kevin McDine.
Vincent van der Voort powers to 6-1 win against Alan Tabern - who hit seven perfect darts in one leg.
Colin Osborne reaches last 16 with deciding-leg win over Chris Thompson.
Mark Walsh knocks out James Wade 6-3.
Lionel Sams moves into fourth round with 6-4 defeat of Danny King.
Dennis Priestley grinds out 6-5 win over Darren Johnson, who missed double ten for a 140 finish in the decider.

Fourth Round
Kevin Painter is first player into quarter-finals, following his 6-1 win over Colin McGarry.
Jelle Klaasen also reaches last eight, hitting a 164 finish to seal a 6-4 against Adrian Lewis.
Steve Maish enjoys 6-4 win over Mervyn King to reach quarter-finals.
Robert Thornton remains on course for back-to-back wins after his 6-5 win over Vincent van der Voort.
Mark Webster reaches his first PDC Pro Tour quarter-final with narrow 6-5 win over Mark Walsh.
Colin Osborne overcomes Swedish newcomer Par Riihonen 6-3 to reach quarter-finals, where he will meet Painter.
Lionel Sams reaches quarters with 6-4 defeat of Terry Jenkins.
Dennis Priestley wins through to last eight for second time this weekend with 6-4 win over Denis Ovens, who had hit back from 5-1 down to reduce the gap to one leg.

Quarter-Finals
Robert Thornton reaches semi-finals with victory against Steve Maish, taking a 6-1 win.
Colin Osborne qualifies for semis with whitewash victory over Kevin Painter.
Mark Webster progresses to last four with 6-1 victory over fellow left-hander Lionel Sams.
Dennis Priestley reaches second semi-final of weekend with 6-1 win over Jelle Klaasen.

Semi-Finals
Robert Thornton wins place in second final of the weekend with 6-3 win over Mark Webster. Thornton led 3-0 thanks to a break of throw in the second leg, with the remaining legs going with the throw as the Scot remained on course for successive wins.
Dennis Priestley set up a rematch of Saturday's Scottish Players Championship final with a 6-4 win over Colin Osborne. In another tight affair, the first nine legs all went with the throw before Priestley edged the tenth against the darts to claim his place in the final.