Dirk van Duijvenbode storms to Players Championship 18 title
Dirk van Duijvenbode secured his third career title at Players Championship 18 in Barnsley, whitewashing Gabriel Clemens 8-0 in the final.
Players Championship 12 winner in April, Van Duijvenbode continued his blistering spell of form by clinching the £12,000 top prize at the Barnsley Metrodome on Friday.
The Dutch star was in sensational form throughout the event, averaging above 100 in five of his seven victories and sealing victory with a ruthless whitewash of Clemens.
In the first meeting between the pair, Van Duijvenbode asserted his dominance from the off, securing the opening leg with an 11-darter.
He then raced into a 3-0 lead with Clemens yet to be afforded a dart at double, before the German eventually missed one in the fourth leg as Van Duijvenbode broke and moved halfway towards victory.
A clinical 122 checkout moved Van Duijvenbode into a 6-0 lead, before he wrapped up the remaining two legs to seal an emphatic triumph.
“The top three at the moment are not in the best form they have ever been, and so the rest start fancying their chances,” said the world number 14.
“Luke Humphries has won loads of titles recently and I can do it too. I beat him today, and I have gone on to win the title.
“If you want to beat me now, you have to play well.”
With little over a week to go until the Betfred World Matchplay, the success marks the perfect preparation for Van Duijvenbode, and the 30-year-old now believes he has the experience to go on to lift the Phil Taylor Trophy in Blackpool.
“In all the other interviews I would have said no, but now I think I am capable [of winning the World Matchplay],” he added.
“I think the PDC is a great road to becoming a top player. You play in events like this, and then you go to European Tours with the cameras and crowd and start winning there, and then it’s a small step to the big stage.
“I used to be bothered by those sort of things, but the experience now means I am used to it and now I am here as a winner.”
Van Duijvenbode’s run to the title began with a 6-1 win over Connor Scutt, before he claimed deciding leg victories over Ritchie Edhouse and Chris Dobey – with both players missing match darts.
He then posted a 107 average in defeating World Champion Peter Wright 6-4, before following up with a 105 average and four ton-plus finishes in seeing off Humphries 6-2 in the Quarter-Finals.
Another ton-plus average followed as he denied Adrian Lewis 7-4 in the Semi-Finals, with the two-time World Champion’s run ensuring him a safety net from the chasing pack in the race for World Matchplay qualification.
Clemens’ defeat marks his sixth final loss in succession and extends his wait for a maiden PDC ranking title.
He started the day in electric form, seeing off Adam Hunt and Gordon Mathers without dropping a leg and averaging 114 against the latter.
The power scoring continued as he averaged 104.8 in dispatching Dutch youngster Geert Nentjes 6-4.
Comfortable victories followed over Ryan Meikle and Daryl Gurney as the German reached the Last Four – where he squeezed past Nathan Aspinall 7-6.
Elsewhere, it was a birthday to remember for Dimitri van den Bergh as he pinned an incredible nine-dart finish against Ryan Meikle in the Third Round, only to come out on the losing end.
Andrew Gilding also produced some breath-taking early displays, averaging 118.33 – the highest of the day – in victory over Brett Claydon, before backing this up with a 111.52 average as he saw off Berry van Peer during a run to the Quarter-Finals.
Rowby-John Rodriguez’ run to the Last 32 sees him climb above Ross Smith and into the final provisional qualification place for the World Matchplay by virtue of the countback rule.
The 128-player field will return to action on Saturday for the second of four consecutive ProTour events.
