Darts: PDC Media Release - Priestley Wins In Wigan

DENNIS PRIESTLEY won the North-West Players Championship, defeating Colin Lloyd 6-1 in the final.

Priestley continued his superb run of form to reach a third final in as many events over the past two weekends.

Having lost to Robert Thornton twice in finals in Scotland last weekend, he this time claimed the £6,000 first prize at Wigan^s Robin Park Tennis Centre.

Priestley defeated John Kuczynski and Kevin McDine 6-1 in his opening games, then saw off Justin Pipe 6-5.

Andy Smith, Michael van Gerwen and Wayne Jones were then dispatched to put him into his third final in as many events.

Lloyd shared the first two legs with Priestley, but a break of throw in the fourth put the veteran 3-1 up, and a 146 finish proved a killer blow, before he took the next two legs for victory.

Lloyd edged out Lancashire^s Louis Blundell to reach the final, producing a 13-darter in the deciding leg of their semi-final.

Lloyd also won 6-5 against Co Stompe earlier in the competition, taking out 103 for victory after the Dutchman missed two darts for the match, while Anastasia Dobromyslova, Colin Osborne and Alan Tabern were other victims on the day.

Blundell whitewashed world number two James Wade and Mark Walsh to reach his first PDC Pro Tour semi-final, as well as taking 6-4 victories against Steve Maish, Peter Wright and Gary Mawson.

Wolverhampton^s Wayne Jones was the other semi-finalist, taking out Mervyn King and last weekend^s double-winner Robert Thornton as well as Kevin Painter in his best display of 2009.

Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld was defeated in a deciding leg by Wade at the last 16 stage on his first PDC Pro Tour appearance of the year.

North-West Players Championship Results

Preliminary Round

Stephen Hardy 6-1 Richie Burnett

Kirk Shepherd 6-5 Ian Perkins

Mark Jodrill 6-2 Alan Warriner-Little

Chris White 6-1 Ricky Williams

Stuart Bousfield 6-3 Paul Nicholson

Geoff Whitworth 6-3 Andy Fulton

Dave Ladley 6-4 Joey Palfreyman

Ian Lever 6-4 John Part

Stuart Dutton 6-2 Robert Watson-Lang

Gary

Ian Lilley 6-5 Lee Holden

Chris Thompson 6-2 Jan van der Rassel

Chris Allen 6-3 Jonathan Overton

Darren Latham 6-1 Jon Archer

Garry Spedding 6-5 Chris Loudon

Brendan Dolan 6-1 Tony Blundell

Gary

Geoff Wylie 6-4 Gary Anderson

Dave Smith 6-1 Gary Storey

First Round

Board One

Alan Tabern (1) 6-5 Dave Honey

Kevin Harris 6-2 Jimmy Dunlop

Jelle Klaasen (32) 6-3 Mark Stephenson

Stephen Hardy 6-2 Kirk Shepherd

Board Two

Bryan de Hoog 6-2 Vincent van der Voort (16)

Frazer Hill 6-1 Steve Cusick

Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Adrian Lewis (17)

Chris Cooper 6-1 Mark Jodrill

Board Three

Colin Osborne (8) 6-1 Russell Mason

Steve Evans 6-2 Owen Caffrey

Toon Greebe 6-4 Jamie Caven (25)

Jim Withers 6-1 Chris White

Board Four

Colin Lloyd (9) 6-2 Anastasia Dobromyslova

Ken Dobson 6-0 Andy Mason

Mark Webster 6-1 Andy Jenkins (24)

Co Stompe 6-5 Stuart Bousfield

Board Five

Peter Wright 6-4 Ronnie Baxter (5)

Louis Blundell 6-4 Gary Mawson

Steve Maish (28) 6-2 Darren Whittingham

Geoff Whitworth 6-0 Matt Gallett

Board Six

Mark Walsh (12) 6-2 Steve Cupitt

Stuart Holden 6-1 Steve Perkins

Tony Eccles (21) 6-5 Steve Hine

Dave Ladley 6-3 John Quantock

Board Seven

James Wade (4) 6-3 Arron Monk

Sam Rooney 6-4 Norman Fletcher

Matt Clark (29) 6-2 Shaun Dring

Larry Butler 6-3 Ian Lever

Board Eight

Raymond van Barneveld (13) 6-3 Lee Williams

Richard

Peter Manley (20) 6-2 Mark Tiller

Adrian Gray 6-5 Stuart Dutton

Board Nine

Robert Thornton (2) 6-2 Nigel Birch

Mark Frost 6-4 Robbie Parker

Wes Newton (31) 6-2 Ben Burton

Gary

Board Ten

Kevin Painter (15) 6-0 Mike Roberts

Jason Clark 6-4 Mick McGowan

Wayne Jones (18) 6-5 John MaGowan

Chris Thompson 6-2 Ian Jopling

Board 11

Mervyn King (7) 6-2 Colin Monk

Mark Lawrence 6-4 Darren Johnson

Steve Musson 6-5 Wayne Mardle (26)

