WRIGHT & VAN GERWEN SHARE KILLARNEY PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP WINS
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN^S run of form continued as he shared the spoils with Peter Wright in the weekend^s Players Championships which were held as part of the Killarney Darts Festival.
Wright became the PDC^s 50th different winner since the ProTour - comprising Players Championships, UK Open Qualifiers and European Tour events - was introduced a decade ago, as he claimed the £6,000 first prize in Saturday^s Gleneagle Hotel Players Championship.
The Lowestoft ace defeated Robert Thornton 6-1 in the final, initially opening up a 4-0 lead and ending the game with a 107 average against the in-form Scot.
Wright had progressed to his first final for over a year with a 6-4 semi-final win over Adrian Gray, and he also defeated Steve Beaton and Ian White by the same scoreline in the latter stages.
Thornton^s run to the final earned him £3,000 and follows his Players Championship win in Dublin a fortnight ago and his progression to the PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix quarter-finals.
Gray^s run to the semi-finals saw the 31-year-old from Hastings enjoy his best result on the ProTour since 2008, which included a whitewash of World Grand Prix semi-finalist Brendan Dolan and a win over world number seven Andy Hamilton.
Gray was joined in the last four by Darren Webster, the Norfolk ace who enjoyed his best finish since returning to the circuit in January as he saw off Vincent van der Voort, Colin Osborne, Michael Smith and Dean Winstanley in his run to the semis.
The quarter-finalists included Hamilton, Osborne, Beaton and Andy Smith, who was edged out 6-5 by Thornton.
Sunday^s John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic title was taken by Dutch star Michael van Gerwen, who followed up his World Grand Prix triumph a week ago by seeing off Nick Fullwell 6-3 in the final.
Van Gerwen - a narrow last 32 loser to Scott Rand on Saturday - was in brilliant form as he recorded a 113.09 average in his semi-final win over Jamie Caven, which included an 11-dart leg and two 12-darters.
He had also only dropped two legs in his wins over Bernd Roith, Mick Todd and Roland Scholten before seeing off Colin Lloyd and Kevin McDine in reaching the latter stages.
Stourbridge^s Fullwell enjoyed his best-ever finish on the PDC ProTour as the runner-up, opening the day with a narrow win over Thornton before then seeing off former World Youth Champion Arron Monk 6-5.
He then overcame Mick Egan, Brian Woods and John Henderson, before seeing off Wright 6-4 in the semis as he reached his maiden final.
Wright^s run to the semis saw him claim a further £2,000 prize money, while Caven matched that performance before meeting van Gerwen in the last four.
Stoke^s Ian White reached the quarter-finals on Sunday to follow a run to the last 16 on Saturday, while Coventry duo Scott Rand and Steve Hine reached the last 16 on both days.
The Killarney Darts Festival also featured the non-ranked Ladbrokes Irish Masters on Friday night, which was won by Gary Anderson as he defeated Colin Osborne in the final, while Sharon Buckley won the Silver Dart Ladies^ Open and Liam Gallagher was the Bronze Dart Youth^s Open champion.
The PDC ProTour will continue next weekend with the fifth of the year^s £82,100 European Tour events, the Dutch Darts Masters, which will be held at the Van Der Valk Hotel in Nuland, Holland.
