De Sousa makes history with maiden Players Championship triumph
Portugal’s De Sousa celebrates (credit:PDC Europe)
Jose De Sousa made history by becoming the first Portuguese player to win a PDC ranking tournament as he triumphed at Players Championship 23 in Barnsley on Tuesday.
De Sousa, who won a PDC Tour Card for the first time at Qualifying School in January, produced a string of superb displays to reach his second ProTour final in the space of just three months.
The 45-year-old secured the £10,000 title in style by thrashing Grand Slam champion Gerwyn Price 8-1 in the final, and admitted: “This is a dream for me, I am so, so happy.
“I have fought for 25 years to come here and at last I can do this. It’s amazing for me to play against the best players in the world and prove I can play just like them.
“This is an incentive for me to continue my work and I think I can beat everybody if I continue to play this way.”
De Sousa’s day began with a 102.5 average in a 6-4 win over Nathan Rafferty, before victories over Steve Beaton, Ryan Meikle and John Henderson followed.
The former soft-tip star then survived match darts from Jermaine Wattimena before edging through in a deciding leg, and he followed up with a convincing 7-3 triumph over Peter Wright in the Semi-Finals.
A one-sided final saw De Sousa average 95.7 to Price’s 84.8 as the Welshman struggled to find the form which saw him defeat Rob Cross, Adrian Lewis and Glen Durrant along the way.
The victory bolsters De Sousa’s hopes of a debut appearance in next month’s World Grand Prix with just four events remaining before the cut-off.
Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis enjoyed a resurgent run to the Semi-Finals, while Wright edged out Michael van Gerwen 6-5 in the Quarter-Finals.
Players Championship 23 Results
Tuesday September 10
First Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Boris Koltsov
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Steve Lennon
Darren Webster 6-1 Joe Murnan
Justin Pipe 6-2 Ryan Joyce
Luke Humphries 6-4 Ricky Evans
Bradley Brooks 6-2 Marko Kantele
Mark Webster 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Peter Wright 6-2 Stephen Burton
Gary Anderson 6-1 Toni Alcinas
Adam Hunt 6-5 Keegan Brown
Madars Razma 6-3 Wayne Jones
Ross Smith 6-3 Joe Cullen
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Jose Justicia
Danny Noppert 6-1 Peter Hudson
Mickey Mansell 6-2 Jan Dekker
James Wade 6-4 Jonathan Worsley
William O’Connor 6-3 Arron Monk
John Henderson 6-2 Terry Temple
Mark Dudbridge 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Ryan Meikle 6-2 Ted Evetts
Steve Beaton 6-1 Mark Wilson
Jose De Sousa 6-4 Nathan Rafferty
Josh Payne 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Reece Robinson 6-5 Ryan Searle
Mervyn King 6-4 Mike van Duivenbode
Mark McGeeney 6-3 Gavin Carlin
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Nathan Derry
Richard North 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Zoran Lerchbacher
James Wilson 6-3 Yordi Meeuwisse
Ian White 6-2 Adrian Gray
Kirk Shepherd 6-4 Kevin Burness
Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Carl Wilkinson
Kyle Anderson 6-3 Callan Rydz
Michael Smith 6-2 Cristo Reyes
Ron Meulenkamp 6-2 Andy Jenkins
Martin Schindler 6-3 Jamie Hughes
Alan Norris 6-5 Harry Ward
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Cody Harris 6-5 Robert Thornton
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Christian Bunse
David Pallett 6-3 Matt Clark
Adrian Lewis 6-4 George Killington
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Andy Boulton
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
James Richardson 6-4 Benito van de Pas
Steve West 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Simon Stevenson 6-2 Mario Robbe
Max Hopp 6-5 Devon Petersen
Scott Baker 6-0 Gary Eastwood
Glen Durrant 6-3 Christian Kist
Robert Owen 6-5 Conan Whitehead
Chris Dobey 6-2 Ryan Harrington
Berry van Peer 6-1 Tony Newell
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Barrie Bates
Davy Van Baelen 6-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2 Vincent Van der Meer
Jamie Lewis 6-4 Tytus Kanik
Rob Cross 6-1 Alan Tabern
Michael Barnard 6-4 Geert Nentjes
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-2 Eddie Dootson
Ritchie Edhouse 6-1 Ronny Huybrechts
Last 64
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Justin Pipe 6-3 Darren Webster
Luke Humphries 6-3 Bradley Brooks
Mark Webster 6-2 Maik Kuivenhoven
Peter Wright 6-3 Gary Anderson
Madars Razma 6-3 Adam Hunt
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Ross Smith
Danny Noppert 6-3 Mickey Mansell
James Wade 6-4 William O’Connor
John Henderson 6-4 Mark Dudbridge
Ryan Meikle 6-2 Jonny Clayton
Jose De Sousa 6-1 Steve Beaton
Josh Payne 6-5 Reece Robinson
Mervyn King 6-4 Mark McGeeney
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Richard North
James Wilson 6-2 Stephen Bunting
Ian White 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Kyle Anderson 6-5 Gabriel Clemens
Ron Meulenkamp 6-4 Michael Smith
Martin Schindler 6-5 Alan Norris
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Cody Harris
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 David Pallett
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
James Richardson 6-2 Simon Whitlock
Simon Stevenson 6-5 Steve West
Max Hopp 6-5 Scott Baker
Glen Durrant 6-3 Robert Owen
Chris Dobey 6-1 Berry van Peer
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Davy Van Baelen
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-1 Jamie Lewis
Rob Cross 6-2 Michael Barnard
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Losers; £500
Last 32
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Justin Pipe
Luke Humphries 6-3 Mark Webster
Peter Wright 6-3 Madars Razma
Danny Noppert 6-2 Kim Huybrechts
John Henderson 6-3 James Wade
Jose De Sousa 6-5 Ryan Meikle
Josh Payne 6-4 Mervyn King
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 James Wilson
Ian White 6-1 Kyle Anderson
Martin Schindler 6-3 Ron Meulenkamp
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Adrian Lewis 6-5 James Richardson
Max Hopp 6-5 Simon Stevenson
Glen Durrant 6-4 Chris Dobey
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Rob Cross 6-1 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Losers: £1,000
Last 16
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Luke Humphries
Peter Wright 6-5 Danny Noppert
Jose De Sousa 6-4 John Henderson
Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Josh Payne
Martin Schindler 6-5 Ian White
Adrian Lewis 6-1 Vincent van der Voort
Glen Durrant 6-5 Max Hopp
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Rob Cross
Losers: £1,500
Quarter-Finals
Peter Wright 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Jose De Sousa 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Martin Schindler
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Glen Durrant
Losers: £2,250
Semi-Finals
Jose De Sousa 7-3 Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price 7-4 Adrian Lewis
Losers: £3,000
Final
Jose De Sousa 8-1 Gerwyn Price
Winner: £10,000
Runner-up: £6,000