Chris Allen 6-4 Robbie Newland

Board 12

Andy Hamilton (10) 6-2 Dennis Zijderhand

Dennis Smith 6-1 Steve Grubb

Alex Roy (23) 6-1 Simon Craven

Darren Latham 6-4 David Fatum

Board 13

Roland Scholten 6-3 Terry Jenkins (6)

Steve Brown 6-4 Nick Fullwell

Michael van Gerwen (27) 6-3 Dyson Parody

Garry Spedding 6-0 Steve Perry

Board 14

Lionel Sams 6-2 Mark Dudbridge (11)

Michael Barnard 6-0 Andy Howarth

Steve Beaton (22) 6-1 Wayne Atwood

Barrie

Board 15

Dennis Priestley (3) 6-1 John Kuczynski

Kevin McDine 6-0 Karl Loiseau

Justin Pipe 6-2 Chris Mason (30)

Gary Scratchley 6-3 Geoff Wylie

Board 16

Denis Ovens (14) 6-2 Kevin Dowling

Martyn Turner 6-4 Andy Pearson

Andy Smith (19) 6-1 Robert Alford

Dave Smith 6-3 Andrew Davies

Second Round

Alan Tabern 6-5 Kevin Harris

Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Stephen Hardy

Bryan de Hoog 6-1 Frazer Hill

Chris Cooper 6-2 Mensur Suljovic

Colin Osborne 6-2 Steve Evans

Toon Greebe 6-3 Jim Withers

Colin Lloyd 6-1 Ken Dobson

Co Stompe 6-2 Mark Webster

Louis Blundell 6-4 Peter Wright

Steve Maish 6-0 Geoff Whitworth

Mark Walsh 6-0 Stuart Holden

Tony Eccles 6-3 Dave Ladley

James Wade 6-2 Sam Rooney

Matt Clark 6-5 Larry Butler

Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Richard Foster

Adrian Gray 6-4 Peter Manley

Robert Thornton 6-4 Mark Frost

Wes Newton 6-5 Gary Welding

Kevin Painter 6-0 Jason Clark

Wayne Jones 6-1 Chris Thompson

Mervyn King 6-4 Mark Lawrence

Chris Allen 6-2 Steve Musson

Dennis Smith 6-3 Andy Hamilton

Alex Roy 6-5 Darren Latham

Steve Brown 6-3 Roland Scholten

Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Garry Spedding

Michael Barnard 6-4 Lionel Sams

Steve Beaton 6-4 Barrie Bates

Dennis Priestley 6-1 Kevin McDine

Justin Pipe 6-3 Gary Scratchley

Denis Ovens 6-4 Martyn Turner

Andy Smith 6-4 Dave Smith

Losers £200

Third Round

Alan Tabern 6-4 Jelle Klaasen

Bryan

Colin Osborne 6-1 Toon Greebe

Colin Lloyd 6-5 Co Stompe

Louis Blundell 6-4 Steve Maish

Mark Walsh 6-4 Tony Eccles

James Wade 6-4 Matt Clark

Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 Adrian Gray

Robert Thornton 6-4 Wes Newton

Wayne Jones 6-2 Kevin Painter

Mervyn King 6-0 Chris Allen

Dennis Smith 6-2 Alex Roy

Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Steve Brown

Steve Beaton 6-4 Michael Barnard

Dennis Priesltey 6-5 Justin Pipe

Andy Smith 6-1 Denis Ovens

Losers £300

Fourth Round

Alan Tabern 6-1 Bryan de Hoog

Colin Lloyd 6-2 Colin Osborne

Louis Blundell 6-0 Mark Walsh

James Wade 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld

Wayne Jones 6-4 Robert Thornton

Mervyn King 6-3 Dennis Smith

Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Steve Beaton

Dennis Priestley 6-4 Andy Smith

Losers £400

Quarter-Finals

Colin Lloyd 6-2 Alan Tabern

Louis Blundell 6-0 James Wade

Wayne Jones 6-3 Mervyn King

Dennis Priestley 6-2 Michael van Gerwen

Losers £800

Semi-Finals

Colin Lloyd 6-5 Louis Blundell

Dennis Priestley 6-4 Wayne Jones

Losers £1,500

Final

Dennis Priestley 6-1 Colin Lloyd

Winner £6,000

Runner-Up £3,000

News Updates

Preliminary Round

Chris Thompson sees off Jan van der Rassel 6-2, with Stuart Dutton defeating Robert Watson-Lang by the same scoreline.

