Dave Chisnall clinches first title of 2024 at Players Championship Six
Dave Chisnall secured his first title of the year at Players Championship Six with an 8-6 defeat of Dirk van Duijvenbode in the final in Hildesheim on Tuesday.
Chisnall, who racked up three European Tour titles and two Players Championship titles last year, opened his account for 2024 with victory at Halle 39.
The number two seed registered two ton-plus averages on his way to the final – where he denied a rejuvenated Van Duijvenbode in a hard-fought battle.
Chisnall raced into a 3-0 lead and stretched that advantage to 5-2 before being pegged back by Van Duijvenbode, with the Dutchman producing two 13-darters and a cagey 22-dart break of throw to level at five-all.
Another hold of throw followed for Chisnall, who then produced a stunning 135 checkout to go within a leg of victory after Van Duijvenbode had missed two darts at double 16.
Van Duijvenbode responded with an immediate break of throw to trail 7-6, and he looked as if he was going to force a deciding leg, but Chisnall again capitalised on missed darts from his opponent to seal the title on double 14.
“We both struggled there. I was playing alright until I went 5-3 up, and he kept coming back,” reflected Chisnall.
“It’s one of those finals where you have just got to get over the line and that is what I did – but it was probably the worst average I have had all day.
“The 135 there probably won me that game, but I think I got a bit over-excited as I played rubbish after that!”
“This win is massive for me. I know I can beat the best, and I can be one of the best.
“I had a chat with my manager before I came over here. This is a tournament I was considering not turning up to to get more time with the family, but I turned up and won.
“It’s still a great field here, all 128 players can play darts. I knew I needed to dig in after yesterday and I have played really really well today.”
After being crowned 2023 ProTour Player of the Year, Chisnall had endured a difficult start to 2024 but returned to the winner’s circle in style.
He opened up with a deciding leg win over Cameron Menzies before whitewashing Adam Gawlas and overcoming Vincent van der Voort 6-3 to reach the Last 16.
Chizzy then turned on the style to defeat Dom Taylor 6-3 with a sensational 112 average before backing that up with a 102 average in a 6-2 success over Martin Schindler.
The St Helens ace then defied five 180s from Ross Smith to clinch a 7-4 victory in the semi-finals with the aid of a 142 checkout.
Van Duijvenbode enjoyed a welcome run to his first ranking final since last July as he put his recent injury woes behind him to strengthen his quest for World Matchplay qualification.
The Dutchman opened up with a 6-0 whitewash of Mensur Suljovic before thrashing Stefan Bellmont and Ritchie Edhouse 6-1 with averages of 103.5 and 104 respectively.
He then edged out James Wade in a last-leg decider before holding his nerve again to see off Danny Jansen by the same margin.
A third consecutive last-leg shootout followed as Van Duijvenbide denied Daryl Gurney 7-6 with a 97 average to progress to the final.
Meanwhile, Gary Anderson was forced to forfeit his Last 16 tie against Martin Schindler due to a shoulder injury, with the Scotsman calling time on the game with the score at 3-3.
Michael van Gerwen was comfortably beaten by Gurney in the Last 16, while Peter Wright, Joe Cullen, Dimitri van den Bergh and Danny Noppert were among the notable First Round casualties.
