Chris Dobey completes 2025 ProTour title hat-trick at Players Championship 33
Chris Dobey secured his third ProTour title of the season at Players Championship 33 in Wigan with an 8-6 win over William O’Connor in the final.
Dobey followed up his triumphs in February and June to complete a hat-trick on the ProTour in 2025 and clinch a place in next month’s Grand Slam in the process.
The Premier League star reeled off three straight legs from 6-5 down to deny O’Connor in Wednesday’s final and scoop the £15,000 top prize.
“This just goes to show if you stick in, you get the rewards,” said Dobey, who averaged 102.2 across his seven matches.
“I’m buzzing because the Grand Slam is a big tournament. I’ve missed out in two of the last three years, so it’s good to be back.
“I’m happy with my game, I’m consistently playing well and picking up titles on the ProTour, and this is what I wanted a few years ago.
“Now I want to start winning TV titles. I cannot keep playing well on TV and not get anything for it, so I’m just going to dig in and keep believing.
“I want to be back with the top players in the world, playing them week in week out, and if I keep producing darts like this, I shouldn’t be too far away.”
Dobey began his route to glory by thrashing Greg Ritchie 6-1 with a 99.5 average, before overcoming Robert Owen 6-2
The Bedlington ace then embarked on a blistering burst which saw him average 108.7 in defeating Jeffrey De Graaf 6-2, before averaging 107.5 in a 6-3 success over Damon Heta.
That was followed up with a magnificent 111.3 average in a 6-2 quarter-final win over his close friend Nathan Aspinall, before thrashing Wessel Nijman 7-2 in the semi-finals.
The opening two legs of the final were shared in 13 darts, after O’Connor regained the lead, Dobey responded with a 14-darter and a 12-darter to move 3-2 ahead.
O’Connor levelled the contest with a 118 finish in leg six before edging back in front in the seventh, and the duo remained locked level at five apiece before a sensational 151 checkout handed the Irishman a 6-5 advantage.
However, Dobey took out 81 to restore parity before following up a 171 with double 12 to lead 7-6 and duly sealing victory with a 64 finish.
O’Connor overcame Robert Grundy, Michele Turetta and Andy Boulton to kickstart his run to a first Players Championship final since 2019, although he survived a scare in edging out quick-fire Dutchman Chris Landman 6-5 in the Last 16.
The former World Cup finalist then reeled off five consecutive legs from 3-1 down to deny Thibault Tricole in the quarter-finals, which he backed up with a 7-2 rout of Ryan Joyce.
Joyce’s run to the semi-finals featured wins over German duo Gabriel Clemens and Niko Springer, while he also fought back from 4-0 down to overhaul Richard Veenstra in the Last 16.
Nijman also impressed in reaching the semis, overcoming his compatriot Raymond van Barneveld in Round Three, before whitewashing a below-par Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals.
Price still boasts a £10,500 lead at the top of the Players Championship Order of Merit, with only Heta and Ross Smith able to leapfrog the Welshman in tomorrow’s final event.
Heta was one of two players to produce perfection on a high-quality day of action, landing a nine-darter in his opening round tie against George Killington.
That came just moments after Aspinall fired in a nine-darter during his clash against Ian White, having also produced a brace of nine-darters at Players Championship 31 earlier this month.
The PDC ProTour season will conclude with Players Championship 34 on Thursday, as the race to qualify for next month’s Players Championship Finals reaches a dramatic climax.
World number one Luke Humphries is among those aiming to confirm his spot at Butlin’s Minehead Resort, and the reigning champion currently finds himself £1,000 above the provisional qualification cut-off.
Thursday’s action also represents the final opportunity for players to secure World Championship qualification via the ProTour rankings, with the top 40 non-qualified players from the ProTour Order of Merit set to feature in this year’s showpiece at Alexandra Palace.
