Dirk van Duijvenbode seals second Players Championship title of 2023
Dirk van Duijvenbode secured his second ProTour title of the season at Players Championship Six with an 8-4 victory over Ryan Searle in the final in Barnsley.
Van Duijvenbode defeated Searle to triumph at Players Championship Four last month, and the Dutchman enjoyed a repeat performance to become the first player to celebrate multiple ranking titles this year.
The 30-year-old dropped only five legs in reaching the Semi-Finals, before overcoming top seed Luke Humphries and Searle to scoop the £12,000 top prize and move top of the Players Championship Order of Merit.
Van Duijvenbode made a sensational start to Sunday’s final, producing magnificent checkouts of 142 and 148 to seize the initiative, before Searle reeled off three straight legs to move 4-3 in front.
However, Van Duijvenbode responded by winning five straight legs of his own to wrap up a resounding victory, firing in six 180s and producing back-to-back 12-dart legs to clinch the title.
“I would say this is the second best title of my career,” said Van Duijvenbode, who boasted a tournament average of 102 en route to scooping his fifth PDC ranking title.
“I’m working with a great team. This is the first weekend for about 18 months where I haven’t had an injury, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am.
“Ryan is one of the nicest players on the tour. He is such a good player. He’s very good, and I am always happy if I beat him, but it is never easy.
“My goal is to win three titles this year and I’m already on two after six [Players Championship] events, so hopefully I will make the third as well!”
Van Duijvenbode stormed through to his second final of the season with a string of dominant displays, opening Sunday’s action with a trio of 6-1 victories.
He brushed aside Kevin Burness and Ronny Huybrechts before posting a career-best 115.7 average in his demolition of Cameron Crabtree, landing six 180s and landing 140 and 128 finishes in the process.
The three-time TV finalist maintained his imperious form with a whitewash win over Ian White in the Last 16, and an emphatic 6-2 success over Dutch compatriot Michael van Gerwen confirmed his spot in the semis.
Van Duijvenbode then edged out Humphries in a captivating last-leg decider, missing double 12 for a nine-darter as he prevailed with a 105 average and eight maximums.
Searle, appearing in his third Players Championship final of the year, kicked off his campaign by averaging over 100 in a ruthless whitewash of Jimmy Hendriks.
The Somerset star overcame his practice partner and Saturday’s runner-up Gary Anderson in Round Two, before continuing his charge with convincing wins over Ricardo Pietreczko and Matt Campbell.
Searle completed a dramatic comeback against Dave Chisnall to progress to the Semi-Finals – where he reeled off six straight legs in 15, 12, 15, 13, 13 and 11 darts to dispatch Mike De Decker 7-2 with a 107 average.
De Decker dumped out seeded stars Stephen Bunting and Josh Rock to reach his second ProTour Semi-Final in a run which also featured victories over Niels Zonneveld, Jacques Labre and Gian van Veen.
Humphries continued his consistent start to the campaign with another Semi-Final showing, averaging 105 and 108 in wins over Northern Irish duo Mickey Mansell and Daryl Gurney respectively.
The world number six also defied a 106 average from Saturday’s champion Ross Smith in the Quarter-Finals, avenging his defeat to the European Champion the previous day.
Smith capped off a fine weekend with wins over Simon Whitlock and Nathan Aspinall in reaching the Last Eight, where he was joined by current Premier League table-topper Van Gerwen.
The three-time World Champion enjoyed his best run on the ProTour in 2023, with his compatriot Van Veen and second seed Chisnall also bowing out at the Quarter-Final stage.
Earlier in the day, Saturday’s semi-finalist Gerwyn Price suffered a surprise first round defeat to Spain’s Jose Justicia, despite averaging 100 in a high-quality affair.
Anderson and Rob Cross were among the high-profile Second Round casualties, with World Champion Michael Smith crashing out in Round Three alongside fellow Premier League stars Aspinall and Jonny Clayton.