America

Stuart Bousfield knocks out World Championship quarter-finalist Paul Nicholson 6-3.

Two former major tournament winners are knocked out, with Richie Burnett losing to Stephen Hardy and Alan Warriner-Little defeated by Mark Jodrill.

Dave Smith enjoys win over Gary Storey.

John Part joins the list of early casualties with 6-4 loss to Ian Lever.

Dave Ladley sees off Joey Palfreyman 6-4, and Gary Scratchley wins by the same score against Steve Lane.

Gary Welding comes from behind to defeat Alan Caves in a deciding leg.

Garry Spedding is narrow winner against Chris Loudon.

Chris Allen edges out Jonathan Overton in a deciding leg.

Kirk Shepherd wins in a deciding leg against Ian Perkins.

Geoff Wylie knocks out Gary Anderson 6-4, with finishes of 120 and 101 ending the Scot^s comeback from 4-0 down.

Ian Lilley defeats Lee Holden 6-5.

First Round

Kevin Painter whitewashes Mike Roberts to move into last 64.

Colin Lloyd takes 6-2 win against Anastasia Dobromyslova.

Bryan de Hoog wins all-Dutch opener with Vincent van der Voort.

Raymond van Barneveld makes winning return to PDC Pro Tour action, defeating Lee Williams 6-3.

Denis Ovens wins 6-2 against Kevin Dowling, and Lionel Sams defeats Mark Dudbridge by the same scoreline.

World number two James Wade is 6-3 winner against Arron Monk.

Andy Hamilton wins 6-2 against Dennis Zijderhand.

Roland Scholten celebrates his return from a shoulder operation with 6-3 win over Terry Jenkins.

Peter Wright overcomes Ronnie Baxter 6-4.

Mark Walsh is 6-2 winner against Steve Cupitt.

Jason Clark takes 6-4 win against Mick McGowan.

Colin Osborne opens with 6-1 win over Russell Mason, with Frazer Hill defeating Steve Cusick by the same score.

Ken Dobson and Richard Foster also open with victories.

Mervyn King and Steve Evans enjoy 6-2 wins over Colin Monk and Owen Caffrey respectively.

Alan Tabern, last year^s Players Championship winner in Wigan, opens with narrow win over Dave Honey.

Mark Webster defeats Andy Jenkins 6-1 to progress to last 64.

Dennis Smith wins 6-1 against Steve Grubb in battle of World Championship qualifiers.

Michael Barnard whitewashes Andy Howarth 6-0, while Steve Brown is 6-4 winner against Nick Fullwell.

Dennis Priestley sees off John Kuczynski 6-1.

Toon Greebe is 6-4 winner against Jamie Caven.

Austrian Mensur Suljovic defeats Adrian Lewis in a deciding leg.

Tony Eccles is another 6-5 winner, against Steve Hine, and Co Stompe edges out Stuart Bousfield.

Kevin Harris is 6-2 winner against Jimmy Dunlop, and Jim Withers defeats Chris White 6-1.

Mark Frost overcomes Robbie Parker 6-4 and now meets last weekend^s double-winner Robert Thornton.

Wayne Mardle suffers first round loss with 6-5 defeat to Steve Musson, and Adrian Gray edges out Stuart Dutton in a deciding leg.

Steve Maish is 6-2 winner against Darren Whittingham, while Alex Roy defeats Simon Craven 6-1.

Jelle Klaasen wins second round place with 6-3 defeat of Mark Stephenson.

Geoff Whitworth whitewashes Matt Gallett to set up clash with Steve Maish.

Larry Butler enjoys 6-3 victory against Ian Lever.

Wes Newton defeats Ben Burton 6-2, and Darren Latham is 6-4 winner against David Fatum.

Justin Pipe knocks out Chris Mason with 6-2 victory, and Chris Allen wins 6-4 against Robbie Newland.

Stephen Hardy overcomes Kirk Shepherd 6-2 and now meets Klaasen.

Gary Scratchley defeats Geoff Wylie 6-3 to set up second round contest with Justin Pipe.

Second Round

Colin Lloyd is first man into round three with 6-1 win over Ken Dobson.

Colin Osborne enjoys 6-2 win over Steve Evans, and Dutch newcomer Bryan de Hoog is 6-1 winner against Frazer Hill.

Kevin Painter wins a second successive game 6-0, against Jason Clark.