Players Championship 33 Results
Wednesday October 29
First Round
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Radek Szaganski
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Darren Beveridge
Ritchie Edhouse 6-2 Oskar Lukasiak
Alan Soutar 6-3 Connor Scutt
Niko Springer 6-3 Madars Razma
Jim Long 6-3 Justin Hood
Ryan Joyce 6-1 Scott Williams
Gabriel Clemens 6-1 Brendan Dolan
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Mervyn King
Bradley Brooks 6-2 Darryl Pilgrim
Darius Labanauskas 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Matthew Dennant 6-3 William Borland
Max Hopp 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Cam Crabtree 6-0 Jules van Dongen
Charlie Manby 6-5 Rob Cross
Adam Paxton 6-3 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Lee Cocks 6-5 Martin Schindler
Christian Kist 6-3 Mensur Suljovic
Kevin Doets 6-3 Wesley Plaisier
Chris Landman 6-4 Dominik Gruellich
Adam Warner 6-5 Luke Humphries
Andy Boulton 6-3 Jitse Van der Wal
William O’Connor 6-1 Robert Grundy
Michele Turetta 6-5 Jamai van den Herik
Ross Smith 6-5 Viktor Tingstrom
Nathan Rafferty 6-3 Joe Hunt
Peter Wright 6-3 Stefaan Henderyck
Danny Lauby 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Owen Bates 6-5 Ryan Searle
Thibault Tricole 6-2 Maximilian Czerwinski
Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Callan Rydz
Keane Barry 6-1 Lukas Wenig
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Rhys Griffin
Tom Bissell 6-3 Sebastian Bialecki
Patrick Geeraets 6-3 Michael Smith
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Mike De Decker 6-5 Nick Kenny
Berry van Peer 6-4 Scott Waites
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Ted Evetts
Matt Campbell 6-5 Marvin van Velzen
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Adam Hunt
Martijn Dragt 6-1 Dylan Slevin
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Graham Hall
Steve Lennon 6-4 Jim Williams
Ricky Evans 6-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Florian Hempel 6-3 Ryan Meikle
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Cor Dekker 6-5 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Ian White – *Aspinall hits a nine-darter*
Stephen Burton 6-0 Benjamin Reus
Karel Sedlacek 6-3 Brett Claydon
Adam Lipscombe 6-3 Stefan Bellmont
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Haupai Puha
Dennie Olde Kalter 6-5 Jose De Sousa
Joe Cullen 6-4 Tytus Kanik
David Davies 6-2 Thomas Lovely
Damon Heta 6-5 George Killington *Heta hits a nine-darter*
Leon Weber 6-2 Dom Taylor
Tavis Dudeney 6-3 Ricardo Pietreczko
Mickey Mansell 6-1 Carl Sneyd
Chris Dobey 6-1 Greg Ritchie
Rob Owen 6-3 Andy Baetens
Jeffrey De Graaf 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Joshua Richardson 6-4 James Hurrell
Second Round
Richard Veenstra 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Alan Soutar 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Niko Springer 6-4 Jim Long
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
Cameron Menzies 6-3 Bradley Brooks
Matthew Dennant 6-4 Darius Labanauskas
Cam Crabtree 6-5 Max Hopp
Adam Paxton 6-5 Charlie Manby
Lee Cocks 6-5 Christian Kist
Chris Landman 6-5 Kevin Doets
Andy Boulton 6-4 Adam Warner
William O’Connor 6-3 Michele Turetta
Ross Smith 6-0 Nathan Rafferty
Peter Wright 6-3 Danny Lauby
Thibault Tricole 6-1 Owen Bates
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Keane Barry
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Tom Bissell
Patrick Geeraets 6-5 Maik Kuivenhoven
Mike De Decker 6-2 Berry van Peer
Matt Campbell 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Martijn Dragt
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Steve Lennon
Ricky Evans 6-2 Florian Hempel
Cor Dekker 6-0 Daryl Gurney
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Stephen Burton
Karel Sedlacek 6-5 Adam Lipscombe
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Dennie Olde Kalter
Joe Cullen 6-4 David Davies
Damon Heta 6-0 Leon Weber
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Tavis Dudeney
Chris Dobey 6-2 Rob Owen
Jeffrey De Graaf 6-2 Joshua Richardson
Last 32
Richard Veenstra 6-4 Alan Soutar
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Niko Springer
Cameron Menzies 6-5 Matthew Dennant
Cam Crabtree 6-2 Adam Paxton
Chris Landman 6-3 Lee Cocks
William O’Connor 6-3 Andy Boulton
Peter Wright 6-5 Ross Smith
Thibault Tricole 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Patrick Geeraets
Matt Campbell 6-1 Mike De Decker
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Ricky Evans 6-1 Cor Dekker
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Joe Cullen
Damon Heta 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Chris Dobey 6-2 Jeffrey De Graaf
Last 16
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Richard Veenstra
Cam Crabtree 6-2 Cameron Menzies
William O’Connor 6-5 Chris Landman
Thibault Tricole 6-4 Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Matt Campbell
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Ricky Evans
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
Chris Dobey 6-3 Damon Heta
Quarter-Finals
Ryan Joyce 6-1 Cam Crabtree
William O’Connor 6-3 Thibault Tricole
Wessel Nijman 6-0 Gerwyn Price
Chris Dobey 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Semi-Finals
William O’Connor 7-2 Ryan Joyce
Chris Dobey 7-2 Wessel Nijman
Final
Chris Dobey 8-6 William O’Connor
