Thornton Claims Fantastic Wigan Double

ROBERT THORNTON won his second title in the space of 24 hours after defeating Terry Jenkins 6-4 to win the eighth Players Championship of 2014 at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan.

The Betway Premier League Darts star continued his excellent form of the weekend in Wigan as he followed up Saturday's victory by taking a second £10,000 winners prize of the weekend and his third title of the year.

The 2012 UK Open champion dropped just three legs in his opening two games against Ryan Palmer and James Richardson before winning his last 32 clash against Yorkshire’s Dean Winstanley by a 6-4 margin.

Thornton’s last 16 encounter proved to be tough battle against Justin Pipe, where he emerged victorious by taking a deciding leg before claiming a semi-final berth following a 6-3 win over Darren Webster, hitting a 101 average in the process.

The Scot recorded another 101 average in his semi-final win over Stephen Bunting and continued that form at the start of the final as he won the opening two legs against Jenkins with finishes of 11 and 12 darts.

The next two legs were shared before Thornton hit a 110 finish in the fifth leg to move 4-1 up and look on course for back-to-back PDC ProTour titles.

Jenkins, though fought back with a 14-darter in the sixth leg, and then took the seventh on double ten to reduce the gap to 4-3.

Thornton hit double top to move a leg away from victory before Jenkins landed double seven to win the ninth leg, which saw both players hit 180s.

That left Jenkins just a leg behind at 5-4, but Thornton crossed the finishing line in brilliant style as he landed the bullseye for a 121 checkout to round-off a brilliant two days.

Jenkins started his run to a second final of 2014 with a comfortable win over Ben Ward before having to fight all the way in his next matches against Tony Newell and Jim Walker, which were both won in deciding legs.

Jenkins dismissed his last 16 opponent Mervyn King by a 6-1 margin and then won his quarter-final against Andrew Gilding, winning three straight legs from 4-3 down to progress.

The seven-time major finalist produced a fantastic last four performance against Simon Whitlock, where he averaged 105.38 in a 6-1 win, which featured a 146 checkout as he reached the decider.

The Ledbury ace kept up that superb standard in the final as he averaged over 105 for a second game running, but it was not enough to defeat the brilliant Thornton, who edged a high-quality final by a 6-4 margin.

Reigning Lakeside Champion Bunting followed up his semi-final appearance in the German Darts Masters a fortnight ago with another strong run to the last four in Wigan on Sunday.

The St Helens ace - who captured his first PDC title at the venue in just his second event back in February - defied a 107 average from Ian White in a brilliant quarter-final encounter, which he won in a deciding leg, before losing at the last four stage to Thornton by a 6-2 margin, despite averaging over 102.

World number four Whitlock found some good form on Sunday as he reached the semi-finals for the first time since his World Championship run last Christmas.

The former European Champion recorded an impressive 6-4 third round win over James Wade before dropping just two legs in his next two games against the Dutch duo of Benito van de Pas and Christian Kist.

That put Whitlock through to the last four, but his hopes of competing in the final were dashed as he fell to a 6-1 loss against an inspired Jenkins, having to settle for £2,500 in prize money.

Former Lakeside Champion Kist continued his good form by reaching the last eight for the third time in 2014, while White fell at the same stage despite hitting a 107 average in a high-quality clash against Bunting, which he lost in a deciding leg.

Norwich’s Darren Webster reached his third quarter final of the year before falling victim to Thornton, while Andrew Gilding produced another eye-catching display in his run to the last eight, including wins over Brendan Dolan and Raymond van Barneveld.

Holland’s Benito van de Pas enjoyed his best performance in a PDC event since securing his Tour Card in January, with a fine run to the last 16 stage before falling to Whitlock by a 6-1 margin.

Widnes’ John Bowles produced his best result since last September by reaching the reaching the fourth round, while 2010 Players Championship Finals winner Paul Nicholson also reached the last 16, recording his best performance of the year so far.

