Gary Anderson returns to the winner’s circle at Players Championship One
Gary Anderson ended an 18-month wait for a PDC ranking title by defeating Jeff Smith 8-4 to claim glory in the first Players Championship event of the season in Barnsley.
Anderson, whose last ranking triumph came at the 2018 World Matchplay, continued his red hot resurgence by securing the £10,000 top prize on Saturday.
The two-time World Champion marked his Premier League return with victory over Daryl Gurney in Aberdeen and continued his winning form by registering four ton-plus averages en route to the title.
“It’s been a while since I won something, but I’ve got the hunger back,” admitted Anderson.
“I want to get back to how I was throwing before [injury], I don’t mind if I win or lose, but as long as I throw them how I used to then I’ll be alright.
“I still have work to do, but it’s not a bad start.”
Anderson, whose 2019 campaign was plagued by injury, began the day by averaging 107.5 in a 6-3 win over Germany’s Christian Bunse.
After a 6-1 rout of Simon Whitlock, a 104.4 average saw Anderson defeat rival Gerwyn Price for the second time in a week, which he followed up with a 106.1 to overcome Rob Cross 6-2 and reach the Quarter-Finals.
There, the Scottish World Cup winner overcame Joe Cullen 6-2 before averaging 102.2 in defeating Adrian Lewis 7-3 in the Semi-Finals.
The final saw Anderson race into a 6-2 lead before Smith, who was competing in his first Players Championship event since 2013, fought back to trail 6-4.
However, two-time World Champion Anderson was not to be denied and went on to win the next two legs for victory.
Canadian ace Smith enjoyed a superb run to his first PDC ranking final just over a fortnight after coming through Qualifying School to regain a Tour Card.
The former Lakeside finalist began by edging out Dave Chisnall in a deciding leg before defeating Reece Robinson, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Nathan Aspinall.
In the Quarter-Finals, the former North American champion held his nerve to edge past World Champion Peter Wright 6-5 before thrashing Brendan Dolan 7-2 in the Semi-Finals.
Dolan began his run to the Last Four with a 6-2 win over four-time Ladies World Champion Lisa Ashton – who was one of a number of debutants to have come through the recent Q School.
Dolan went on to defeat world number one Michael van Gerwen 6-4 in the Last 32.
Dutch ace Maik Kuivenhoven enjoyed a fine run to his first ranking Quarter-Final, while Steve Brown defeated James Wade on the way to reaching the Last 16 on his ProTour return.
The first of 30 Players Championship events in 2020 saw two nine-dart finishes hit, both in the First Round, by Mickey Mansell and Mike van Duivenbode.
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Players Championship One Results
Saturday February 8
First Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Scott Mitchell
Damon Heta 6-3 Geert Nentjes
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Lisa Ashton
John Michael 6-4 Yordi Meeuwisse
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Ross Smith 6-2 Devon Petersen
Jamie Hughes 6-5 William O’Connor
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Jelle Klaasen
Simon Stevenson 6-3 Mensur Suljovic
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-3 Jonathan Worsley
Mike van Duivenbode 6-5 Chris Dobey – *van Duivenbode hits nine-darter*
Darren Penhall 6-5 Steve West
Steve Brown 6-5 James Wade
Alan Tabern 6-2 James Wilson
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Luke Humphries
Ciaran Teehan 6-3 Justin Pipe
Peter Wright 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Gary Blades 6-3 Peter Jacques
John Henderson 6-3 Jesus Noguera
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Michael Barnard
Daniel Larsson 6-1 Jonny Clayton
Conan Whitehead 6-4 Toni Alcinas
Martijn Kleermaker 6-3 Jose De Sousa
Matthew Edgar 6-1 Martin Atkins
Jeff Smith 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Reece Robinson 6-5 Max Hopp
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Vincent van der Voort
Ted Evetts 6-3 Bradley Brooks
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Krzysztof Kciuk
