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.

THE PDC ProTour weekend at Wigan's Robin Park Tennis Centre begins on Saturday with Players Championship Nine.

Play will commence at 12pm, with PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide able to watch live coverage, with streams available from two boards simultaneously throughout the event.

Watch live online from 12pm GMT via PDCTV-HD, with coverage from two streams simultaneously available for all subscribers worldwide:
Live Stream One
Live Stream Two

Players Championship Nine Entries
Saturday April 28, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan

Toni Alcinas
Gary Anderson
Kyle Anderson
Nathan Aspinall
Martin Atkins (Wigan)
Jamie Bain
Michael Barnard
Ronnie Baxter
Steve Beaton
Bradley Brooks
Jim Brown
Keegan Brown
Stephen Bunting
Kevin Burness
Richie Burnett
Stephen Burton
Jamie Caven
Dave Chisnall
Jonny Clayton
Gabriel Clemens
Jarred Cole
Rob Cross
Jason Cullen
Joe Cullen
Scott Darbyshire
John Davey
Jeffrey de Graaf
Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jan Dekker
Chris Dobey
Brendan Dolan
Eddie Dootson
Mark Dudbridge
Gary Eastwood
Matthew Edgar
Ritchie Edhouse
Ricky Evans
Andrew Gilding
John Goldie
Robbie Green
Sven Groen
Daryl Gurney
Ryan Harrington
John Henderson
Jimmy Hendriks
Steve Hine
Max Hopp
Peter Hudson
Luke Humphries
Adam Hunt
Kim Huybrechts
Ronny Huybrechts
Peter Jacques
Prakash Jiwa
Darren Johnson
Wayne Jones
Ryan Joyce
Jose Justicia
Vincent Kamphuis
Tytus Kanik
George Killington
Mervyn King
Aden Kirk
Christian Kist
Jelle Klaasen
Steve Lennon
Zoran Lerchbacher
Adrian Lewis
Jamie Lewis
Jason Lowe
Mickey Mansell
Robert Marijanovic
Ryan Meikle
Ron Meulenkamp
Arron Monk
Joe Murnan
Dawson Murschell
Tony Newell
Paul Nicholson
Danny Noppert
Alan Norris
Richard North
William O'Connor
Robert Owen
Kevin Painter
John Part
Josh Payne
Devon Petersen
Justin Pipe
Diogo Portela
Simon Preston
Gerwyn Price
Chris Quantock
Madars Razma
Cristo Reyes
James Richardson
Mario Robbe
Rowby-John Rodriguez
Paul Rowley
Martin Schindler
Ryan Searle
Kirk Shepherd
Michael Smith
Ross Smith
Simon Stevenson
Mensur Suljovic
Alan Tabern
Scott Taylor
Terry Temple
Robert Thornton
Ross Twell
Davy Van Baelen
Benito van de Pas
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Vincent van der Voort
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen
James Wade
Jermaine Wattimena
Darren Webster
Mark Webster
Steve West
Ian White
Simon Whitlock
James Wilson
Mark Wilson
Luke Woodhouse
Peter Wright

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN clinched his ninth ranking victory of the year with a 6-4 win over Scott Taylor in the final of Players Championship Nine at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan on Saturday.

The world number one has now won four of the five Players Championship events he has played in this year but was made to work hard for the title against Taylor, who enjoyed a sensational run in Wigan.

Van Gerwen recorded wins over Jamie Lewis, Darren Johnson, Jermaine Wattimena, Simon Whitlock, Jonny Clayton and James Wade en route to clinching the £10,000 top prize.

“Overall I did a good job and I think I was a worthy champion today,” said Van Gerwen, whose average exceeded 100 over the course of the day.

“At the start of the day I played quite well although after that it got a bit sloppy, but a win is a win and it doesn’t matter how you win.

“Sometimes you need to survive a day like this and it was about doing the right things at the right moments.

“Scott did really well today so I want to say well done to him. It’s tough playing here, you have to play well every game.

“I want to add to my nine titles so far this year starting tomorrow.”

Van Gerwen took the opening leg of the contest, finding double ten to hold throw before Taylor signalled his intent with an impressive 11-dart leg to level at 1-1.

The Dutch ace hit 36 to go 2-1 in front before Taylor restored parity, hitting double nine after Van Gerwen piled the pressure on with the fourth 180 of the match in as many legs.

The pair continued to exchange holds of throw in the next four legs to leave the tie hanging in the balance at 4-4.

Van Gerwen then fired in a 13-darter to pile the pressure on Taylor as he went within one leg of victory at 5-4.

The first and only break of throw in the match came in the tenth leg as Van Gerwen’s opening score of 177 was backed up by an impressive 132 finish on the bull to win his 25th Players Championship title.

Dropping just 17 legs all day, Van Gerwen was at his clinical best at the Robin Park Tennis Centre.

The winner of 63 ProTour career events brushed aside World Championship semi-finalist Jamie Lewis in his opening game of the day.

Van Gerwen followed this with a comfortable 6-1 win over Darren Johnson before seeing off fellow-Dutchman Wattimena 6-3.

The two-time World Champion then saw off fellow-Premier League star Simon Whitlock 6-1 and beat Austrian Darts Open winner Jonny Clayton 6-3 to book his place in the semi-finals.

His last four clash with James Wade was nip and tuck in the early stages before Van Gerwen pulled away to seal a 6-4 win to reach the final.

Taylor, playing in the first ever ProTour final of his career, produced a series of stunning displays to shock the field in Wigan.

He started the day with a 6-4 win over Belgian Davy Van Baelen before brushing aside Wayne Jones with a convincing 6-1 victory.

Growing in confidence, Taylor then overcame veteran Steve Beaton 6-4 and booked his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-1 triumph over Steve West.

The Bolton thrower, who had previously won just one game in eight attempts at Players Championship events, then claimed his biggest scalp of the day as he stunned Gary Anderson with a 6-4 win.

Taylor then defeated Jason Lowe, another surprise package on the day, 6-3 to reach the final.

Lowe, who reached the semi-finals of UK Open Qualifier Four in February, claimed the scalps of James Wilson, Dave Chisnall and Adrian Lewis on his way to the last four.

Fellow-semi-finalist Wade continued his strong run in ProTour events in 2018, having already reached the last eight on three occasions so far this year.

Meanwhile, it was a disappointing day for Rob Cross who lost to Ryan Joyce in the third round.

Daryl Gurney, who still has hopes of reaching the Unibet Premier League Play-Offs, was defeated by Wade in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Mensur Suljovic lost to Keegan Brown in Round Three, Players Championship Seven winner Michael Smith went down 6-5 to Jan Dekker in the second round and Welsh star Gerwyn Price was eliminated by Wade in Round Three.

Van Gerwen will be looking to add to his 25 Players Championship wins tomorrow as the action continues on Sunday in Wigan with Players Championship Ten, streamed live throughout the day on PDCTV-HD.

Watch live online from 12pm GMT via PDCTV-HD, with coverage from two streams simultaneously available for all subscribers worldwide:
Live Stream One
Live Stream Two