Raymond van Barneveld moves into last 32 with 6-1 win over Richard Foster.

Steve Brown defeats Roland Scholten 6-3 to reach round three.

Denis Ovens is 6-4 winner against Martyn Turner.

Co Stompe overcomes Mark Webster 6-2 and now takes on Lloyd.

Mark Walsh whitewashes Stuart Holden.

Toon Greebe is 6-3 winner against Jim Withers and now meets Osborne.

James Wade wins all-Hampshire battle with Sam Rooney 6-2.

Wayne Jones takes 6-1 win over Chris Thompson and now faces Painter.

Dennis Smith upsets number ten seed Andy Hamilton.

Chris Cooper overcomes Mensur Suljovic 6-2.

Adrian Gray sets up clash with Raymond van Barneveld thanks to 6-4 defeat of Peter Manley.

Tony Eccles wins 6-3 against Dave Ladley and now takes on Walsh.

Michael van Gerwen is 6-1 winner against Garry Spedding.

Alex Roy hits 130 finish to win deciding leg against Darren Latham.

Steve Maish whitewashes Geoff Whitworth, while Chris Allen^s win over Steve Musson means he now meets Mervyn King.

Dennis Priestley defeats Kevin McDine 6-1.

Matt Clark and Wes Newton progress with 6-5 wins over Larry Butler and Gary Welding.

Alan Tabern and Jelle Klaasen both move through to round three with narrow wins, ahainst Kevin Harris and Stephen Hardy.

Andy Smith defeats Dave Smith 6-4, and Steve Beaton wins by the same scoreline against Barrie Bates.

Justin Pipe is 6-3 winner against Gary Scratchley to move into third round.

Third Round

Colin Lloyd wins deciding leg against Co Stompe, who missed two match darts before Lloyd took out 103.

Colin Osborne is 6-1 winner against Toon Greebe, setting up a last 16 clash with Lloyd.

Wayne Jones takes 6-2 win over Kevin Painter to move into fourth round.

Michael van Gerwen enjoys 6-2 victory against Steve Brown to reach last 16.

Raymond van Barneveld whitewashes Adrian Gray.

Mark Walsh takes 6-4 win against Tony Eccles to move into last 16.

Young Dutchman Bryan de Hoog reaches fourth round with 6-5 win over Chris Cooper.

Lancashire

Mervyn King whitewashes Chris Allen to set up fourth round game with Dennis Smith, who defeated Alex Roy 6-2.

Andy Smith powers to 6-1 win over Denis Ovens.

Steve Beaton is 6-4 winner against Michael Barnard, setting up fourth round game with van Gerwen.

Alan Tabern wins 6-4 against Jelle Klaasen, and now meets another Dutchman, Bryan de Hoog.

James Wade^s 6-4 win over Matt Clark means he faces Raymond van Barneveld in round four.

Robert Thornton is 6-4 winner against Wes Newton, booking a last 16 game with Wayne Jones.

Dennis Priestley takes 6-5 win against Justin Pipe, setting up fourth round game with Andy Smith.

Fourth Round

Colin Lloyd reaches quarter-finals with 6-2 defeat of Colin Osborne.

Local favourite Louis Blundell powers into quarters with 6-0 whitewash of Mark Walsh.

Michael van Gerwen is 6-3 winner against Steve Beaton to reach his second Players Championship quarter-final of the year.

Mervyn King reaches last eight with 6-3 defeat of Dennis Smith.

St Helens

James Wade edges out Raymond van Barneveld 6-5, taking out 121 in the deciding leg, and now faces Blundell.

Wayne Jones ends Robert Thornton^s hopes of a third successive PDC Pro Tour win with 6-4 defeat of the Scot.

Dennis Priestley books his quarter-final spot with 6-4 win over Andy Smith, taking victory for a second successive Saturday in the two^s meeting.

Quarter-Finals

Colin Lloyd ends Alan Tabern^s hopes of a second successive Players Championship win in Wigan with 6-2 victory.

Louis Blundell reaches his first PDC Pro Tour semi-final with 6-0 whitewash of world number two James Wade.

Wayne Jones wins semi-final place with 6-3 defeat of Mervyn King.

Dennis Priestley sees off Michael van Gerwen 6-2 to remain on course for third successive PDC Pro Tour final.

Semi-Finals

Colin Lloyd produces a 13-dart winning leg in the decider to end Louis Blundell^s run in the tournament.

Dennis Priestley reaches third straight final, defeating Wayne Jones 6-4. Jones hit back from 4-2 down to level, but Priestley hit two 180s in the ninth leg before sealing victory.