Danny Noppert claims third PDC title at Players Championship 19
Danny Noppert secured his third PDC ranking title at Players Championship 19 on Saturday, battling back from behind to defeat Andrew Gilding 8-6 in the final.
Noppert, whose most only previous ProTour triumph came back in 2018, followed up March’s UK Open success with a second ranking title of the season.
The Dutch star reeled off five consecutive legs from 6-3 down in the final to deny Gilding a maiden PDC ranking title at the Barnsley Metrodome.
“It was a long time ago since I last won one a Players Championship title,” admitted Noppert.
“I won this title through fighting and never giving up, if you believe in something then you can achieve it.
“I am a happy man to finally have my moment on the floor. There are 128 fantastic players here so to win this means a lot.
“Now, I am looking forward to all the tournaments coming up.”
Noppert’s route to glory began with a ruthless 6-0 whitewash of Australia’s Gordon Mathers with a 102.5 average before seeing off Luke Woodhouse and James Wade to reach the Last 16.
There, he overcame Canada’s Matt Campbell and backed up that result with a 6-1 rout of Rowby-John Rodriguez to reach the Semi-Finals.
Noppert then swept aside top seed and four-time Euro Tour winner Luke Humphries 7-3 to progress to his first ProTour final of 2022.
It was Gilding who struck first in the final, pinning the bullseye for a 121 checkout en route on his way to establishing a 6-3 lead.
Noppert clawed his way back into the contest with a 12-dart break to reduce the deficit to 6-5, and two legs later he broke once again to take the lead for the first time at 7-6.
Gilding was unable to stop the onslaught and the following leg saw Noppert finish the job with a last dart double 16 to end his four-year wait for a Players Championship title.
The £8,000 added onto Gilding’s PDC ranking further solidifies his provisional spot in the field for the upcoming Betfred World Matchplay.
After posting four ton-plus averages en route to reaching the Quarter-Finals on Friday, world number 72 Gilding defeated Jules Van Dongen, John Brown and Jack Main before averaging 109.5 in a 6-1 rout of Martin Lukeman.
He then dispatched Lee Evans by the same scoreline, before edging out Ryan Searle 7-6 courtesy of a 96 checkout in the deciding leg.
Meanwhile, Rowby-John Rodriguez strengthened his grip on the final provisional qualification spot for the World Matchplay with a fine run to the Quarter-Finals, moving £3,000 clear of nearest challenger Ross Smith.
Joe Cullen, Rob Cross, Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall were among the notable First Round casualties, while Dave Chisnall survived five missed match darts from Gary Anderson before taking out 154 to snatch victory in their Second Round contest.
The 128-player field will return to action on Sunday for the third of four consecutive ProTour events.
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Players Championship 19 Results
Saturday July 9
First Round
Luke Humphries 6-1 Danny Jansen
Mervyn King 6-3 Keegan Brown
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Jeff Smith
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-3 Joe Murnan
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Scott Williams
Gary Anderson 6-3 Ryan Meikle
Callan Rydz 6-5 Danny Baggish
Boris Krcmar 6-5 Jason Lowe
Peter Wright 6-5 Nathan Rafferty
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse
Jamie Hughes 6-2 Madars Razma
Jamie Clark 6-3 Ted Evetts
Brian Raman 6-4 Joe Cullen
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-3 Kevin Burness
Ron Meulenkamp 6-3 Chris Dobey
John Henderson 6-2 Steve Beaton
Max Hopp 6-2 Rob Cross
Eddie Lovely 6-4 Scott Mitchell
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-3 Jason Heaver
Nick Fullwell 6-3 George Killington
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-0 Vladimir Andersen
Florian Hempel 6-1 Adam Hunt
Steve West 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Mickey Mansell 6-4 William O’Connor
Damon Heta 6-2 John O’Shea
Tony Martinez 6-4 William Borland
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Josh Rock
Matt Campbell 6-4 Jim Williams
Danny Noppert 6-0 Gordon Mathers
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 David Evans
James Wade 6-5 Brett Claydon
Danny van Trijp 6-2 Geert De Vos