Saturday’s runner-up Keegan Brown, who produced a wonderful performance to go a leg away from £10,000 first prize, fell at the first hurdle 24 hours on to Northern Ireland’s Brendan Dolan.

Players Championship 8
Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
First Round
Aden Kirk 6-2 Gary Anderson (1)
Steve Brown 6-3 Ricky Evans
Stephen Bunting (32) 6-2 Dan Russell
Mick Todd 6-4 Colin Osborne
Michael Smith (16) 6-5 Kyle Anderson
John Bowles 6-4 Nick Fullwell
Ronnie Baxter (17) 6-1 Joe Murnan
Ting Chi Royden Lam 6-3 Scott Mackenzie
Ian White (8) 6-3 Joe Cullen
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Wayne Jones (25) 6-0 Mark Cox
John Henderson 6-5 Mark Dudbridge
Jamie Caven (9) 6-3 Joey Palfreyman
Colin Lloyd 6-0 Steve Maish
Michael Barnard 6-5 Stuart Kellett (24)
Mark Frost 6-5 Ron Meulenkamp
Robert Thornton (5) 6-1 Ryan Palmer
James Richardson 6-2 Stuart White
Dean Winstanley (28) 6-0 Dave Bird
Pete Dyos 6-0 Ricky Sudale
Justin Pipe (12) 6-5 Joey Ten Berge
Paul Amos 6-3 Kevin McDine
Jamie Lewis (21) 6-2 Mareno Michels
Andy Pearce 6-2 Matt Clark
Peter Wright (4) 6-2 James Hubbard
Mark Barilli 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Darren Webster (29) 6-3 William O'Connor
David Ladley 6-3 Robert Owen
Peter Hudson 6-5 Andy Hamilton (13)
Terry Temple 6-3 Dennis Priestley
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Vincent van der Voort (20)
Wayne Pepper 6-1 Darron Brown
Brendan Dolan (2) 6-4 Keegan Brown
John Part 6-5 Mark Walsh
Andrew Gilding (31) 6-2 Campbell Jackson
Marc Dewsbury 6-5 Matt Padgett
Kevin Painter (15) 6-3 Mark Webster
David Pallett 6-4 Johnny Haines
Raymond van Barneveld (18) 6-2 Chris Aubrey
Kirk Shepherd 6-1 Ian Moss
Jim Walker 6-5 Steve Beaton (7)
Steve West 6-2 Connie Finnan
Terry Jenkins (26) 6-1 Ben Ward
Tony Newell 6-2 Magnus Caris
Mervyn King (10) 6-4 Ryan De Vreede
Ronny Huybrechts 6-1 Steve Hine
Antonio Alcinas 6-5 Jelle Klaasen (23)
Glenn Spearing 6-5 Denis Ovens
Kim Huybrechts (6) 6-4 David Dodds
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Gary Stone
Andy Smith (27) 6-3 John Newland
Ross Smith 6-4 Nigel Heydon
Simon Whitlock (11) 6-2 Kevin Thomas
Scott Rand 6-3 Conan Whitehead
James Wade (22) 6-5 Dennis Smith
Andy Parsons 6-2 Arron Monk
Michael Mansell 6-4 Dave Chisnall (3)
Christian Kist 6-4 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Kevin Voornhout 6-1 Richie Burnett (30)
Jason Lovett 6-5 Kurt Parry
Wes Newton (14) 6-4 Zoran Lerchbacher
Josh Payne 6-4 Darren Johnson
Paul Nicholson (19) 6-1 Adam Hunt
Steve Grubb 6-5 Tomas Seyler

