Huge £750,000 invested in Players Championship prize funds for 2024

ProTour

A massive £750,000 will be added to the prize money on offer in Players Championship events in 2024 in a major boost for players on the PDC ProTour.

Brilliant Chisnall completes handful of 2023 titles with PC30 triumph

ProTour

Dave Chisnall claimed a fifth ranking title of 2023 as the ProTour season concluded with Players Championship 30 in Barnsley on Thursday.

Impressive Price powers to PC29 title

ProTour

Gerwyn Price stormed to an emphatic 8-3 victory over Dave Chisnall in Wednesday's Players Championship 29 decider to secure his seventh PDC title of 2023.

2023 Players Championships 29-30 entries confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for next week's Players Championship double-header, as the 2023 PDC ProTour season concludes in Barnsley.

Nine-dart star Smith claims PC28 glory

ProTour

Ross Smith claimed his second ranking title of 2023 as he landed a nine-dart finish on the way to glory in Players Championship 28.

Surprise package Szaganski causes a sensation with PC27 success

ProTour

Radek Szaganski secured his maiden PDC ranking title with victory over Connor Scutt in Friday’s Players Championship 27, to cap off an astonishing day of action in Barnsley.

Resurgent Joyce stuns Price to end title drought at PC26

ProTour

Ryan Joyce clinched his second PDC ranking title with victory in Players Championship 26, culminating in a dramatic comeback win over Gerwyn Price in Thursday's decider.

Nine-dart Anderson defeats Rock to seal PC25 glory

ProTour

Gary Anderson continued his blistering form to secure Players Championship 25 glory on Wednesday, defeating Josh Rock 8-4 in the decider to claim back-to-back ProTour titles in Barnsley.

2023 Players Championships 25-28 entries confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for next week's Players Championship events, as the 2023 PDC ProTour season continues in Barnsley.

Awesome Anderson scoops PC24 title

ProTour

Gary Anderson won his second ranking title of 2023 on Friday, continuing his superb form in Barnsley to defeat Ryan Joyce 8-4 in the Players Championship 24 final.

Josh Rock won his third senior ranking title, and a second of 2024, as he defeated Joe Cullen 8-6 in the final of Players Championship 17 in Milton Keynes.

The Northern Irish star claimed glory at the Dutch Darts Championship earlier this year, having initially tasted victory on the PDC ProTour with a Players Championship success in October 2022 as he burst onto the circuit.

He scooped another £15,000 title in style on Friday to conclude three days of Players Championship action at the Marshall Arena, edging out Cullen in a tight contest.

After sharing the final's first four legs, Rock needed just 43 darts to open up a 5-2 cushion, with a brace of double four finishes seeing Cullen cut the gap to one.

Rock took the next before Cullen levelled at six-all, only for the former World Youth Champion to power home a huge 170 finish for a 7-6 lead before opening the next leg with a maximum, creating the cushion for double eight to seal victory.

"I knew [the 170] had to go and it went, thankfully!" reflected Rock, who is now 17th on the PDC Order of Merit and within £2,000 of Danny Noppert.

"In my first year I had my first title and last year I had five finals and lost all five. This year I've had three finals and won two, which is a better record thankfully!

"Obviously I'm here to win and everybody else is here to win, but I'm going to keep pushing because I want that top 16 place and even after that top ten.

"I believe I'm good enough because obviously I can beat the best players. I know if I believe in myself - which I do - I'll get into the top two in the world."

Rock's route to the final was book-ended by ton-plus averages in wins over Aden Kirk and Ross Smith respectively.

He also defeated Owen Roelofs, Scott Williams and Niels Zonneveld before needing a deciding leg against Cameron Menzies in the quarter-finals.

"Cammy [Menzies] is one of the hardest players to play," added Rock. "He's got a better record against me than I do against him, and I wanted my own back on Ross Smith because of the [defeat in round one of the World] Matchplay."

Cullen, meanwhile, produced a ton-topping 102 average in his 7-2 semi-final win over Florian Hempel, as he sought to claim a first ranking title for almost two years.

The Bradford star also enjoyed a 6-1 win over double World Champion Gary Anderson during Friday's event, but was a runner-up for the second time in 2024 - matching his run to April's Austrian Darts Open final.

Smith reached his seventh semi-final of the year but lost out in his bid to claim his second ranking title of 2024, despite averaging 106.70 and 103.60 during the event.

Germany's Hempel enjoyed his best run for over two years and reached only his second semi-final on the PDC ProTour, seeing off Jonny Clayton, Mervyn King, Connor Scutt, Dave Chisnall and Ryan Searle in an impressive run.

Thursday's winner Mike De Decker was knocked out by Searle in the last 32, after seeing off Ricky Evans in a rematch of the Players Championship 16 final in round one.

Searle was joined in the last eight by James Hurrell, Keane Barry and Menzies, whose strong form continued with ton-plus averages against both Wessel Nijman and Gerwyn Price.

Luke Woodhouse opened Friday's event with a nine-darter during his first round whitewash of Richie Burnett, but lost out in the last 32 to Masters champion Stephen Bunting.

The PDC ProTour will resume on August 21-22 with a Players Championship double-header in Milton Keynes, with coverage to be streamed on PDCTV and bookmakers' websites worldwide.

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