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

Brendan Dolan continued his resurgence by winning Players Championship 29 in Barnsley on Monday, while Peter Wright set a new record for the highest ever recorded average in a live broadcast match.

Having ended his five-year wait for a PDC title at Players Championship 22 in August, Dolan made it two in just over months with a hard-fought 8-6 win over Ian White in the final.

The Northern Irishman fired in averages of 104.9 and 104.8 in victories over Mark Webster and Gerwyn Price respectively on his way to the semi-finals, before overcoming record-breaker Wright in a last-leg decider to reach the final.

"I can still do it, I played quality darts today at the right times and I think I deserved any luck I got," said Dolan, who now has six PDC titles to his name.

"The one in Hildesheim was more of a relief, whereas today I came into it with more belief that I could win having done it recently.

"When you've not been winning for five years your confidence is not so high and winning in Hildesheim has drastically changed that.

"In my head today I was determined to add money to my ranking to give me shot of qualifying for the 2020 World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

"I've missed those two events for the last three years and it's killed me not being there, so hopefully next year I will be."

Former World Grand Prix runner-up Dolan produced checkouts of 136 and 161 to hold throw in two of the opening four legs of the final, before finding his way through to double three for the first break of the match in leg seven to take a 4-3 lead.

Another ton-plus finish, this time a 108, opened up a two-leg cushion for Dolan, an advantage which he soon doubled by taking the next two legs.

White then began a spirited comeback, and after Dolan squandered three match darts in leg 12, White found himself within a leg of Dolan at 6-7.

However, Dolan held firm and a strong leg on throw saw ended with him hitting the match-winning double at the fifth attempt.

Earlier in the day, Wright averaged 123.5 in his 6-0 quarter-final win against Krzysztof Ratajski, the highest ever recorded in a live broadcast darts match.

The previous record broadcast average was 123.4, set by Michael van Gerwen in a 7-1 defeat of Michael Smith in the 2016 Premier League.

Elsewhere, the day was also a significant one for Ron Meulenkamp who reached his sixth ProTour semi-final, but the Dutchman was unable to break his duck of never making it to a final.

Drawboard