Richard North 6-1 Harald Leitinger
Keegan Brown 6-1 Steve Lennon
Wayne Jones 6-3 Joe Murnan
Darren Webster 6-4 Ian White
Scott Waites 6-3 Jan Dekker
Mervyn King 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Karel Sedlacek 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Adrian Lewis 6-0 Kai Fan Leung
Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Boris Krcmar
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-5 Carl Wilkinson
Derk Telnekes 6-5 Martin Schindler
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Scott Baker
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Nathan Derry – *Mansell hits nine-darter*
Danny Noppert 6-4 Ryan Murray
Adam Hunt 6-4 Andy Boulton
Glen Durrant 6-4 David Pallett
Wesley Harms 6-4 Jamie Lewis
Steve Beaton 6-5 Vincent Van der Meer
Ryan Searle 6-3 Gavin Carlin
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Jason Lowe
Adrian Gray 6-4 Mark McGeeney
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Andy Hamilton
Gary Anderson 6-3 Christian Bunse
Rob Cross 6-5 Mike De Decker
Barrie Bates 6-3 Steffen Siepmann
Michael Smith 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Robert Thornton 6-3 Harry Ward
Josh Payne 6-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
Nick Kenny 6-3 Kirk Shepherd
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
William Borland 6-0 Marko Kantele
Joe Cullen 6-1 Aaron Beeney
Matt Clark 6-5 Callan Rydz
Ricky Evans 6-3 Benito van de Pas
Darius Labanauskas 6-5 Madars Razma
Second Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Damon Heta
Brendan Dolan 6-0 John Michael
Ross Smith 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jamie Hughes 6-4 Ron Meulenkamp
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-3 Simon Stevenson
Mike van Duivenbode 6-5 Darren Penhall
Steve Brown 6-5 Alan Tabern
Ciaran Teehan 6-2 Stephen Bunting
Peter Wright 6-0 Gary Blades
John Henderson 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Conan Whitehead 6-0 Daniel Larsson
Martijn Kleermaker 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Jeff Smith 6-3 Reece Robinson
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Ted Evetts
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Richard North
Wayne Jones 6-1 Keegan Brown
Darren Webster 6-1 Scott Waites
Karel Sedlacek 6-1 Mervyn King
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
Derk Telnekes 6-5 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Mickey Mansell 6-1 Daryl Gurney
Adam Hunt 6-2 Danny Noppert
Glen Durrant 6-4 Wesley Harms
Steve Beaton 6-1 Ryan Searle
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Adrian Gray
Gary Anderson 6-1 Simon Whitlock
Rob Cross 6-0 Barrie Bates
Michael Smith 6-0 Robert Thornton
Nick Kenny 6-4 Josh Payne
Ryan Meikle 6-4 William Borland
Joe Cullen 6-1 Matt Clark
Darius Labanauskas 6-5 Ricky Evans
Losers: £500
Last 32
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Ross Smith 6-5 Jamie Hughes
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-2 Mike van Duivenbode
Steve Brown 6-5 Ciaran Teehan
Peter Wright 6-4 John Henderson
Conan Whitehead 6-5 Martijn Kleermaker
Jeff Smith 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Wayne Jones
Darren Webster 6-4 Karel Sedlacek
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Derk Telnekes
Mickey Mansell 6-1 Adam Hunt
Steve Beaton 6-5 Glen Durrant
Gary Anderson 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Rob Cross 6-5 Michael Smith
Nick Kenny 6-3 Ryan Meikle
Joe Cullen 6-4 Darius Labanauskas
Losers: £1,000
Last 16
Brendan Dolan 6-5 Ross Smith
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-3 Steve Brown
Peter Wright 6-3 Conan Whitehead
Jeff Smith 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Darren Webster
Steve Beaton 6-1 Mickey Mansell
Gary Anderson 6-2 Rob Cross
Joe Cullen 6-1 Nick Kenny
Losers: £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven
Jeff Smith 6-5 Peter Wright
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Steve Beaton
Gary Anderson 6-2 Joe Cullen
Losers: £2,250
Semi-Finals
Jeff Smith 7-2 Brendan Dolan
Gary Anderson 7-3 Adrian Lewis
Losers: £3,000
Final
Gary Anderson 8-4 Jeff Smith
Winner: £10,000
Runner-up: £6,000
