Van Veen aiming to build upon Development Tour success

News

Gian van Veen believes his success on the Winmau Development Tour can provide the springboard for a strong end to the season on the senior PDC circuit.

Players Championships 17-18 entries and & ET11-12 seeds confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for this weekend's Players Championship double-header in Hildesheim, along with the 16 seeded players for ET11-12.

Red-hot Heta wins Players Championship 16 in Leicester

ProTour

Damon Heta produced a magnificent display to clinch his second ProTour title of the year, storming to an 8-4 victory against Ryan Joyce in Tuesday’s Players Championship 16 final in Leicester.

Nine-dart Humphries defies Chisnall fightback to claim PC15 title

ProTour

Luke Humphries celebrated his second ranking title in the space of nine days after defying a superb fightback from Dave Chisnall to triumph in Monday’s Players Championship 15 final in Leicester.

2023 Players Championship 15-16 entries confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for next week's Players Championship double-header, as the 2023 ProTour season continues in Leicester.

Seventh heaven for Heta with PC14 success in Hildesheim

ProTour

Damon Heta warmed up for Australia’s World Cup of Darts title defence with victory in Tuesday’s Players Championship 14 final in Hildesheim.

Superb Smith fightback sinks Anderson at Players Championship 13

ProTour

Michael Smith fought back brilliantly from 5-1 down to defeat his former mentor Gary Anderson and claim his first ProTour title of 2023 in Monday's Players Championship 13 final in Hildesheim.

2023 Betfred World Matchplay qualification race ahead of PC13-14

Betfred World Matchplay

The race to qualify for the 2023 Betfred World Matchplay will continue at next week’s Players Championship double-header in Hildesheim.

2023 Players Championship 13-14 entries confirmed

ProTour

Player entries have been confirmed for next week's Players Championship double-header in Germany, as the 2023 ProTour season continues in Hildesheim.

Clayton claims first Players Championship title in over two years at PC12

ProTour

Jonny Clayton won a first Players Championship title in over two years in Leicester on Sunday, defeating Josh Rock 8-5 in the final of Players Championship 12.

Jose De Sousa claimed a second PDC title inside a month at Players Championship 28 in Dublin on Saturday, beating Glen Durrant 8-6 in the final.

De Sousa, who won a PDC Tour Card for the first time in January, produced a string of impressive displays to reach his third ProTour final of the year and claim the £10,000 top prize.

The final was a close encounter but a crucial break of throw in the penultimate leg gave the Portuguese the chance to throw for the match, a chance he took to down his English opponent.

“The final was not my best game, it was a complicated game. This final was a moment of magic for me, a great moment,” said a delighted De Sousa.

“If I play my best game I can beat almost anyone. I practice so hard, every day and I want to make a big future for myself.

“I didn’t think this was possible, I could not imagine this.”

The 45-year-old, who had only won his PDC Tour Card in January at Qualifying School, won the crown on another definitive day for Portuguese darts.

“This is my first year in the PDC, all I wanted was experience but this has been amazing," he added. "I will continue my work and in the future we will see what happens.”

A 98 average in a 6-2 win against Mark Dudbridge opened the day for De Sousa, before a remarkable 6-1 triumph over Stephen Burton, with an average of almost 108 moved him safely into the last 32.

A hard fought 6-4 victory against Mark Webster and then a 6-2 win over Spaniard Jesus Noguera saw De Sousa move in to the quarter-finals.

Another ton-plus average followed, this time in a 6-3 win over a resurgent Kim Huybrechts as the Portuguese progressed in to the last four.

De Sousa then faced Mensur Suljovic, who earlier in the day had produced the perfect nine-dart leg in his victory over Adam Hunt.

Suljovic could not compete with his opponent in the semi-finals though as De Sousa powered through to the final with a 7-3 success.

The decider swung both ways, with neither player able to gain complete control of the encounter as De Sousa's early 4-1 lead was cancelled out by three straight legs from Durrant.

The pair traded breaks of throw in the middle of the match before Durrant eventually levelled at 6-6.

With the game looking set to go all the way to a deciding leg, De Sousa produced the all important break of throw with a 14-darter to go within a leg of the match before eventually pinning double ten for the title.

Durrant, who was playing in his fourth PDC final since a move from the BDO in January, had another successful day with notable wins against Ian White and a semi-final victory against Friday’s champion Gerwyn Price.

Suljovic achieved the 43rd nine-dart finish in a PDC event during his win over Hunt in the last 64, and also notched ton-plus averages in wins over Alan Tabern and Peter Wright.

The final two Players Championship events of 2019 will take place on October 14-15 where the field for the Players Championship finals will be confirmed.

Televised darts returns on Sunday as the BoyleSports World Grand Prix is broadcast live around the world from the Citywest Convention Centre in Dublin, starting seven days of the double-start event.

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