Krzysztof Ratajski produced a remarkable turnaround to clinch his first PDC ranking title since September 2023 with victory in Monday’s Players Championship 15.
Ratajski defeated Dave Chisnall 8-4 to pocket the £15,000 top prize in Hildesheim, which also moves him into the provisional qualification places for July’s Betfred World Matchplay.
The 48-year-old had incredibly lost seven consecutive first round matches on the PDC ProTour prior to Monday’s play, but he halted that run in sensational style at Halle 39.
Ratajski rattled off four straight legs to seize control against Chisnall, following up legs of 15, 14 and 15 darts with a 123 checkout to lead 4-1.
Chisnall reduced the arrears to 4-3 with back-to-back legs of his own, but after maintaining his cushion with a brace of 13-darters, Ratajski wrapped up victory with a fabulous 86 finish on the bull.
“I really enjoyed that. I’m so happy,” reflected Ratajski, who averaged 101.73 to celebrate his eighth Players Championship title.
“In the back of my head, I knew I had a chance to get to the World Matchplay, and this is a very big first step towards that!
“The last few years have been a difficult time for me. I’ve had health problems and other problems, and my results have not been good.
“I had lost seven matches in a row before today, but that is darts.
“I was 3-0 down in my first match, I was 4-1 down in the third round so it was a difficult tournament for me, but I’m very happy I did it.”
Ratajski looked poised to suffer an eighth consecutive defeat on the ProTour when he trailed Dylan Slevin 3-0, but a six-leg burst saw Poland’s premier player halt that unwanted record.
Following a routine second round victory over Jim Long, Ratajski then fought back from 4-1 adrift to deny Jamai van den Herik in a decider, before averaging 102.48 in a whitewash win over Carl Sneyd.
Ratajski later survived a match dart and defied a 102 average from Ross Smith to win through a compelling quarter-final, while he ran out a convincing 7-4 winner against Scott Williams in the last four.
Chisnall, meanwhile, registered a quartet of ton-plus averages on his way to Monday’s showpiece, which included a 108.16 in his second round demolition of Darius Labanauskas.
The St Helens star also achieved perfection midway through his clash against the Lithuanian, before averaging 101, 100 and 104 to sweep aside William Borland, Joe Cullen and Mike De Decker respectively.
However, Chisnall was forced to survive two match darts in his semi-final success against Danny Noppert, who dumped out Michael Smith, Callan Rydz and Gian van Veen to reach the last four.
The former UK Open champion was joined in the semi-finals by Scott Williams, who posted a trio of ton-plus averages to advance to his second ranking semi-final of the season.
Chisnall’s nine-darter was one of two perfect legs struck in Hildesheim on Monday, as Luke Woodhouse also produced the moment of magic in his second round tie against Martijn Dragt.
Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen – the solitary Premier League player in action this week – suffered his fifth opening round exit in six ProTour events, succumbing to an impressive Dominik Gruellich.
Peter Wright crashed out at the same stage to Jim Williams, while James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld departed in round two, despite posting ton-plus averages earlier in the afternoon.
The PDC ProTour season continues with Players Championship 16 on Tuesday, with coverage from four streaming boards set to be broadcast live through PDCTV.
The event draw and results are listed in the Match Centre.
Click here for match stats through DartConnect.
2025 Players Championship 15
Monday May 12
Halle 39, Hildesheim
Last 16
Dom Taylor 6-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Scott Williams 6-4 Gary Anderson
Ross Smith 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-0 Carl Sneyd
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Joe Cullen
Mike De Decker 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf
Danny Noppert 6-5 Callan Rydz
Gian van Veen 6-0 Niels Zonneveld
Quarter-Finals
Scott Williams 6-3 Dom Taylor
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Ross Smith
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Mike De Decker
Danny Noppert 6-1 Gian van Veen
Semi-Finals
Krzysztof Ratajski 7-4 Scott Williams
Dave Chisnall 7-6 Danny Noppert
Final
Krzysztof Ratajski 8-4 Dave Chisnall
Nine-Darters!
Luke Woodhouse hit a nine-darter in his second round tie against Martijn Dragt.
Dave Chisnall hit a nine-darter in his second round tie against Darius Labanauskas.