Joe Cullen was victorious on Saturday, in defeating Damon Heta 8-4 in the final of Players Championship 3, as the second weekend of the 2022 PDC Pro Tour season commenced at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan.
Newly crowned Masters Champion, Cullen, dropped just 19 legs on route to the final, as he recorded victories over Florian Hempel, Gordon Mathers, Vincent Van der Voort, Daryl Gurney, Jose De Sousa and Connor Scutt, to set up a clash with Heta in the decider.
The final began with Cullen racing into a 2-0 lead, before Heta halved the deficit in Leg 3 with an 11 dart hold of throw. Cullen then won three on the spin, with winning legs coming in 14,13 and 17 darts respectively, before Heta fought back in winning three legs on the spin of his own to move within one of Cullen, heading into Leg 10. Cullen then showed his title-winning experience, in winning three legs on the spin yet again, which resulted in him sealing the victory in Leg 12 with a 14 darter to take the title and pick up a 9th in his PDC career.
Heta’s run to the final saw him record victories over Josh Rock, Matt Campbell, Stephen Bunting, Alan Soutar, Joe Murnan and Michael Van Gerwen, with his wait for a 2nd PDC ranking title continuing.
In addition to the tremendous run from tour newcomer Scutt, there were Quarter-Finals runs for James Wade and Keane Barry, whilst Canada’s Matt Campbell fired in a perfect leg during his 2nd round defeat to Damon Heta.
Also, there were early exits on the day for the likes of World Number One Gerwyn Price, World Champion Peter Wright, Premier League Champion Jonny Clayton and 2x World Championship Finalist Michael Smith.
The PDC Pro Tour weekend concludes on Sunday with Players Championship Four taking place in Wigan, with the 128 players returning to compete for a further £100,000 in prize money, with play beginning at 12:00 GMT.
Play will be broadcasted across two streaming boards on PDC.TV and various bookmaker websites worldwide, with all live scores and results on tv.dartconnect.com.
Players Championship 3
Last 16
James Wade 6-4 Steve West
Michael Van Gerwen 6-3 Niels Zonneveld
Joe Murnan 6-5 Jamie Hughes
Damon Heta 6-2 Alan Soutar
Keane Barry 6-0 Kim Huybrechts
Connor Scutt 6-4 Scott Williams
Jose De Sousa 6-5 Lewy Williams
Joe Cullen 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Quarter-Finals
Michael Van Gerwen 6-4 James Wade
Damon Heta 6-3 Joe Murnan
Connor Scutt 6-5 Keane Barry
Joe Cullen 6-5 Jose De Sousa
Semi Finals
Damon Heta 7-4 Michael Van Gerwen
Joe Cullen 7-5 Connor Scutt
Final
Joe Cullen 8-4 Demon Heta
——ENDS—–
Words: Joe Williams, Lead Image: PDC
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