Players Championship Six Results
Tuesday March 19
First Round
Martin Lukeman 6-3 Jules van Dongen
Jamie Hughes 6-3 Pascal Rupprecht
Damon Heta 6-5 James Hurrell
Arron Monk 6-5 Adam Warner
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Ronny Huybrechts
Matthew Dennant 6-5 Danny van Trijp
Oskar Lukasiak 6-4 Joe Cullen
Danny Jansen 6-3 Wesley Plaisier
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Thibault Tricole 6-2 Benjamin Drue Reus
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-0 Mensur Suljovic
Stefan Bellmont 6-4 Radek Szaganski
James Wade 6-4 Reece Colley
Daniel Klose 6-4 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Michael Smith 6-5 Nathan Rafferty
Steve Lennon 6-3 Patrick Geeraets
Callan Rydz 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Joshua Richardson 6-5 Tim Wolters
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Owen Bates
John Henderson 6-1 Callum Goffin
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Mervyn King
Kevin Doets 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Scott Williams
Owen Roelofs 6-5 Adam Hunt
Thomas Lovely 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 George Killington
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Madars Razma
Berry van Peer 6-2 Gian van Veen
Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-4 Boris Krcmar
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Jacques Labre
Connor Scutt 6-2 Nick Kenny
Ian White 6-2 Jitse Van der Wal
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Paul Krohne
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Adam Gawlas 6-4 Florian Hempel
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Robert Grundy
Richard Veenstra 6-1 William Borland
Dom Taylor 6-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
Jeffrey De Graaf 6-3 Josh Payne
Lukas Wenig 6-5 Gabriel Clemens
Robbie Knops 6-0 Darren Beveridge
Gary Anderson 6-5 Haupai Puha
Brett Claydon 6-4 Richie Burnett
Martin Schindler 6-5 Graham Hall
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Rhys Griffin
Ryan Searle 6-2 Ricky Evans
Chris Landman 6-5 Stephen Burton
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Romeo Grbavac 6-4 Josh Rock
Leighton Bennett 6-4 Andy Baetens
Chris Dobey 6-5 Jurjen van der Velde
William O’Connor 6-1 Martijn Dragt
Ross Smith 6-0 Keane Barry
Graham Usher 6-4 Alan Soutar
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Mike De Decker
Karel Sedlacek 6-5 Darryl Pilgrim
Steve Beaton 6-3 Danny Noppert
Geert Nentjes 6-4 Lee Evans
Keegan Brown 6-4 Jose De Sousa
Dylan Slevin 6-1 Michele Turetta
Robert Owen 6-5 Peter Wright
Danny Lauby 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Second Round
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Jamie Hughes
Damon Heta 6-2 Arron Monk
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Matthew Dennant
Danny Jansen 6-3 Oskar Lukasiak
Ritchie Edhouse 6-1 Thibault Tricole
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Stefan Bellmont
James Wade 6-1 Daniel Klose
Michael Smith 6-5 Steve Lennon
Callan Rydz 6-3 Joshua Richardson
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 John Henderson
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Kevin Doets
Owen Roelofs 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Thomas Lovely
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Berry van Peer 6-2 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Connor Scutt 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Ian White
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Adam Gawlas
Richard Veenstra 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Dom Taylor 6-5 Jeffrey De Graaf
Robbie Knops 6-3 Lukas Wenig
Gary Anderson 6-3 Brett Claydon
Martin Schindler 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Chris Landman 6-5 Ryan Searle
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Leighton Bennett 6-4 Romeo Grbavac
William O’Connor 6-5 Chris Dobey
Ross Smith 6-0 Graham Usher
Karel Sedlacek 6-2 Ryan Meikle
Steve Beaton 6-2 Geert Nentjes
Dylan Slevin 6-5 Keegan Brown
Danny Lauby 6-5 Robert Owen
Last 32
Damon Heta 6-2 Martin Lukeman
Danny Jansen 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Ritchie Edhouse
James Wade 6-5 Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Callan Rydz
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Owen Roelofs
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Connor Scutt 6-3 Berry van Peer
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Dom Taylor 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Gary Anderson 6-2 Robbie Knops
Martin Schindler 6-3 Chris Landman
Leighton Bennett 6-5 Maik Kuivenhoven
Ross Smith 6-4 William O’Connor
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Steve Beaton
Dylan Slevin 6-3 Danny Lauby
Last 16
Danny Jansen 6-3 Damon Heta
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 James Wade
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Michael van Gerwen
Connor Scutt 6-2 Jonny Clayton
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Dom Taylor
Martin Schindler w/o Gary Anderson
Ross Smith 6-2 Leighton Bennett
Karel Sedlacek 6-2 Dylan Slevin
Quarter-Finals
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Danny Jansen
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Connor Scutt
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Martin Schindler
Ross Smith 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Semi-Finals
Dirk van Duijvenbode 7-6 Daryl Gurney
Dave Chisnall 7-4 Ross Smith
Final
Dave Chisnall 8-6 Dirk van Duijvenbode