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Darren Webster
Karel Sedlacek 6-3 Cameron Menzies
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Ricky Evans
Boris Koltsov 6-3 Alan Soutar
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-4 Shaun Wilkinson
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Adam Gawlas
Andy Boulton 6-3 Peter Hudson
Ryan Searle 6-2 James Wilson
Keane Barry 6-3 Ross Montgomery
Jimmy Hendriks 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Krzysztof Kciuk
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Lewy Williams
Geert Nentjes 6-1 Luc Peters
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Scott Waites 6-5 Kevin Doets
Michael Smith 6-1 Connor Scutt
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Stephen Burton
Ian White 6-3 Ross Smith
Lee Evans 6-4 Glen Durrant
Martin Schindler 6-1 Jake Jones
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Bradley Brooks
Steve Lennon 6-5 Gabriel Clemens
Darius Labanauskas 6-3 Berry van Peer
Jack Main 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Martijn Kleermaker 6-3 Richie Burnett
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Jules van Dongen
John Brown 6-3 Damian Mol
Jon Worsley 6-1 Jose de Sousa
Mike De Decker 6-2 Radek Szaganski
Martin Lukeman 6-5 Jose Justicia
Devon Petersen 6-3 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Second Round
Luke Humphries 6-5 Mervyn King
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Gary Anderson
Boris Krcmar 6-5 Callan Rydz
Peter Wright 6-0 Jermaine Wattimena
Jamie Hughes 6-5 Jamie Clark
Brian Raman 6-3 Ricardo Pietreczko
John Henderson 6-1 Ron Meulenkamp
Eddie Lovely 6-5 Max Hopp
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-5 Nick Fullwell
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Florian Hempel
Steve West 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Damon Heta 6-5 Tony Martinez
Matt Campbell 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Danny Noppert 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
James Wade 6-2 Danny van Trijp
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Boris Koltsov
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Andy Boulton 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Ryan Searle 6-1 Keane Barry
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Jimmy Hendriks
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Geert Nentjes
Scott Waites 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Michael Smith
Lee Evans 6-5 Ian White
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Martin Schindler
Steve Lennon 6-1 Darius Labanauskas
Jack Main 6-5 Martijn Kleermaker
Andrew Gilding 6-4 John Brown
Mike De Decker 6-2 Jon Worsley
Martin Lukeman 6-1 Devon Petersen
Losers: £750
Last 32
Luke Humphries 6-4 Maik Kuivenhoven
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Boris Krcmar
Jamie Hughes 6-4 Peter Wright
Brian Raman 6-3 John Henderson
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-2 Eddie Lovely
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-0 Steve West
Matt Campbell 6-2 Damon Heta
Danny Noppert 6-3 James Wade
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Ryan Joyce
Niels Zonneveld 6-4 Andy Boulton
Ryan Searle 6-4 Vincent van der Voort
Scott Waites 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Lee Evans 6-4 Mensur Suljovic
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Steve Lennon
Andrew Gilding 6-0 Jack Main
Martin Lukeman 6-3 Mike De Decker
Losers: £1,250
Last 16
Luke Humphries 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Jamie Hughes 6-3 Brian Raman
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-1 Krzysztof Ratajski
Danny Noppert 6-3 Matt Campbell
Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Ryan Searle 6-2 Scott Waites
Lee Evans 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Martin Lukeman
Losers: £2,000
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries 6-3 Jamie Hughes
Danny Noppert 6-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Ryan Searle 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Lee Evans
Losers: £3,000
Semi-Finals
Danny Noppert 7-3 Luke Humphries
Andrew Gilding 7-6 Ryan Searle
Losers: £4,000
Final
Danny Noppert 8-6 Andrew Gilding
Winner: £12,000
Runner-up: £8,000
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