Van Gerwen Wins Players Championship One

ProTour

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN clinched the first Players Championship title of the year as he beat James Wade 6-4 in the final.

2018 ET1-2 UK Qualifiers

European Tour

JAMES WADE and Adrian Lewis were amongst six players to enjoy double success in the ET1-2 UK Qualifier.

Coral UK Open Qualifier Six

ProTour

KRZYSZTOF RATAJSKI became the first Polish winner of a PDC event as he defeated Daryl Gurney to win Coral UK Open Qualifier Six.

Coral UK Open Qualifier Five

ProTour

COREY CADBY won his first senior PDC title with a brilliant comeback in the final of Saturday's Coral UK Open Qualifier Five.

2018 European Tour 1-2 Entries

European Tour

THE entries for the year's first two PDC European Tour events have been confirmed ahead of the UK Qualifiers on Friday February 16.

Coral UK Open Qualifier Four

Ladbrokes UK Open

GARY ANDERSON secured his place in next month's Coral UK Open with victory in Qualifier Four on Friday.

Players Championship 1-2 Entries

ProTour

THE entries have been confirmed for the year's opening Players Championship events, to be held on February 17 & 18 in Barnsley.

Super Smith's Qualifier Three Success

ProTour

MICHAEL SMITH whitewashed Zoran Lerchbacher 6-0 to claim the Coral UK Open Qualifier Three title in Wigan.

100 Up For Van Gerwen

ProTour

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN continued his unbeaten start to 2018 with victory in Coral UK Open Qualifier Two in Wigan.

Coral UK Open Qualifier One

ProTour

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN clinched the first PDC ProTour title of 2018 in Coral UK Open Qualifier One

Players Championship events are held throughout the year, with prize money won counting towards the ProTour Order of Merit

All Players Championship events will be streamed live for PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide with coverage from two boards throughout each event.

KRZYSZTOF RATAJSKI landed the fourth PDC title of his career at Players Championship 17 in Wigan on Saturday, defeating Nathan Aspinall 8-3 in the final.

The opening day of the ProTour double-header weekend saw Ratajski pick up his first title of 2019, continuing his 100% success rate in PDC ranking finals.

The Polish number one showed great consistency across the day, averaging over 100 in five of his seven victories, one of which came against two-time ProTour winner Glen Durrant.

Ratajski began the day by edging out Spain's Toni Alcinas 6-5, before defeating Barrie Bates, Durrant and Marko Kantele to reach his second ProTour quarter-final of the year.

There, the 42-year-old whitewashed Jamie Hughes 6-0, followed by a 7-3 semi-final success over James Wilson and a convincing display in the final which saw him land the £10,000 top prize.

"I feel really good about this win, I am very satisfied with how I played," said Ratajski, who won three PDC titles in 2018 despite not being a Tour Card Holder.

"Every match I played I averaged around 100 or more, but even with that sometimes it was very difficult and I won some close games.

"I think I have been a little unlucky this year even though I played really well. Even when I play super my opponents sometimes play better.

"Of course, I believe I am able to win the World Matchplay if I play on a high level like I did today."

The final saw Ratajski get off to a perfect start, hitting double top in the second leg to strike the first break of throw.

After the Pole missed a dart to go 4-0 in front, Aspinall found double ten to get his first leg on the board and reduce the deficit to 3-1.

Undeterred, Ratajski produced a stunning 122 checkout for another break of throw and a commanding 5-1 lead, before Aspinall showed some resilience to bring it back to 7-3.

Ratajski landed a perfectly-timed 180 in what turned out to be the final leg of the contest, securing the victory with a 95 checkout.

World number 13 Aspinall continued his progression by reaching his second PDC final since being crowned UK Open Champion in March ahead of his World Matchplay debut in July.

A number of players were vying for the 16 ProTour Order of Merit places in the Blackpool event ahead of the cut-off on June 30, with Wilson's run to his first semi-final since October 2018 cementing his place among the qualifiers.

Ron Meulenkamp reached his second ProTour semi-final in as many months to keep his hopes alive, while Kyle Anderson made it to the Last 32 to stay in the final provisional qualifying place.

Ryan Searle, Keegan Brown and Ross Smith lead the chasing pack, but they all suffered exits from the tournament by the Last 64 stage.

Aspinall was the only top 20 player to make it through to the quarter-finals on an open day in Wigan, while Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting made it to the Last 16.

Drawboard