Stephen Bunting ends ProTour title drought at Players Championship 18
Stephen Bunting ended a four-year wait for a Players Championship title with victory over Jermaine Wattimena at Event 18 in Leicester on Wednesday.
Having finished runner-up in six Players Championship events last year, Bunting finally went one better to return to the winner’s circle at the Mattioli Arena.
Bunting, who has claimed World Series titles in Bahrain and Copenhagen this year and also lifted a maiden European Tour title at the International Darts Open, added to his tally in Leicester to continue his superb season to date.
The world number four registered six ton-plus averages en route to the £15,000 top prize, following up a 6-2 demolition of William Borland in Round One with successive 6-3 wins over Ian White and European Champion Ritchie Edhouse.
His best display of the day saw him average 106.4 in his Last 16 success over Alan Soutar, before edging out Czech number one Karel Sedlacek in a quarter-final decider.
Bunting then came through another tense decider in the semi-finals, firing in a 12-darter to deny top seed Dave Chisnall – who landed a brace of 180s in the deciding leg.
The final saw Wattimena draw first blood, but Bunting quickly assumed command with a five-leg burst – featuring checkouts of 164 and 156 – to coast 5-1 ahead.
Wattimena responded by winning four of the next five legs to threaten an unlikely comeback, but only for Bunting to conjure up a timely 11-darter to seal his third Players Championship title and a first since 2021.
“I think I’ve only had two averages under 100 over the last two days, so I’m really pleased,” said Bunting.
“When you lose in finals you’ve got to learn from it. I’ve had some tough games today, so that resilience is something I can be really proud of.
“I really enjoyed the Premier League this year. I’ve won on the European Tour and I’ve played well on the World Series circuit, so I came into this week with massive confidence, especially after winning in Copenhagen.
“I’m so happy that my consistency is there. I’m playing with a smile on my face, and when I’ve got a smile on my face, I’m dangerous!”
Despite missing out on a maiden PDC ranking title, Wattimena’s exploits in Leicester have all but clinched his qualification for next month’s World Matchplay.
The Dutchman began his campaign with a 105 average in a 6-4 win over Darryl Pilgrim, and after sweeping aside Challenge Tour top-up Carl Sneyd, he defied a 102 average from newly crowned World Cup of Darts champion Josh Rock to prevail 6-5 and book his place in the Last 16.
The 2024 European Championship runner-up came then battled through last-leg shootouts against Ryan Searle, Mike De Decker and Niels Zonneveld to clinch a place in the final.
Zonneveld also impressed in his run to the semi-finals, overcoming German number one Martin Schindler and ten-time TV title winner James Wade to progress to his second Players Championship semi-final of the year.
The left-hander succumbed at the same stage as St Helens star Chisnall – who bounced back from his opening round defeat on Tuesday with wins over Martin Lukeman, Mervyn King and Cam Crabtree in the latter stages.
Crabtree enjoyed his best run in a senior ranking tournament since July 2024, advancing to the quarter-finals alongside Sedlacek, World Grand Prix champion De Decker and Danish number one Benjamin Reus.
Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright and Tuesday’s runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode were among the notable first round casualties.
