Brilliant Benito Claims Second Triumph

BENITO VAN DE PAS won his second Players Championship title in the space of six weeks with a brilliant display on Sunday, culminating in a 6-0 demolition of Joe Cullen in the final.

The Dutch star had claimed his first senior victory in Barnsley during April, defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final, and claimed another £10,000 top prize with a brilliant day of darts at Coventry's Ricoh Arena.

Early wins over fellow countryman Christian Kist and Andy Boulton were followed by a whitewash of PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship runner-up Nathan Aspinall and a 6-1 win over Jason Wilson as van de Pas progressed to the quarter-finals.

There, the 23-year-old saw off Justin Pipe 6-3 before dropping only one leg against Darren Webster in the semi-finals, but it was his stunning display in the decider against Cullen which crowned his success, averaging over 111 in a six-leg blitz.

After winning the opening leg, he added back-to-back 12-dart legs to move 3-0 up, and after another pair of 15-dart finishes, including a 136 finish, before taking his tally of 180s for the game to three with two in leg six, and though he missed out on a perfect leg he took out another 12-darter for victory.

Cullen had won through to his second ProTour final with his success on the day, which continues his strong form during 2016 and adds a further £6,000 to his Order of Merit totals.

The Yorkshireman enjoyed wins over Simon Preston, Andy Hamilton, Antonio Alcinas, Andrew Gilding, Dave Chisnall and Steve Beaton as he won through to the final, only to be overpowered by van de Pas.

Beaton was appearing in the semi-finals on the PDC ProTour for the second time in 2016 - after being the runner-up in a UK Open Qualifier in February - as he saw off Darren Johnson, James Wilson, Jelle Klaasen, Mensur Suljovic and Peter Wright.

Norwich's Darren Webster also reached the last four, knocking out Kyle Anderson, Kevin Painter, Jeffrey de Zwaan, Mark Walsh and Alan Norris in a high-quality day of darts.

Wright and Chisnall both warmed up for the forthcoming Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters with runs to the quarter-finals, although James Wade - the only other World Series of Darts competitor in action on Sunday - lost out in the first round to Andrew Gilding.

Somerset-born duo Pipe and Norris were also amongst the quarter-finalists, with Austrian ace Suljovic, Belgium's Kim Huybrechts and emerging youngster Chris Dobey reaching the last 16 alongside Saturday's runner-up, Jamie Caven.

Caven had earlier gained revenge over Gerwyn Price for his loss in the Players Championship Eight final by knocking out the Welshman in the last 32 of Sunday's event.

Dutch youngster de Zwaan hit the second nine-darter of his PDC career - after also landing a perfect leg in 2015 in his maiden year on the circuit - during his second round win over fellow countryman Ron Meulenkamp.

The next Players Championship weekend will take place on July 2-3 at the Barnsley Metrodome, while next month features the Austrian Darts Open on the PDC European Tour, which will be held from June 10-12 in Vienna.

