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.

GLEN DURRANT landed his second PDC ranking title at Players Championship 15 at The Barnsley Metrodome on Saturday.

The opening day of the ProTour double-header weekend saw Durrant double his haul of PDC crowns since joining the professional circuit in January, following up his Players Championship 4 victory in February.

Three-time Lakeside Champion Durrant secured a remarkable result in the semi-finals, defeating Michael van Gerwen 7-2 in the first meeting between the pair to reach the final where he proved too strong for Darius Labanauskas, running out an 8-1 victor.

Durrant's day started with 6-0 whitewashes over Matthew Edgar and Simon Stevenson, which he followed up with two 6-4 wins over Kyle Anderson and Danny Noppert.

The 48-year-old then defeated Michael Smith 6-4, before convincing victories over Van Gerwen and Labanauskas saw him clinch the £10,000 top prize.

"It feels absolutely fantastic, I can't put into words how happy I am right now," said Durrant, who has secured a provisional place in July's Betfred World Matchplay.

"Last weekend on the Euro Tour was really difficult to me but this weekend has been perfect. I had a fabulous week in practice and I knew I was playing well.

"I was determined to enjoy today but to win another title is pretty special. I joined the PDC for moments like this.

"Before I played Michael [van Gerwen] I asked if I could have his shirt which I immediately regretted as it showed weakness, but he didn't play his best game and I was able to capitalise.

"I've totally exceeded the initial targets I set myself at the start of the year and soon my goals will be changing but I'm not putting too much pressure on myself at the moment."

A one-sided final between world ranked 70 and 91 saw Durrant punish Labanauskas' missed darts at double as he raced into a 3-0 lead, before Labanauskas chalked his first leg on the board to make it 3-1.

However, that was as good as it got for Labanauskas, who made history in becoming the first Lithuanian player to reach a PDC ranking final, as Durrant ruthlessly reeled off five consecutive legs to run out victorious in his third PDC final since joining the circuit.

Despite defeat in the final, Labanauskas also continued his strong first year as a PDC professional with his first appearance in a ranking final.

Labanauskas, who will represent Lithuania in June's BetVictor World Cup of Darts, claimed victories over Gabriel Clemens, Bradley Brooks, Cristo Reyes and Steve Beaton, before saving his best two performances of the day for his quarter-final and semi-final matches.

His last eight meeting with Ryan Meikle saw him pick up a 6-2 success, before a 99.9 average saw Labanauskas get the better of Ron Meulenkamp 7-4 to reach the final.

A high-quality Saturday also saw Dave Chisnall hit a nine-dart finish in his Last 64 clash with Reyes, although the Spanish number one went on to claim a 6-5 victory.

It was also a positive day for four-time Development Tour title winner Meikle, who reached his first senior PDC quarter-final, and for Chris Dobey, who made it through to his second quarter-final of 2019.

Meulenkamp also made it through to his third PDC ranking semi-final, but once again failed to make it past the final four hurdle.

Departing Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld produced a 104.9 average to beat Jamie Hughes 6-5, but went out at the last 32 stage.

Peter Wright, James Wade, Adrian Lewis and Corey Cadby all exited before the Last 32.

Drawboard