Players Championship 18 Results
Tuesday June 17
First Round
Martin Lukeman 6-5 Matthew Dennant
Kevin Doets 6-4 Chris Landman
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Christian Kist
Brett Claydon 6-3 George Killington
Thibault Tricole 6-4 Peter Wright
Wesley Plaisier 6-4 Maik Kuivenhoven
Mervyn King 6-2 Gerwyn Price
Justin Hood 6-4 Connor Scutt
Callan Rydz 6-1 Ryan Joyce
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Jeffrey De Graaf
Chris Dobey 6-3 Haupai Puha
Ted Evetts 6-4 Danny Lauby
Michael Smith 6-1 Berry van Peer
James Hurrell 6-4 Thomas Lovely
Jose De Sousa 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Cam Crabtree 6-2 Stefaan Henderyck
Ritchie Edhouse 6-3 Bradley Brooks
Robert Grundy 6-4 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Stephen Bunting 6-2 William Borland
Ian White 6-2 Radek Szaganski
Andrew Gilding 6-0 Dylan Slevin
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-1 Adam Paxton
Adam Hunt 6-5 Gary Anderson
Alan Soutar 6-2 Andy Boulton
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-3 Matt Campbell
Adam Lipscombe 6-3 Danny van Trijp
Damon Heta 6-4 Richard Veenstra
Keane Barry 6-4 Scott Campbell
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Stephen Burton 6-5 William O’Connor
Karel Sedlacek 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Viktor Tingstrom 6-3 Rob Owen
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Maximilian Czerwinski
Ricky Evans 6-3 Lukas Wenig
Martin Schindler 6-1 Jim Williams
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Tytus Kanik
James Wade 6-5 Pero Ljubic
Madars Razma 6-4 Steve Lennon
Ryan Meikle 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Niko Springer 6-4 Tom Bissell
Joe Cullen 6-3 Scott Williams
Jitse Van der Wal 6-3 Jim Long
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Tavis Dudeney
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Dennie Olde Kalter
Darren Beveridge 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Benjamin Reus 6-3 Florian Hempel
Gian van Veen 6-4 Andy Baetens
Gabriel Clemens 6-5 Kai Gotthardt
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Graham Hall
Adam Warner 6-1 Greg Ritchie
Ross Smith 6-3 Cor Dekker
Max Hopp 6-3 Dominik Gruellich
Danny Noppert 6-1 Jelle Klaasen
Owen Bates 6-3 Oskar Lukasiak
Mike De Decker 6-0 Stefan Bellmont
Rhys Griffin 6-5 Sebastian Bialecki
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Darryl Pilgrim
Carl Sneyd 6-3 Dom Taylor
Josh Rock 6-3 Jack Tweddell
Marvin van Velzen 6-5 Joshua Richardson
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Nick Kenny
Martijn Dragt 6-3 Brendan Dolan
Ryan Searle 6-0 Darius Labanauskas
Nathan Rafferty 6-3 Leon Weber
Second Round
Martin Lukeman 6-3 Kevin Doets
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Brett Claydon
Wesley Plaisier 6-4 Thibault Tricole
Mervyn King 6-3 Justin Hood
Callan Rydz 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Chris Dobey 6-3 Ted Evetts
James Hurrell 6-5 Michael Smith
Cam Crabtree 6-5 Jose De Sousa
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 Robert Grundy
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Ian White
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Alan Soutar 6-4 Adam Hunt
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Adam Lipscombe
Damon Heta 6-3 Keane Barry
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Stephen Burton
Karel Sedlacek 6-1 Viktor Tingstrom
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Ricky Evans
Martin Schindler 6-3 Mensur Suljovic
James Wade 6-3 Madars Razma
Ryan Meikle 6-4 Niko Springer
Jitse Van der Wal 6-2 Joe Cullen
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Mickey Mansell
Benjamin Reus 6-5 Darren Beveridge
Gian van Veen 6-2 Gabriel Clemens
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Adam Warner
Ross Smith 6-4 Max Hopp
Danny Noppert 6-4 Owen Bates
Mike De Decker 6-3 Rhys Griffin
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Carl Sneyd
Josh Rock 6-1 Marvin van Velzen
Martijn Dragt 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Ryan Searle 6-5 Nathan Rafferty
Last 32
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Martin Lukeman
Mervyn King 6-5 Wesley Plaisier
Callan Rydz 6-1 Chris Dobey
Cam Crabtree 6-2 James Hurrell
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse
Alan Soutar 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Damon Heta 6-3 Ricardo Pietreczko
Karel Sedlacek 6-0 Daryl Gurney
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Martin Schindler
James Wade 6-4 Ryan Meikle
Jonny Clayton 6-2 Jitse Van der Wal
Benjamin Reus 6-4 Gian van Veen
Ross Smith 6-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
Mike De Decker 6-1 Danny Noppert
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Josh Rock
Ryan Searle 6-1 Martijn Dragt
Last 16
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Mervyn King
Cam Crabtree 6-3 Callan Rydz
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Alan Soutar
Karel Sedlacek 6-2 Damon Heta
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 James Wade
Benjamin Reus 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Mike De Decker 6-0 Ross Smith
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Ryan Searle
Quarter-Finals
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Cam Crabtree
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Karel Sedlacek
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Benjamin Reus
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Mike De Decker
Semi-Finals
Stephen Bunting 7-6 Dave Chisnall
Jermaine Wattimena 7-6 Niels Zonneveld
Finals
Stephen Bunting 8-5 Jermaine Wattimena