Players Championship Nine
Sunday May 22, Ricoh Arena Coventry
First Round

Peter Wright (1) 6-3 Robert Owen
Steve Hine 6-4 Mike De Decker
Robbie Green (32) 6-3 Dennis Smith
Mick Todd 6-1 Mark Frost
Daryl Gurney (16) 6-1 Nigel Daniels
Tony Newell 6-0 Matthew Dennant
Mervyn King (17) 6-4 Matt Clark
Jim Walker 6-3 Alan Tabern
Jelle Klaasen (8) 6-5 Ross Smith
Ted Evetts 6-2 Mike Zuydwijk
Steve Beaton (25) 6-4 Darren Johnson
James Wilson 6-4 Magnus Caris
Mensur Suljovic (9) 6-0 Scott Dale
Peter Hudson 6-3 Jonathan Worsley
Josh Payne (24) 6-4 Mick McGowan
William O'Connor 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Dave Chisnall (5) 6-5 Ronnie Baxter
Mark Barilli 6-2 Jeffrey de Graaf
Max Hopp (28) 6-4 John Bowles
Harry Robinson 6-4 Ken MacNeil
Gerwyn Price (12) 6-2 Dave Ladley
Ray Campbell 6-5 Stuart Kellett
Jamie Caven (21) 6-1 Paul Milford
Matthew Edgar 6-5 Devon Petersen
Andrew Gilding 6-5 James Wade (4)
Ronny Huybrechts 6-3 Jyhan Artut
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Jamie Lewis (29)
Steve West 6-0 Ryan Meikle
Simon Whitlock (13) 6-1 Steve McNally
Antonio Alcinas 6-3 Ryan Palmer
Joe Cullen (20) 6-3 Simon Preston
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Kevin Dowling 6-5 Michael Smith (2)
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Andy Smith
Cristo Reyes (31) 6-3 John Part
Chris Dobey 6-2 Vincent Kamphuis
Stephen Bunting (15) 6-4 Curtis Hammond
Paul Nicholson 6-2 Darron Brown
Justin Pipe (18) 6-0 Ricky Williams
Nathan Derry 6-2 Steve Brown
Benito van de Pas (7) 6-3 Christian Kist
Andy Boulton 6-2 Mickey Mansell
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Rowby-John Rodriguez (26)
Jason Marriott 6-2 Jerry Hendriks
Jason Wilson 6-1 Robert Thornton (10)
Ricky Evans 6-2 Keegan Brown
Mark Webster (23) 6-1 Wes Newton
Brian Woods 6-2 Ian Moss
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Ian White (6)
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-5 Simon Stevenson
Darren Webster 6-3 Kyle Anderson (27)
Kevin Painter 6-4 Shaun Griffiths
Terry Jenkins (11) 6-5 Lee Evans
Jamie Robinson 6-3 Prakash Jiwa
Nigel Heydon 6-3 Brendan Dolan (22)
Mark Walsh 6-4 Terry Temple
Kim Huybrechts (3) 6-2 Pete Dyos
Berry van Peer 6-2 Jason Lovett
Jan Dekker 6-5 John Henderson (30)
Joe Murnan 6-4 Wayne Jones
Alan Norris (14) 6-1 Dick van Dijk
Dean Winstanley 6-5 Stephen Willard
Yordi Meeuwisse 6-4 Vincent van der Voort (19)
James Richardson 6-2 Andy Jenkins

Second Round
Peter Wright 6-2 Steve Hine
Mick Todd 6-5 Robbie Green
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Tony Newell
Mervyn King 6-1 Jim Walker
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Ted Evetts
Steve Beaton 6-3 James Wilson
Mensur Suljovic 6-0 Peter Hudson
Josh Payne 6-5 William O'Connor
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Mark Barilli
Max Hopp 6-1 Harry Robinson
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Ray Campbell
Jamie Caven 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Steve West 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Antonio Alcinas 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Joe Cullen 6-5 Andy Hamilton
Kevin Dowling 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Chris Dobey 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Paul Nicholson
Justin Pipe 6-0 Nathan Derry
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Andy Boulton
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Jason Marriott
Jason Wilson 6-4 Ricky Evans
Mark Webster 6-1 Brian Woods
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-3 Ron Meulenkamp - Jeffrey de Zwaan hits nine-dart finish
Darren Webster 6-5 Kevin Painter
Jamie Robinson 6-2 Terry Jenkins
Mark Walsh 6-2 Nigel Heydon
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Berry van Peer
Joe Murnan 6-2 Jan Dekker
Alan Norris 6-2 Dean Winstanley
James Richardson 6-3 Yordi Meeuwisse
Losers £500

Third Round
Peter Wright 6-0 Mick Todd
Mervyn King 6-1 Daryl Gurney
Steve Beaton 6-1 Jelle Klaasen
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Josh Payne
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Max Hopp
Jamie Caven 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Steve West
Joe Cullen 6-2 Antonio Alcinas
Chris Dobey 6-1 Kevin Dowling
Justin Pipe 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Benito van de Pas 6-0 Nathan Aspinall
Jason Wilson 6-5 Mark Webster
Darren Webster 6-5 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Mark Walsh 6-2 Jamie Robinson
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Joe Murnan
Alan Norris 6-3 James Richardson
Losers £1,000

Fourth Round
Peter Wright 6-4 Mervyn King
Steve Beaton 6-2 Mensur Suljovic
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Jamie Caven
Joe Cullen 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Justin Pipe 6-4 Chris Dobey
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Jason Wilson
Darren Webster 6-1 Mark Walsh
Alan Norris 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Losers £1,500

Quarter-Finals
Steve Beaton 6-3 Peter Wright
Joe Cullen 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Benito van de Pas 6-3 Justin Pipe
Darren Webster 6-5 Alan Norris
Losers £2,250

Semi-Finals
Joe Cullen 6-5 Steve Beaton
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Darren Webster
Losers £3,000

Final
Benito van de Pas 6-0 Joe Cullen
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £6,000