Aspinall secures second ranking title of the season at Players Championship Seven
Nathan Aspinall claimed his second PDC ranking title of 2020 at Players Championship Seven with an 8-4 victory over Brendan Dolan in the final in Barnsley on Saturday.
The world number seven, who triumphed at Players Championship Two last month, continued his blistering run of form to reel off six consecutive legs and overpower Dolan in the final.
Dolan looked to be heading for his third ranking title since last August as he forged a 4-2 lead, but only for ‘The Asp’ to produce a stunning surge to seal the £10,000 title.
“I played steady at times and not so well at others but I’m really happy,” admitted Aspinall.
“I’m full of confidence and was determined to have a good run this weekend.
“I know what I can produce and I know how good I am and there is no reason why I can’t win more titles.
“The other half is booking our wedding soon so I need the money!”
Aspinall began his run by defeating Alan Tabern 6-3 before dispatching Geert Nentjes 6-4 and averaging 104.3 in a 6-3 defeat of Chris Dobey.
The 2019 UK Open champion then averaged 102.6 in seeing off Vincent van der Voort 6-2 before thrashing a below-par Michael van Gerwen 6-1 in the Quarter-Finals with a 93.2 average to the Dutchman’s 87.
The Stockport star raised his game considerably in the Semi-Finals, averaging 105.5 in a commanding 7-3 win over Danny Noppert – who averaged 103 in a high quality contest.
Aspinall took the opening leg of the final before Dolan responded with three in a row and maintained a two-leg cushion at 4-2.
Aspinall held throw in leg seven before following up a 180 with a magnificent 136 checkout to break and level the match.
A third 180 and a 90 checkout handed ‘The Asp’ the lead, and after Dolan missed three darts at doubles, Aspinall landed double two to make it 6-4.
Aspinall continued the turnaround by clinching leg 11 before converting a blocked double ten to wrap up victory.
Dolan began the day by averaging 107 in a 6-4 win over Adrian Gray and went on to defeat the likes of Dave Chisnall and James Wade en route to the final, landing checkouts of 170 and 146 against the latter.
Elsewhere, Derk Telnekes reached his first Quarter-Final since joining the PDC in January, notably thrashing World Champion Peter Wright 6-1 in the Last 16 before bowing out to Dolan in a deciding leg.
Wade reached his first Semi-Final of the season with four consecutive ton-plus averages along the way in wins over Mickey Mansell, Andrew Gilding, Glen Durrant and Ian White.
Sunday sees the 128-man field return to action for Players Championship Eight, with Krzysztof Ratajski withdrawing from the event in order to return to Poland due to travel restrictions.
CLICK HERE FOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP EIGHT ODDS (18+)
Players Championship Seven 2020 Results
Saturday March 14
First Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Damon Heta
Brian Raman 6-4 Steve West
John Henderson 6-5 Scott Baker
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Ross Smith
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Darren Penhall
Scott Waites 6-1 Joe Murnan
Toni Alcinas 6-5 Steve Beaton
Vincent Van der Meer 6-5 Andy Boulton
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Alan Tabern
Geert Nentjes 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Chris Dobey 6-3 David Pallett
Conan Whitehead 6-3 Barrie Bates
Martijn Kleermaker 6-1 Joe Cullen
Wesley Harms 6-3 Gary Blades
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Steve Lennon
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Callan Rydz
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Jan Dekker
Robert Collins 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Jesus Noguera 6-4 Justin Pipe
William Borland 6-5 Darren Webster
Michael Smith 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Benito van de Pas 6-4 Maik Kuivenhoven
Keegan Brown 6-1 Darius Labanauskas
Luke Humphries 6-2 Mark McGeeney
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Wayne Jones
Steffen Siepmann 6-5 Mike van Duivenbode
Jason Lowe 6-2 Mervyn King
Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Stu Wilson
Rob Cross 6-2 Peter Jacques
Nick Kenny 6-1 Jitse Van der Wal
Danny Noppert 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Ted Evetts 6-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Ian White 6-2 Jeff Smith