Second Round
Steve Brown 6-5 Aden Kirk
Stephen Bunting 6-0 Mick Todd
John Bowles 6-4 Michael Smith
Ting Chi Royden Lam 6-5 Ronnie Baxter
Ian White 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Wayne Jones 6-4 John Henderson
Jamie Caven 6-1 Colin Lloyd
Michael Barnard 6-5 Mark Frost
Robert Thornton 6-2 James Richardson
Dean Winstanley 6-5 Pete Dyos
Justin Pipe 6-3 Paul Amos
Jamie Lewis 6-4 Andy Pearce
Peter Wright 6-1 Mark Barilli
Darren Webster 6-3 David Ladley
Terry Temple 6-3 Peter Hudson
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Wayne Pepper
Brendan Dolan 6-1 John Part
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Marc Dewsbury
Kevin Painter 6-5 David Pallett
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Kirk Shepherd
Jim Walker 6-4 Steve West
Terry Jenkins 6-5 Tony Newell
Mervyn King 6-1 Ronny Huybrechts
Glenn Spearing 6-4 Antonio Alcinas
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Kim Huybrechts
Ross Smith 6-4 Andy Smith
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Scott Rand
James Wade 6-3 Andy Parsons
Christian Kist 6-5 Michael Mansell
Jason Lovett 6-4 Kevin Voornhout
Wes Newton 6-5 Josh Payne
Paul Nicholson 6-0 Steve Grubb
Losers £250

Third Round
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Steve Brown
John Bowles 6-1 Ting Chi Royden Lam
Ian White 6-2 Wayne Jones
Jamie Caven 6-1 Michael Barnard
Robert Thornton 6-4 Dean Winstanley
Justin Pipe 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Darren Webster 6-5 Peter Wright
Terry Temple 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Kevin Painter
Terry Jenkins 6-5 Jim Walker
Mervyn King 6-5 Glenn Spearing
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Ross Smith
Simon Whitlock 6-4 James Wade
Christian Kist 6-5 Jason Lovett
Paul Nicholson 6-2 Wes Newton
Losers £500

Fourth Round
Stephen Bunting 6-4 John Bowles
Ian White 6-1 Jamie Caven
Robert Thornton 6-5 Justin Pipe
Darren Webster 6-4 Terry Temple
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Terry Jenkins 6-1 Mervyn King
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Benito van de Pas
Christian Kist 6-1 Paul Nicholson
Losers £1,000

Quarter-Finals
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Ian White
Robert Thornton 6-3 Darren Webster
Terry Jenkins 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Christian Kist
Losers £1,500

Semi-Finals
Robert Thornton 6-2 Stephen Bunting
Terry Jenkins 6-1 Simon Whitlock
Losers £2,500

Final
Robert Thornton 6-4 Terry Jenkins
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £5,000

Final - Leg-By-Leg
Robert Thornton v Terry Jenkins
1-0 - A brilliant start from Thornton sees him hit scores of 140, 140 and 180 before taking out 41 for an 11-dart-finish to break Jenkins' throw immediately.
2-0 - The fantastic opening from Thornton continues as he hits a 12-dart-finish to move two legs up, adding a second 180 of the game.
2-1 - Jenkins stems the tide as he hits double ten to hold throw and get a leg on the board.
3-1 - Jenkins hits scores 180, 140 and 170, but two missed darts at doubles prove costly as Thornton lands double top.
4-1 - Thornton continues his brilliant form as takes out a 110 finish to break his opponent's throw for a second time.
4-2 - Jenkins keeps up the fight as he starts the leg with a 180 before hitting a score of 159 to leave 32, which he duly converts to complete a 14-dart finish.
4-3 - Jenkins hits double ten to reduce the gap to just one leg.
5-3 - Thornton holds throw thanks to an accurate attempt at double top, to move a leg away from back-to-back triumphs.
5-4 - Thornton hits a 180, only for Jenkins to reply with a maximum of his own and he returns to hit double seven to keep the game alive.
6-4 - Thornton posts his sixth 180 of the match to leave 121, which he duly converts on the bullseye to end a high-quality game and round-off a fantastic weekend with back-to-back titles.

Match Stats