Gleneagle Hotel Players Championship
Saturday October 20, INEC Killarney
Preliminary Round
Liam Gallagher 6-5 Ross O^Brian
Adrian Wright 6-1 John McEvoy
Gerry O^Hara 6-3 David Stack
Denis Corr 6-4 Ben Forder
Clifford Doyle 6-0 Jason Kavanagh
Paul Murphy 6-4 George McGivern
Dylan Routledge 6-3 Damien Harrington
Craig Pope 6-0 Kevin Corbley
Damien O^Driscoll 6-1 Stephen Lennon
Kevin McDonnell 6-4 Mike O^Sullivan
Noel Redmond 6-5 Ben Corcoran
Gary Bradley 6-4 Laurence Collins
John-Paul Dowdall 6-2 Paul Davison
Conor Hughes 6-0 Liam Condron
Jason McCann 6-5 Scott Coleman
Darren Webster 6-2 Mark Hurley
William Fouhy 6-4 James Kinsella
Terry Barrett 6-5 Aidan McCabe
Martin Murphy 6-0 Martin Fleming
Peter Quinn 6-4 Ross Kelly
Darren Johnson 6-3 Mark Lawrence
Steve Heneghan 6-5 David O^Donovan
Dave Ladley 6-0 John Nyhan
Mick McGowan 6-2 Colm Ryan
Darren Hodgson 6-3 Jim McKevitt
Campbell Jackson 6-1 Mick Egan
Daniel Day 6-4 Harry Strahm
Benny Grace 6-3 John O^Hara
Ryan Maher 6-4 John Seagrave
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Chris Aubrey
Kevin Dowling 6-0 Mark Willis
Joe Byrne 6-5 Kevin Burness
Glen Fitzpatrick 6-3 Richie Walsh
First Round
Dave Chisnall (1) 6-3 Michael Mansell
Michael Barnard 6-4 Paddy Meaney
Steve Hine 6-4 John Part (32)
Liam Gallager 6-1 Adrian Wright
Richie Burnett (16) 6-1 Liam Kelly
Nick Fullwell 6-2 Gerry O^Hara
Andy Smith (17) 6-4 Kevin McDine
Clifford Doyle 6-4 Denis Corr
John Bowles 6-3 Ronnie Baxter (8)
Bernd Roith 6-4 Sam Hill
Jamie Caven (25) 6-4 Denis Ovens
Dylan Routledge 6-3 Paul Murphy
Robert Thornton (9) 6-3 Stuart Kellett
Prakash Jiwa 6-4 Mick Cummins
Gary Anderson (24) 6-1 Jim Walker
Damien O^Driscoll 6-5 Craig Pope
Michael van Gerwen (5) 6-4 Michael Rosenauer
Connie Finnan 6-3 Philip Grave
Scott Rand (28) 6-3 Stephen Hardy
Noel Redmond 6-2 Kevin McDonnell
Colin Osborne (12) 6-5 Paul Rowley
John Scott 6-5 Steven Hartigan
Roland Scholten 6-4 Paul Nicholson
John-Paul Dowdall 6-1 Gary Bradley
Terry Temple 6-4 Simon Whitlock (4)
Andrew Gilding 6-1 Paul Barham
Dean Winstanley (29) 6-3 Adam Smith-Neale
Jason McCann 6-2 Conor Hughes
Vincent van der Voort (13) 6-1 Tony Littleton
Shaun Griffiths 6-0 Billy McAuliffe
Michael Smith (20) 6-2 Peter Hudson
Darren Webster 6-0 William Fouhy
Justin Pipe (2) 6-4 Alex Roy
Andy Jenkins 6-4 Barrie Bates
John Henderson 6-2 Wayne Jones (31)
Martin Murphy 6-0 Terry Barrett
Brendan Dolan (15) 6-2 Ross Smith
Adrian Gray 6-4 Marty Moreland
Mick Todd 6-5 Mark Walsh (18)
Darren Johnson 6-0 Peter Quinn
Kim Huybrechts (7) 6-2 Keith Stephen
Gaz Cousins 6-2 David Murphy (Limerick)
Joe Cullen 6-5 Alan Tabern
Dave Ladley 6-2 Steve Heneghan
Andy Hamilton (10) 6-1 Steve Brown
Richie Howson 6-0 Diarmuid Buckley
Steve Grubb 6-5 Kevin Painter (23)
Mick McGowan 6-4 Darren Hodgson
Ian White (6) 6-4 Brian Woods
Arron Monk 6-0 Dwayne McEvoy
Ted Hankey 6-3 James Richardson
Campbell Jackson 6-3 Daniel Day
Matthew Edgar 6-4 Colin Lloyd (11)
Jamie Lewis 6-1 David Murphy (Wexford)
Peter Wright (22) 6-3 Mark Jones
