Former European Champion, Smith, who was victorious at PC16 back in May, went all the way once again...
Ross Smith claims sixth PDC Players championship title originally appeared on The Sporting News
Ross Smith picked up his second PDC Pro Tour title of the year on Wednesday, after defeating Josh Rock 8-7 in the final of Players Championship 29, as the midweek triple header continued at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena.
Former European Champion, Smith, who was victorious at PC16 back in May, went all the way once again as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Berry Van Peer, Jamai Van den Herik, Lukas Wenig, Michael Van Gerwen, Ryan Meikle and Wessel Nijman, to set up a clash with Rock.
DEMOLITION JOB:Michael Van Gerwen vs Ross Smith
The final began with Rock racing into a 2-0 lead with winning legs coming in 14 and 20 darts respectively before Smith fort back by rattling off three successive legs all in 13 darts to move 3-2 ahead in a race to eight. The following two legs both saw the pair hit a 13-dart leg each, before Rock rattled off three straight legs of his own in a total of 44 darts to move 6-4 in front.
The pair then held throw for the following two legs, which saw Rock move within one of victory in Leg 12 with an 11-darter leaving Smith needing to win three straight legs to keep his title hopes alive. Incredibly ‘Smudger’ did just that and denied Rock a match winning opportunity as he won three straight legs and sealed the victory in a last leg decider with a 15 darter to clinch a sixth Players Championship title of his career as well as collecting the £15,000 top prize.
Rock’s run to the final saw the reigning World Cup Champion record victories on the day against Tavis Dudeney, Andy Boulton, Wesley Plaisier, Dirk Van Duijvenbode, Danny Noppert and Gary Anderson, before being denied by Smith. However, it was in his third-round victory against Plaisier that Rock fired in a nine-dart finish.
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Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for World Number One Luke Humphries and Former Premier League Champion Jonny Clayton, whilst the likes of Former World Matchplay Champion Nathan Aspinall and Tuesday’s PC28 winner Ryan Searle were amongst the high profile first round casualties.
The PDC Pro Tour triple header concludes on Thursday with Players Championship 30 taking place in Leicester, with the 128 players returning to compete for a further £125,000 in prize money, with play beginning at 13:00 BST. Play will be broadcasted across four streaming boards on PDC.TV and various bookmaker websites worldwide, with all live scores and results on tv.dartconnect.com.
Players Championship 29
Last 16
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Ross Smith 6-0 Michael Van Gerwen
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Martin Schindler
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Mike De Decker
Gary Anderson 6-5 Darryl Pilgrim
Luke Humphries 6-5 Cameron Menzies
Josh Rock 6-3 Dirk Van Duijvenbode
Danny Noppert 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Quarter Finals
Ross Smith 6-4 Ryan Meikle
Wessel Nijman 6-0 Jonny Clayton
Gary Anderson 6-5 Luke Humphries
Josh Rock 6-2 Danny Noppert
Semi Finals
Ross Smith 7-3 Wessel Nijman
Josh Rock 7-4 Gary Anderson
Final
Ross Smith 8-7 Josh Rock
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Category: General Sports
