Betfred World Matchplay race latest ahead of PC18-21

Betfred World Matchplay

The race to qualify for the 2022 Betfred World Matchplay reaches its climax at Players Championships 18-21.

Players Championships 18-21 entries & European Tour 10-11 seeds confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for Players Championship events 18-21, along with European Tour 10-11 seeds.

PDC's November 2022 schedule confirmed

News

The Grand Slam of Darts will return to Wolverhampton in 2022, following confirmation of November's PDC schedule.

Wonderful Williams claims incredible win at PC17

ProTour

Scott Williams claimed a host of huge scalps to clinch his first PDC Pro Tour title in fairytale fashion at Players Championship 17 on Wednesday.

Sensational Smith lands third consecutive Pro Tour title at PC16

ProTour

Michael Smith continued his magnificent form to clinch a third consecutive Pro Tour title with victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode in a remarkable Players Championship 16 final in Germany.

2022 Players Championship 16-17 entries confirmed

ProTour

Entries have been confirmed for the Players Championship double-header in Niedernhausen on June 14-15.

Two new Players Championship dates confirmed

ProTour

Two Players Championship events originally scheduled to be held later in 2022 have been rescheduled.

Nine-dart Smith goes back-to-back at Players Championship 15

ProTour

Michael Smith produced a stunning day of darts to earn his second title in two days at Players Championship 15.

Michael Smith scoops Players Championship 14 title

ProTour

Michael Smith secured his first title of 2022 at Players Championship 14.

ET8, ET9 Tour Card Holder Qualifiers confirmed

European Tour

Tour Card Holder Qualifiers for European Tour Events Eight and Nine took place on Monday in Wigan.

Players Championship events are held throughout the year, with prize money won counting towards the ProTour Order of Merit

All Players Championship events will be streamed live for PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide with coverage from two boards throughout each event.

WILLIAM O'CONNOR claimed his first PDC title at Players Championship 13 in Barnsley on Tuesday.

The opening day of the ProTour mid-week double-header at the Barnsley Metrodome saw O'Connor defeat UK Open Champion Nathan Aspinall 8-4 in just his second PDC final, following up his European Darts Matchplay final appearance in July 2018.

O'Connor, who has competed on the PDC ProTour circuit since 2011, edged out Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-5 in his opening game of the day, before seeing off Luke Humphires and Luke Woodhouse 6-2 to reach the last 16.

There, he produced a stunning display, averaging 105.8 in a 6-4 win over Steve Beaton, which the Irishman followed up with a 6-5 quarter-final triumph over Jeffrey de Zwaan.

A 102.2 average was enough to overcome Daryl Gurney 7-5 in the semi-finals, before a convincing victory over Aspinall saw O'Connor land the £10,000 top prize.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed by it but I'm so happy to have won my first title," said O'Connor, who will represent the Republic of Ireland at the BetVictor World Cup of Darts in June.

"I've been playing well all year but haven't had any good results, so maybe I've used all my luck in one day.

"I'm happy to move up the rankings a bit and now I want to add a couple more titles to my name and see where it takes me.

"I have the game to win more, I just need to be more consistent and produce a lot better than I have been doing over the years, but the same can be said for many players on tour."

A hard-fought final began with four consecutive breaks of throw, before the pair exchanged holds to make it 3-3 after a tight opening.

O'Connor then hit tops to hold throw once again, and followed it with an 11-dart break to open up a two-leg gap for the first time at 5-3.

The Irish number two made no mistake on double 16 to assert his dominance at 6-3, before Aspinall stopped the rot with a hold of throw.

However, O'Connor showed no signs of wavering as he found double 12 for a 13-darter to go within a leg of the title, before the determined former Tom Kirby Memorial Trophy winner saw off 68 to seal a famous win.

Despite a below-par display in the final, Aspinall continued his sensational form with a first final appearance since being crowned UK Open Champion in March.

The World Championship semi-finalist, who claimed his first PDC title in Barnsley in September 2018, defeated Adrian Lewis 7-4 in a thrilling semi-final in what turned out to be the highlight of the Stockport thrower's day.

Elsewhere, Justin Pipe made it two quarter-final appearances in just over a month, while Christian Kist enjoyed a return to form with a first quarter-final berth since November 2016.

Departing Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld continued his resurgence with a run to the last 16, which included a first round defeat of Corey Cadby, while Peter Wright also made it to the last eight.

Premier League stars Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith were joined by Glen Durrant in exiting the tournament before the last 16 stage, while it was a disappointing return to Gary Anderson who was eliminated in the first round.