Benny Grace 6-1 Ryan Maher
Wes Newton (3) 6-2 Mark Hylton
Dennis Smith 6-1 William O^Connor
James Hubbard (30) 6-5 Mareno Michels
Kevin Dowling 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Mark Webster (14) 6-2 Nigel Heydon
Joe Murnan 6-1 John Dunne
Steve Beaton (19) 6-5 Steve Maish
Joe Byrne 6-4 Glen Fitzpatrick
Second Round
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Michael Barnard
Steve Hine 6-0 Liam Gallagher
Nick Fulwell 6-4 Richie Burnett
Andy Smith 6-2 Clifford Doyle
Bernd Roith 6-3 John Bowles
Jamie Caven 6-3 Dylan Routledge
Robert Thornton 6-5 Prakash Jiwa
Damien O^Driscoll 6-2 Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Connie Finnan
Scott Rand 6-3 Noel Redmond
Colin Osborne 6-0 John Scott
Roland Scholten 6-0 John-Paul Dowdall
Terry Temple 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Dean Winstanley 6-3 Jason McCann
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Shaun Griffiths
Darren Webster 6-5 Michael Smith
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Justin Pipe
John Henderson 6-3 Martin Murphy
Adrian Gray 6-0 Brendan Dolan
Darren Johnson 6-5 Mick Todd
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Gaz Cousins
Joe Cullen 6-2 Dave Ladley
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Richie Howson
Steve Grubb 6-1 Mick McGowan
Ian White 6-4 Arron Monk
Campbell Jackson 6-3 Ted Hankey
Matthew Edgar 6-2 Jamie Lewis
Peter Wright 6-1 Benny Grace
Wes Newton 6-3 Dennis Smith
James Hubbard 6-5 Kevin Dowling
Mark Webster 6-0 Joe Murnan
Steve Beaton 6-3 Joe Byrne
Losers £200
Third Round
Steve Hine 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Andy Smith 6-1 Nick Fulwell
Jamie Caven 6-2 Bernd Roith
Robert Thornton 6-0 Damien O^Driscoll
Scott Rand 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Colin Osborne 6-2 Roland Scholten
Dean Winstanley 6-2 Terry Temple
Darren Webster 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Andy Jenkins 6-3 John Henderson
Adrian Gray 6-3 Darren Johnson
Joe Cullen 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Steve Grubb
Ian White 6-1 Campbell Jackson
Peter Wright 6-2 Matthew Edgar
James Hubbard 6-5 Wes Newton
Steve Beaton 6-3 Mark Webster
Losers £400
Fourth Round
Andy Smith 6-1 Steve Hine
Robert Thornton 6-5 Jamie Caven
Colin Osborne 6-5 Scott Rand
Darren Webster 6-1 Dean Winstanley
Adrian Gray 6-4 Andy Jenkins
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Joe Cullen
Peter Wright 6-4 Ian White
Steve Beaton 6-4 James Hubbard
Losers £600
Quarter-Finals
Robert Thornton 6-5 Andy Smith
Darren Webster 6-5 Colin Osborne
Adrian Gray 6-5 Andy Hamilton
Peter Wright 6-4 Steve Beaton
Losers £1,000
Semi-Finals
Robert Thornton 6-3 Darren Webster
Peter Wright 6-4 Adrian Gray
Losers £2,000
Final
Peter Wright 6-1 Robert Thornton
Winner £6,000
Runner Up £3,000
John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic Players Championship
Sunday October 21, INEC Killarney
Preliminary Round
Chris Aubrey 6-3 Benny Grace
Damian O^Driscoll 6-1 Jason McCann
