Super Searle topples Hughes to claim Players Championship 1 title

ProTour

Ryan Searle stormed to his fourth PDC ProTour title in Barnsley on Saturday, defeating a resurgent Jamie Hughes to triumph at Players Championship 1.

2023 Players Championships 1-2 entries & ET1-2 seeds confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for the opening Players Championship double-header of 2023, which takes place in Barnsley this weekend.

Wade edges out Beaton to prevail at Players Championship 30

ProTour

James Wade produced a superb comeback to edge out a resurgent Steve Beaton in Saturday's Players Championship 30 final, as the 2022 ProTour season drew to a close in Barnsley.

Ruthless Price denies Van Veen to claim Players Championship 29 title

ProTour

Gerwyn Price claimed his sixth title of 2022 with victory over emerging Dutch star Gian van Veen in Friday’s Players Championship 29 final at the Barnsley Metrodome.

Players Championship 29-30 & GSOD Qualifier entries confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for Players Championship Events 29-30 and the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Barnsley this weekend.

Rock: I know I can become World Champion

ProTour

Josh Rock insists he can emulate Rob Cross and become World Champion on his Alexandra Palace debut, after scooping his first senior PDC title in Barnsley on Sunday.

Wonderful Rock seals first senior title with sensational PC28 success

ProTour

Josh Rock produced a series of sensational displays to clinch his first senior PDC ranking title in Barnsley on Sunday, averaging 108 to defeat top seed Luke Humphries 8-5 in Sunday's final.

Clinical Cross doubles 2022 title tally at PC27

ProTour

Rob Cross claimed his second PDC title of the year at Players Championship 27.

Comeback kid Heta claims PC26 triumph

ProTour

In-form Damon Heta picked up his second title in six days with a brilliant comeback against Dirk van Duijvenbode in Friday's Players Championship 26 final.

Chisnall defies Rock to claim Players Championship 25 title

ProTour

Dave Chisnall secured his second ranking title inside a month by winning Players Championship 25, seeing off Josh Rock 8-4 in the decider.

Rob Cross continued his golden run of form to win Thursday's Players Championship 26 in Barnsley, defeating Ryan Searle 8-6 in a tight final.

Last Sunday's Cazoo European Championship winner claimed the £10,000 title at the Barnsley Metrodome to win his first Players Championship since June 2018 on another superb day of darts.

The 2018 World Champion averaged over 100 in five of his seven matches, picking up wins over Scottish World Cup-winning pair Peter Wright and John Henderson as well as defeating David Evans, Andy Hamilton and Vincent van der Voort.

He then defied a nine-darter from Madars Razma to win their semi-final 7-4, pulling clear from four-all to move into the title decider.

Cross dominated the final, taking out 124 on the bull to break in the opening leg, leading 2-0, 3-1 and 6-2 with some fine darts - including a pressure 96 in leg six to deny Searle a chance to level.

Searle took three legs in a row to reduce the gap to one leg at 6-5, but Cross produced a timely 14-darter to earn breathing space and responded to a 105 checkout from his opponent by finishing 76 to claim the title.

"It's great," said Cross. "It's so surprising what a bit of confidence does - I've played well this week.

"I feel like I'm never going to miss when I put that first dart in there. That's a kick-start, and the confidence on top made me a winner today.

"It's taken a lot of work. For 18-20 months I've been terrible.

"I seem to find that, when things all go wrong, you never enjoy it, and then all of a sudden you start to get a little bit of improvement and enjoy it a little bit more.

"I want to wear my heart on my sleeve, I want to enjoy it AND win. We're going to ride this crest of a wave."

Birthday boy Searle, who turned 34 on Thursday, averaged over 103 against Robert Thornton and Mike De Decker as well as seeing off Daryl Gurney, Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall in his run to a third ProTour final of 2021.

However, he was denied a second title of the year, and a third ProTour win, as Cross emerged victorious in a battle between two players who progressed from the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour in 2016.

"Ryan's brilliant, I've got a lot of admiration for him and for the last three months he's played great," added Cross. "He's reaping the benefits and so he should."

Latvia's Madars Razma enjoyed his best run in a ProTour event this year, defeating top seed Joe Cullen and Nordic rival Darius Labanauskas on his way to the semi-finals, where he achieved his nine-darter in defeat to Cross.

Aspinall reached his third semi-final inside a month before losing out to Searle, having defeated top 20 stars Gary Anderson, Krzysztof Ratajski, Jose de Sousa and Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Van der Voort and Van Duijvenbode were joined in the quarter-finals by Michael Smith and Luke Woodhouse, while world number two Peter Wright lost out in the last 16.

Michael van Gerwen was defeated in the last 32 by Daryl Gurney as the three-time World Champion lost despite a 107 average for the second time in three days.

Friday sees PDC Super Series 7 conclude with Players Championship 27, as 128 players compete in the fourth ProTour event of the week.

Drawboard