First ranking title of 2023 for Van Gerwen with PC7 success

ProTour

Michael van Gerwen picked up his first ranking title of 2023 by defeating Josh Rock 8-4 in Sunday's Players Championship 7 final in Hildesheim.

PDC Order of Merit changes following 2023 Players Championships 5-6

News

Ross Smith has entered the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time following 2023 Players Championship Events Five and Six.

Imperious Van Duijvenbode storms to Players Championship 6 success

ProTour

Dirk van Duijvenbode clinched his second ProTour title of 2023 with a superb 8-4 success against Ryan Searle in Sunday's Players Championship 6 final at the Barnsley Metrodome.

Super Smith sinks Anderson to seal second ProTour crown

ProTour

Ross Smith denied a resurgent Gary Anderson to claim Players Championship 5 glory and celebrate his second ProTour title in Barnsley on Saturday.

Players Championships 5-6 entries & ET5-6 seeds confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for the Players Championship double-header in Barnsley, along with the 16 seeded players for ET5-6.

Vintage Van Duijvenbode wins Players Championship 4

ProTour

Dirk van Duijvenbode dispatched Ryan Searle 8-2 to clinch Players Championship 4 success on a sensational day of darts in Barnsley on Sunday.

Huybrechts dispatches Clemens to end title drought in Barnsley

ProTour

Kim Huybrechts stormed to Players Championship 3 victory in Barnsley on Saturday, courtesy of a comprehensive 8-1 win against Germany's number one Gabriel Clemens.

Players Championships 3-4 entries & ET3-4 seeds confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for this weekend's Players Championship double-header in Barnsley, along with the 16 seeded players for ET3-4.

Nerveless Noppert triumphs at Players Championship 2

ProTour

Danny Noppert wrapped up an emphatic 8-3 win over Simon Whitlock to seal his fourth PDC title at Players Championship 2 in Barnsley on Sunday.

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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