Michael Timlin 6-2 Aidan McCabe
Phil Standing 6-2 Dylan Routledge
Neil O^Donohue 6-1 Alan Errington
Kevin Dowling 6-0 Will Pender
Andy Owens 6-4 Stephen Walsh
David Doyle 6-3 Liam Bolger
Clifford Doyle 6-2 Conor Hughes
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Nick More
Sam Hill 6-2 Gerry O^Hara
John McEvoy 6-0 Jim McKevitt
John Digan 6-4 Dwayne McEvoy
Andy Reilly 6-4 Mark Willis
David O^Donovan 6-4 David French
James O^Connor 6-2 Kevin McCann
Michael Meaney 6-1 Matt Kenneally
Gaz Cousins 6-0 Mark Jones
David Murphy (Wexford) 6-3 Martin Fleming
Glen Fitzpatrick 6-3 John Dunne
Kevin Burness 6-2 John Browne
Jason Kavanagh 6-4 Ali Powell
Darren Johnson 6-1 George McGivern
John-Paul Dowdall 6-1 Denis Corr
Mike O^Sullivan 6-2 Steve Henegham
Joe Byrne 6-4 Jimmy Newport
Mark Lawrence 6-1 Peter Quinn
Ian Dobson 6-0 Eamon Carey
Dave Ladley 6-0 Paul Davison
Mick Egan 6-3 Mick Cummins
Kieran O^Neill 6-3 Adrian Hughes
Laurence Collins 6-2 Gary Bradley
Ross O^Brian 6-4 Daniel Day
Robert Kelly 6-5 Philip Grace
John Herlihy 6-4 Craig Pope
Trevor English 6-3 Billy McAuliffe
Terence Meehan 6-3 Pat Molyneux
Martin Murphy 6-0 Kenneth Kenny
Richie Walsh 6-4 Noel Canning
David Stack 6-1 James Young
Scott Coleman 6-4 Stephen Lennon
Ben Corcoran 6-3 Marty Moreland
Paddy Casey 6-4 Michael J O^Sullivan
Campbell Jackson 6-2 Mick McGowan
Ryan Maher 6-1 Andy Gannon
First Round
Dave Chisnall (1) 6-5 Shaun Griffiths
Nigel Heydon 6-1 Dennis Smith
John Part (32) 6-5 Alex Roy
Chris Aubrey 6-2 Damien O^Driscoll
Mark Webster (16) 6-1 Mark Hylton
Jim Walker 6-4 Michael Timlin
Andy Smith (17) 6-3 Jamie Lewis
Neil O^Donohue 6-0 Phil Standing
Kim Huybrechts (8) 6-0 Stephen Hardy
Steve Maish 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Kevin Painter (25) 6-2 Adam Smith-Neale
David Doyle 6-1 Andy Owens
Stuart Kellett 6-5 Ronnie Baxter (9)
Denis Ovens 6-2 Clifford Doyle
Jamie Caven (24) 6-0 Michael Mansell
Sam Hill 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Michael van Gerwen (5) 6-0 Bernd Roith
Mick Todd 6-0 John McEvoy
Roland Scholten 6-4 Dean Winstanley (28)
Andy Reilly 6-2 John Digan
Colin Lloyd (12) 6-4 Paddy Meaney
Richie Howson 6-0 David O^Donovan
Michael Smith (21) 6-2 Joe Murnan
Michael Meaney 6-2 James O^Connor
Simon Whitlock (4) 6-2 Wayne Jones
Adrian Gray 6-3 Gaz Cousins
James Hubbard (29) 6-3 Steve Grubb
Glen Fitzpatrick 6-4 Martin Murphy
Mareno Michels 6-5 Vincent van der Voort (13)
Kevin McDine 6-0 Kevin Burness
Mark Walsh (20) 6-5 Terry Temple
Darren Johnson 6-5 Jason Kavanagh
Justin Pipe (2) 6-4 William O^Connor
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Matthew Edgar
Steve Hine 6-5 Darren Webster (31)
John-Paul Dowdall 6-2 Mike O^Sullivan
Brendan Dolan (15) 6-2 Ross Smith
John Henderson 6-3 Joe Byrne
Richie Burnett (18) 6-3 Prakash Jiwa
Mark Lawrence 6-2 Ian Dobson
Nick Fullwell 6-5 Robert Thornton (7)
Arron Monk 6-4 Dave Ladley
Steve Brown 6-4 Joe Cullen (26)
Mick Egan 6-5 Kieran O^Neill
Michael Barnard 6-4 Andy Hamilton (10)
