Paul Nicholson: 2023 ProTour finalists reflect darts' global growth

Comment

Former Players Champion and current darts pundit Paul Nicholson discussed how this year's ProTour finalists so far reflect darts' global expansion over the last two decades.

PDC Order of Merit changes following Players Championships 9-10

News

Jonny Clayton has regained seventh spot on the PDC Order of Merit following last weekend's 2023 Players Championships 9-10.

Third title of 2023 for Van Duijvenbode with PC10 success

ProTour

Dirk van Duijvenbode picked up a third PDC ProTour title of 2023 with victory in Sunday's Players Championship Ten in Wigan.

Relentless Ratajski celebrates Players Championship Nine win

ProTour

Krzysztof Ratajski dispatched Chris Landman 8-1 to claim Players Championship Nine success in Wigan on Saturday, securing his first PDC ranking title for almost 18 months.

Anderson ends title drought with superb PC8 triumph

ProTour

Gary Anderson ended his three-year wait for a PDC ranking title by defeating Krzysztof Ratajski 8-5 in Monday's Players Championship 8 final in Hildesheim.

First ranking title of 2023 for Van Gerwen with PC7 success

ProTour

Michael van Gerwen picked up his first ranking title of 2023 by defeating Josh Rock 8-4 in Sunday's Players Championship 7 final in Hildesheim.

PDC Order of Merit changes following 2023 Players Championships 5-6

News

Ross Smith has entered the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time following 2023 Players Championship Events Five and Six.

Imperious Van Duijvenbode storms to Players Championship 6 success

ProTour

Dirk van Duijvenbode clinched his second ProTour title of 2023 with a superb 8-4 success against Ryan Searle in Sunday's Players Championship 6 final at the Barnsley Metrodome.

Super Smith sinks Anderson to seal second ProTour crown

ProTour

Ross Smith denied a resurgent Gary Anderson to claim Players Championship 5 glory and celebrate his second ProTour title in Barnsley on Saturday.

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

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PETER WRIGHT won his second PDC title in four days at Players Championship 19 in Barnsley on Tuesday.

Fresh from lifting the German Darts Masters trophy for a second time in Cologne on Saturday, Wright picked up where he left off with a string of impressive displays culminating in an 8-5 victory over Justin Pipe in the final.

The opening day of the mid-week ProTour double-header saw Wright post four ton-plus averages, one of which came in his semi-final meeting with World Cup winning teammate Gary Anderson, before going on to claim his first ranking title of 2019.

"I'm still not back to my 2017 level yet, nowhere near in fact, but I'm going to keep working to get back there and this is proof of that," said the world number five, who now has 24 PDC titles to his name.

"I changed darts from the weekend so that I could be more consistent and most of the day I played well to beat some fantastic players.

"It's also good to see Justin reach the final, he's been working very hard to get his game back. He let me off early on and I capitalised."

The final saw Wright get off to a perfect start, kicking in with a 180 en route to landing a crucial break of throw, before the next seven legs all went with throw in a tight contest.

With Wright 5-3 in front, Pipe missed two darts at double, and Wright punished by taking out 65 in two darts for a double-break.

A 121 checkout on the bull saw Wright go within a leg of victory, but Pipe showed resilience to break throw to keep the tie alive at 7-5, only for Wright to find the match-winning double 12 to seal the £10,000 top prize.

Despite defeat in the final, the day was a significant one for six-time ranking event winner Pipe who made it to his first ranking final in over four years with wins over Gerwyn Price and Mensur Suljovic on the way.

Tuesday also saw Kyle Anderson hit a nine-dart finish live on one of the PDC streaming boards in the opening leg of his first round game with Steve Lennon.

Elsewhere, Dutchman Ron Meulenkamp continued his progress by reaching his third ProTour semi-final of 2019.

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