Players Championships 21-23 entries confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for Players Championship events 21-23 (PDC Super Series 6).

Calendar update: Third Players Championship added in August

ProTour

A number of amendments have been made to the PDC calendar, including the inclusion of a third Players Championship in August.

Tour Card Holder Qualifiers confirmed for European Tour Events 1-3

European Tour

Friday saw a treble-header of Tour Card Holder Qualifiers for the year's first three European Tour events take place.

Brilliant Wright denies Van Gerwen to claim PC20 title

ProTour

Peter Wright produced an outstanding display to win a third Players Championship of 2021 to end PDC Super Series 5.

Ross Smith ends Dolan hoodoo to claim maiden title at PC19

ProTour

Ross Smith claimed his maiden PDC ranking title at Players Championship 19 in Coventry on Wednesday.

Gutsy Dobey claims maiden ranking title at PC18

ProTour

Chris Dobey claimed the first ranking title of his career in dramatic fashion to edge out Jose de Sousa in the PC18 final.

Bunting ends five-year title wait at Players Championship 17

ProTour

Stephen Bunting ended his five-year PDC title drought at Players Championship 17.

Ten further Players Championship dates confirmed

ProTour

Dates for a further ten Players Championship events have been confirmed for the second half of 2021.

European Tour set to return with Budapest and Gibraltar events

European Tour

The European Tour is set to return with events confirmed for Budapest and Gibraltar in September.

Keegan Brown secured his first ProTour title for seven years with a dramatic 8-7 defeat of Nathan Aspinall in Thursday's Players Championship 23 final in Barnsley.

Wednesday's winner Aspinall was chasing back-to-back victories after winning through to another decider at the Metrodome.

However, the former World Youth Champion battled back from 7-6 down to snatch victory and the £12,000 top prize.

Brown had also led 2-0 and 6-4 during the final, only to see Aspinall survive missed match darts in leg 11, finish 170 to level at six-all and then land double two to move ahead.

Brown took the tie to a deciding leg, and he was first to a finish before returning from a missed double top to secure the title on double ten.

"I'm absolutely over the moon," admitted Brown. "Nathan's a champion, he's a fighter but I thought to myself to stick with him, you get a chance with anyone.

"I think I've got luck on my side. I felt confident and it's a long time since I felt confident."

Brown had knocked out World Champion Peter Wright with a 7-4 success, and he also defeated Jose de Sousa, Darren Webster, Luc Peters, Danny Baggish and Chris Dobey on the day.

The Isle of Wight star's only previous senior PDC title had come in 2015 at a Players Championship in Coventry, but Thursday's win eases the pressure he was facing about potentially losing his Tour Card at the end of the year.

"Never give up," he admitted. "I can't tell you how many times over the last two years I wanted to pack it all away. My sponsors had faith in me, I kept plodding along and here we are.

"It's been awful, but darts is a marathon, not a sprint and you have to keep plugging away. I wanted to save my Tour Card and it's the only time I've ever probably believed in myself."

Aspinall continued the fine form which had seen him win Wednesday's opening event of the treble-header.

The former UK Open champion averaged 103 in wins over Rusty-Jake Rodriguez and Andrew Gilding, before he edged through a tight semi-final with Ted Evetts in a deciding leg.

World Youth Champion Evetts - who turned 25 on Wednesday - enjoyed his best run of the year as he overcame reigning UK Open champion Danny Noppert in one of five wins.

Wright overcame Michael Smith in a repeat of the World Championship final during his run to the last four, while Smith was joined by Alan Soutar, Shaun Wilkinson and Dobey in the quarter-finals.

The day also featured a nine-dart finish from Jack Main, although the achievement was not enough to help him win his first round tie with Rob Cross.

The week's third Players Championship event on Friday from 1200 BST will see the sport's biggest names battling it out for the £12,000 winner's prize at the Barnsley Metrodome.

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