Connie Finnan 6-0 Laurence Collins
Brian Woods 6-5 Gary Anderson (23)
Ross O^Brian 6-1 Robert Kelly
Ian White (6) 6-3 Paul Rowley
Andy Jenkins 6-2 John Herlihy
James Richardson (27) 6-2 Keith Stephen
Terence Meehan 6-1 Trevor English
Colin Osborne (11) 6-2 Liam Kelly
Martin Murphy 6-2 Barrie Bates
Paul Nicholson (22) 6-1 John Scott
David Stack 6-1 Richie Walsh
Wes Newton (3) 6-3 Ted Hankey
Michael Rosenauer 6-3 Alan Tabern
Scott Rand (30) 6-1 Paul Barham
Ben Corcoran 6-5 Scott Coleman
Peter Wright (14) 6-0 Tony Littleton
John Bowles 6-0 Paddy Casey
Steve Beaton (19) 6-3 Peter Hudson
Campbell Jackson 6-5 Ryan Maher
Second Round
Nigel Heydon 6-5 Dave Chisnall
John Part 6-4 Chris Aubrey
Mark Webster 6-4 Jim Walker
Andy Smith 6-1 Neil O^Donohue
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Steve Maish
Kevin Painter 6-3 David Doyle
Stuart Kellett 6-3 Denis Ovens
Jamie Caven 6-2 Sam Hill
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Mick Todd
Roland Scholten 6-0 Andy Reilly
Colin Lloyd 6-3 Richie Howson
Michael Meaney 6-3 Michael Smith
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Adrian Gray
James Hubbard 6-1 Glen Fittzpatrick
Kevin McDine 6-3 Mareno Michels
Mark Walsh 6-2 Darren Johnson
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Justin Pipe
Steve Hine 6-3 John-Paul Dowdall
John Henderson 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Richie Burnett 6-0 Mark Lawrence
Nick Fullwell 6-5 Arron Monk
Mick Egan 6-4 Steve Brown
Connie Finnan 6-3 Michael Barnard
Brian Woods 6-4 Ross O^Brian
Ian White 6-5 Andy Jenkins
James Richardson 6-1 Terence Meehan
Martin Murphy 6-3 Colin Osborne
Paul Nicholson 6-3 David Stack
Wes Newton 6-3 Michael Rosenauer
Scott Rand 6-3 Ben Corcaron
Peter Wright 6-1 John Bowles
Steve Beaton 6-3 Campbell Jackson
Losers £200
Third Round
Nigel Heydon 6-3 John Part
Mark Webster 6-2 Andy Smith
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Kevin Painter
Jamie Caven 6-0 Stuart Kellett
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Roland Scholten
Colin Lloyd 6-2 Michael Meaney
Simon Whitlock 6-2 James Hubbard
Kevin McDine 6-3 Mark Walsh
Steve Hine 6-3 Andrew Gilding
John Henderson 6-5 Richie Burnett
Nick Fullwell 6-4 Mick Egan
Brian Woods 6-3 Connie Finnan
Ian White 6-4 James Richardson
Paul Nicholson 6-4 Martin Murphy
Scott Rand 6-5 Wes Newton
Peter Wright 6-4 Steve Beaton
Losers £400
Fourth Round
Nigel Heydon 6-4 Mark Webster
Jamie Caven 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Colin Lloyd
Kevin McDine 6-4 Simon Whitlock
John Henderson 6-5 Steve Hine
Nick Fullwell 6-1 Brian Woods
Ian White 6-2 Paul Nicholson
Peter Wright 6-5 Scott Rand
Losers £600
Quarter-Finals
Jamie Caven 6-0 Nigel Heydon
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Kevin McDine
Nick Fullwell 6-2 John Henderson
Peter Wright 6-1 Ian White
Losers £1,000
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Jamie Caven
Nick Fullwell 6-4 Peter Wright
Losers £2,000
Final
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000