Players Championship Six Results
Sunday March 12
First Round
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Mervyn King
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 William O’Connor
Luke Humphries 6-5 Steve Lennon
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Kevin Doets
Jose De Sousa 6-5 George Killington
Lewy Williams 6-3 Devon Petersen
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Chris Landman 6-1 Keegan Brown
Ross Smith 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Alan Soutar
Graham Hall 6-1 Jamie Clark
Graham Usher 6-2 Madars Razma
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Shaun Wilkinson
Danny Noppert 6-5 Brian Raman
Steve Beaton 6-4 Dylan Slevin
Jurjen van der Velde 6-5 Callan Rydz
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Andy Boulton
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Jules van Dongen
Ted Evetts 6-2 Daniel Klose
Gabriel Clemens 6-1 Damian Mol
Richard Veenstra 6-4 Bradley Brooks
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Geert Nentjes 6-4 Ryan Meikle
Cameron Crabtree 6-4 Adrian Lewis
Florian Hempel 6-3 Luc Peters
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Kevin Burness
Ronny Huybrechts 6-5 Jamie Hughes
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Richie Burnett
Ian White 6-4 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Joe Cullen 6-5 Danny van Trijp
Adam Gawlas 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-3 Thibault Tricole
Scott Williams 6-5 Scott Waites
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Josh Payne
James Richardson 6-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Jose Justicia 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Owen Roelofs 6-2 Darius Labanauskas
Joe Murnan 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Robert Owen
Keane Barry 6-4 Martin Lukeman
Matt Campbell 6-4 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Michael Smith 6-5 Darren Webster
Connor Scutt 6-2 Lee Evans
Nathan Rafferty 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Tony Martinez
Ryan Searle 6-0 Jimmy Hendriks
Gary Anderson 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Callum Goffin 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Jacques Labre 6-2 Robbie Knops
John O’Shea 6-4 Damon Heta
Pascal Rupprecht 6-2 Danny Jansen
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Ross Montgomery
Mike De Decker 6-5 Niels Zonneveld
Josh Rock 6-3 Owen Bates
Boris Krcmar 6-3 Stephen Burton
James Wade 6-1 Jim Williams
Martijn Kleermaker 6-3 Adam Warner
Rob Cross 6-2 Mensur Suljovic
Gian van Veen 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Chris Dobey
Radek Szaganski 6-5 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Martin Schindler 6-5 Ricky Evans
Arron Monk 6-1 Jeff Smith
Second Round
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse
Luke Humphries 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Jose De Sousa 6-3 Lewy Williams
Chris Landman 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Ross Smith 6-4 Krzysztof Kciuk
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Graham Hall
Graham Usher 6-1 Luke Woodhouse
Danny Noppert 6-5 Steve Beaton
Jurjen van der Velde 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Ted Evetts
Richard Veenstra 6-4 Gabriel Clemens
Jonny Clayton 6-0 Geert Nentjes
Cameron Crabtree 6-3 Florian Hempel
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Ronny Huybrechts
Ian White 6-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
Joe Cullen 6-4 Adam Gawlas
Scott Williams 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Dave Chisnall 6-3 James Richardson
Jose Justicia 6-3 Owen Roelofs
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Joe Murnan
Matt Campbell 6-2 Keane Barry
Michael Smith 6-2 Connor Scutt
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-1 Nathan Rafferty
Ryan Searle 6-4 Gary Anderson
Jacques Labre 6-3 Callum Goffin
John O’Shea 6-3 Pascal Rupprecht
Mike De Decker 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Josh Rock 6-5 Boris Krcmar
James Wade 6-5 Martijn Kleermaker
Gian van Veen 6-2 Rob Cross
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Radek Szaganski
Arron Monk 6-3 Martin Schindler
Losers: £750
Last 32
Luke Humphries 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Chris Landman 6-5 Jose De Sousa
Ross Smith 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Graham Usher 6-1 Danny Noppert
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Jurjen van der Velde
Richard Veenstra 6-2 Jonny Clayton
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Cameron Crabtree
Ian White 6-4 Joe Cullen
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Scott Williams
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Jose Justicia
Matt Campbell 6-4 Michael Smith
Ryan Searle 6-2 Ricardo Pietreczko
Jacques Labre 6-4 John O’Shea
Mike De Decker 6-2 Josh Rock
Gian van Veen 6-4 James Wade
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Arron Monk
Losers: £1,250
Last 16
Luke Humphries 6-2 Chris Landman
Ross Smith 6-2 Graham Usher
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-0 Ian White
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Vincent van der Voort
Ryan Searle 6-3 Matt Campbell
Mike De Decker 6-3 Jacques Labre
Gian van Veen 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Losers: £2,000
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries 6-4 Ross Smith
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Michael van Gerwen
Ryan Searle 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Mike De Decker 6-4 Gian van Veen
Losers: £3,000
Semi-Finals
Dirk van Duijvenbode 7-6 Luke Humphries
Ryan Searle 7-2 Mike De Decker
Losers: £4,000
Final
Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-4 Ryan Searle
Winner: £12,000
Runner-up: £8,000
Latest Darts Free Bet Offers
Sky Bet welcome offer: Get £30 in Free Bets when you register and place any first bet
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER (18+)
NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY. 5P MINIMUM STAKE. 3 X £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS EXCLUDE VIRTUALS. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. NO FREE BET EXPIRY. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY. 18+. GambleAware.ORG
Betfred welcome offer: Bet £10 and get £40 in bonuses
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER (18+)
New 18+ UK customers only. Register using the promo code WELCOME40, deposit and place first bet of £10+ on Sports (cumulative Evens+) within 7 days of registration. First bet must be on Sports. £30 in Free Bets and £10 in Free Spins (50x20p) credited within 10 hours of bet settlement. Free Bet stakes are not included in any returns. Bonuses have a 7-day expiry. Payment restrictions apply. SMS verification and/or Proof of I.D and address may be required. Full T&Cs apply.