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Josh Payne
William O’Connor 6-5 Graham Usher
Mike De Decker 6-3 Aaron Beeney
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-0 Carl Wilkinson
Simon Stevenson 6-2 James Hubbard
Devon Petersen 6-2 Jose De Sousa
Kai Fan Leung 6-3 James Wilson
James Wade 6-3 Reece Robinson
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Jonathan Worsley
Lisa Ashton 6-2 Gabriel Clemens
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Harry Ward
Glen Durrant 6-4 Scott Mitchell
Robert Thornton 6-4 Ryan Joyce
Madars Razma 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Adam Huckvale 6-1 Gavin Carlin
Peter Wright 6-3 Nathan Derry
Arjan Konterman 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Eddie Lovely 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Adam Hunt 6-4 Marko Kantele
Scott Taylor 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Derk Telnekes 6-0 Michael Barnard
Gary Anderson 6-0 Stephen Bunting
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-5 Bradley Brooks
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Steve Brown
Richard North 6-3 Martin Schindler
Ricky Evans 6-4 Ryan Murray
Ryan Meikle 6-4 Andy Hamilton
Jamie Hughes 6-4 Ryan Searle
Ciaran Teehan 6-3 Christian Bunse
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Adrian Gray
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 Krzysztof Kciuk
Second Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Brian Raman
John Henderson 6-4 Jelle Klaasen
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Scott Waites
Vincent Van der Meer 6-0 Toni Alcinas
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Geert Nentjes
Chris Dobey 6-5 Conan Whitehead
Martijn Kleermaker 6-2 Wesley Harms
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Kyle Anderson
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Robert Collins
William Borland 6-4 Jesus Noguera
Michael Smith 6-5 Benito van de Pas
Luke Humphries 6-3 Keegan Brown
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Steffen Siepmann
Jason Lowe 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Rob Cross 6-1 Nick Kenny
Danny Noppert 6-5 Ted Evetts
Ian White 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
William O’Connor 6-5 Mike De Decker
Simon Stevenson 6-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Kai Fan Leung 6-4 Devon Petersen
James Wade 6-0 Mickey Mansell
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Lisa Ashton
Glen Durrant 6-5 Robert Thornton
Madars Razma 6-2 Adam Huckvale
Peter Wright 6-2 Arjan Konterman
Eddie Lovely 6-4 Adam Hunt
Derk Telnekes 6-4 Scott Taylor
Gary Anderson 6-4 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Richard North
Ricky Evans 6-5 Ryan Meikle
Ciaran Teehan 6-3 Jamie Hughes
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Losers: £500
Last 32
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 John Henderson
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Vincent Van der Meer
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Chris Dobey
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Martijn Kleermaker
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 William Borland
Luke Humphries 6-3 Michael Smith
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Jason Lowe
Danny Noppert 6-5 Rob Cross
Ian White 6-3 William O’Connor
Kai Fan Leung 6-5 Simon Stevenson
James Wade 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Glen Durrant 6-4 Madars Razma
Peter Wright 6-2 Eddie Lovely
Derk Telnekes 6-3 Gary Anderson
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Ricky Evans
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Ciaran Teehan
Losers: £1,000
Last 16
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Vincent van der Voort
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Luke Humphries
Danny Noppert 6-0 Daryl Gurney
Ian White 6-1 Kai Fan Leung
James Wade 6-2 Glen Durrant
Derk Telnekes 6-1 Peter Wright
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Losers: £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Michael van Gerwen
Danny Noppert 6-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
James Wade 6-5 Ian White
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Derk Telnekes
Losers: £2,250
Semi-Finals
Nathan Aspinall 7-3 Danny Noppert
Brendan Dolan 7-1 James Wade
Losers: £3,000
Final
Nathan Aspinall 8-4 Brendan Dolan
Winner: £10,000
Runner-up: £6,000