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Players Championship 18 Results
Friday July 8
First Round
Luke Humphries 6-3 Jamie Clark
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Jason Heaver
Rowby Rodriguez 6-4 Jules van Dongen
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-4 Stephen Burton
Martin Schindler 6-5 Ryan Joyce
Scott Mitchell 6-4 Jason Lowe
Steve West 6-3 Callan Rydz
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Martijn Kleermaker
Peter Wright 6-2 Ross Montgomery
Joe Murnan 6-4 Steve Lennon
Ian White 6-4 Brendan Dolan
William O’Connor 6-3 Danny Baggish
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Connor Scutt
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 Jim Williams
Chris Dobey 6-1 Glen Durrant
Devon Petersen 6-4 Steve Beaton
Scott Waites 6-3 Rob Cross
Danny van Trijp 6-3 Kevin Burness
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Keane Barry
Luc Peters 6-5 Radek Szaganski
Danny Noppert 6-4 Boris Krcmar
Mickey Mansell 6-4 Vladimir Andersen
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Lewy Williams
Karel Sedlacek 6-1 Alan Soutar
Damon Heta 6-2 Darius Labanauskas
Mike De Decker 6-3 Danny Jansen
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Brett Claydon
Berry van Peer 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Jose de Sousa 6-3 Jeff Smith
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Eddie Lovely
James Wade 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Matt Campbell 6-1 James Wilson
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Boris Koltsov
Cameron Menzies 6-5 Shaun Wilkinson
Jamie Hughes 6-2 Ricky Evans
John Henderson 6-2 Geert De Vos
Brian Raman 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-0 Maik Kuivenhoven
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Jimmy Hendriks
Stu Wilson 6-4 Max Hopp
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Jake Jones
Darren Webster 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Madars Razma 6-2 Gary Anderson
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-4 Adam Gawlas
Joe Cullen 6-1 Kevin Doets
Richie Burnett 6-3 Tony Martinez
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 John O’Shea
Scott Williams 6-2 Ted Evetts
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Michael Smith
Andy Boulton 6-4 David Evans
Ross Smith 6-4 Jack Main
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-3 George Killington
Jon Worsley 6-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Bradley Brooks
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Nathan Rafferty
Peter Hudson 6-4 William Borland
Ryan Searle 6-5 Josh Rock
Geert Nentjes 6-4 John Brown
Gabriel Clemens 6-0 Adam Hunt
Gordon Mathers 6-5 Keegan Brown
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Jose Justicia
Florian Hempel 6-0 Damian Mol
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Rusty Rodriguez
Ryan Meikle 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Second Round
Luke Humphries 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Rowby Rodriguez 6-2 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Scott Mitchell 6-3 Martin Schindler
Steve West 6-5 Ron Meulenkamp
Peter Wright 6-3 Joe Murnan
Ian White 6-5 William O’Connor
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Ritchie Edhouse
Chris Dobey 6-2 Devon Petersen
Danny van Trijp 6-5 Scott Waites
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Luc Peters
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Danny Noppert
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Karel Sedlacek
Damon Heta 6-1 Mike De Decker
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Berry van Peer
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Jose de Sousa
James Wade 6-5 Matt Campbell
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Gerwyn Price
Jamie Hughes 6-4 John Henderson
Brian Raman 6-2 Krzysztof Kciuk
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Stu Wilson
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Darren Webster
Madars Razma 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Joe Cullen 6-3 Richie Burnett
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Scott Williams
Andy Boulton 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-3 Ross Smith
Jon Worsley 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Peter Hudson
Geert Nentjes 6-4 Ryan Searle
Gabriel Clemens 6-0 Gordon Mathers
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Florian Hempel
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Martin Lukeman
Losers: £750
Last 32
Luke Humphries 6-1 Rowby Rodriguez
Scott Mitchell 6-3 Steve West
Peter Wright 6-3 Ian White
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 Chris Dobey
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Danny van Trijp
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Damon Heta
James Wade 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Jamie Hughes
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Brian Raman
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Madars Razma
Joe Cullen 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-1 Andy Boulton
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Jon Worsley
Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Geert Nentjes
Ryan Meikle 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh – *Van den Bergh hits a nine-darter*
Losers: £1,250
Last 16
Luke Humphries 6-4 Scott Mitchell
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Peter Wright
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Andrew Gilding 6-5 James Wade
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Cameron Menzies
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Joe Cullen
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Gabriel Clemens 6-2 Ryan Meikle
Losers: £2,000
Quarter-Finals
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Luke Humphries
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Andrew Gilding
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Losers: £3,000
Semi-Finals
Dirk van Duijvenbode 7-6 Adrian Lewis
Gabriel Clemens 7-6 Nathan Aspinall
Losers: £4,000
Final
Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-0 Gabriel Clemens
Winner: £12,000
Runner-up: £8,000
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