Price Denies Van Veen First Pro-tour Title
World Number 1 and former World Champion Gerwyn Price won his second Pro Tour title of 2022 after beating fellow Red Dragon star Gian van Veen 8-4 in the Final. The Iceman gets back to winning ways ahead of his favourite tournament: the Grand Slam of Darts, a competition he has won three times so far in his career.
The Welshman ended the tournament strongly, finding two ton plus averages in his last three matches including the Final with his young Dutch opponent where he averaged 102.25. The Markham ace also faced a rematch with Martin Schindler having played the German at the World Matchplay back in July.
The Red Dragon star was in no mood to mess about, as he raced away a 6-0 winner in the Quarter Final averaging 106.09 against a helpless Schindler.
The best performance of the day came in the Last 32 where Price was drawn against Connor Scutt who is coming to the end of his first year in the PDC after earning his tour card back in January. The Surrey thrower who qualified for the Champion of Champions back in August was powerless against a rampant Welshman who found a score of 111.84 in winning 6-2 against the Sniper.
Gian van Veen fresh of his new contract with Red Dragon, enjoyed his best Players Championship run in his career going all the way through to the Final at the age of just 20.
The young Dutchman included wins over the likes of Hungarian Darts Trophy finalist William O’Connor as well as Alan Soutar and recent Belgian Darts Open champion Dave Chisnall in the Semi Finals.
A fantastic effort for someone who doesn’t even hold a tour card, the youngster included his best performance of the day in his Third-Round match with former World Champion Richie Burnett. A 6-3 win with a staggering 109.43 average was certainly a statement win from the youngster towards the rest of the competition.
Joe Cullen made it a return to form in Players Championship 29 after reaching the Last 16 of the competition, having beat the likes of Jon Worsley, Darius Labanauskas and Ritchie Edhouse in the earlier stages of the competition.
The Rockstar would fall in the Fourth Round at the hands of a 102.57 average from Dave Chisnall in a 6-2 defeat for the Bradford thrower. Chizzy went one step further in his Quarter Final win over Jermaine Wattimena, winning 6-1 and scoring 115.57 over the seven legs played.
Just one Players Championship event now remains before the Players Championship Finals later this month and the Cazoo World Darts Championship, with tungsten drama returning once more to the Alexandra Palace.
By Harry Masterson
Players Championship 29 Results:
Last 16:
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Joe Cullen
William O’Connor 6-3 Steve Lennon
Gian van Veen 6-2 Alan Soutar
Martin Schindler 6-3 Damon Heta
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Rob Cross 6-1 Danny Jansen
Mike de Decker 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Quarter Finals:
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Gian van Veen 6-2 William O’Connor
Gerwyn Price 6-0 Martin Schindler
Mike de Decker 6-4 Rob Cross
Semi Finals:
Gian van Veen 7-3 Dave Chisnall
Gerwyn Price 7-4 Mike de Decker
Final:
Gerwyn Price 8-4 Gian van Veen