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.

Brendan Dolan continued his resurgence by winning Players Championship 29 in Barnsley on Monday, while Peter Wright set a new record for the highest ever recorded average in a live broadcast match.

Having ended his five-year wait for a PDC title at Players Championship 22 in August, Dolan made it two in just over months with a hard-fought 8-6 win over Ian White in the final.

The Northern Irishman fired in averages of 104.9 and 104.8 in victories over Mark Webster and Gerwyn Price respectively on his way to the semi-finals, before overcoming record-breaker Wright in a last-leg decider to reach the final.

"I can still do it, I played quality darts today at the right times and I think I deserved any luck I got," said Dolan, who now has six PDC titles to his name.

"The one in Hildesheim was more of a relief, whereas today I came into it with more belief that I could win having done it recently.

"When you've not been winning for five years your confidence is not so high and winning in Hildesheim has drastically changed that.

"In my head today I was determined to add money to my ranking to give me shot of qualifying for the 2020 World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

"I've missed those two events for the last three years and it's killed me not being there, so hopefully next year I will be."

Former World Grand Prix runner-up Dolan produced checkouts of 136 and 161 to hold throw in two of the opening four legs of the final, before finding his way through to double three for the first break of the match in leg seven to take a 4-3 lead.

Another ton-plus finish, this time a 108, opened up a two-leg cushion for Dolan, an advantage which he soon doubled by taking the next two legs.

White then began a spirited comeback, and after Dolan squandered three match darts in leg 12, White found himself within a leg of Dolan at 6-7.

However, Dolan held firm and a strong leg on throw saw ended with him hitting the match-winning double at the fifth attempt.

Earlier in the day, Wright averaged 123.5 in his 6-0 quarter-final win against Krzysztof Ratajski, the highest ever recorded in a live broadcast darts match.

The previous record broadcast average was 123.4, set by Michael van Gerwen in a 7-1 defeat of Michael Smith in the 2016 Premier League.

Elsewhere, the day was also a significant one for Ron Meulenkamp who reached his sixth ProTour semi-final, but the Dutchman was unable to break his duck of never making it to a final.

Drawboard