Michael Van Gerwen picked up his 2nd title in a fortnight on Sunday, after defeating Martin Schindler 8-4 in the final of Players Championship Eight, as the Pro Tour weekend concluded in Niedernhausen.
3x World Champion, Van Gerwen, who won the 2nd European event of the year earlier this month, doubled his yearly title tally, as he dropped just 17 legs on route to the final, as he recorded victories over Radek Szaganski, Jim Moston, Geert De Vos, Danny Noppert, Brendan Dolan and Luke Humphries, to set up a clash with Schindler.
The final began with Van Gerwen racing into a 3-0 lead, before Schindler picked up his first leg of the tie in Leg 4 with a 14-dart break. MVG then broke back in the following leg, before a run of four consecutive holds of throw, ending with Schindler’s breaking the Dutchman’s throw again in Leg 10 to make it 6-4 in Van Gerwen’s favor. Schindler was then poised on 72 in Leg 11 to move within one of MVG, who fired in an incredible 126 checkout, to break the German’s throw and move within one of victory. Van Gerwen sealed the victory in the following leg with a 13 darter to take the title and a 1st Players Championship victory since November.
Schindler’s run to a 1st PDC ranking final saw him record victories over Steve Beaton, Luc Peters, Rowby-John Rodriguez, Jamie Hughes, Daryl Gurney and Adrian Lewis.
Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for James Wade and Stephen Bunting, with the likes of Jose De Sousa, Raymond Van Barneveld and Dirk Van Duijvenbode all suffering early exits, with Saturday’s PC7 winner Gerwyn Price losing out in Round 3.
The PDC Pro Tour returns next weekend with a triple header in Barnsley on April 1-3rd, as Players Championship Nine, Ten & Eleven take place, with the 128 players competing for £100,000 in prize money each day, 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 8
Last 16
Martin Schindler 6-2 Jamie Hughes
Daryl Gurney 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Rob Cross
Adrian Lewis 6-5 Damon Heta
Michael Van Gerwen 6-3 Danny Noppert
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Danny Jansen
James Wade 6-3 Keane Barry
Luke Humphries 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Quarter Finals
Martin Schindler 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Adrian Lewis 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Michael Van Gerwen 6-4 Brendan Dolan
Luke Humphries 6-5 James Wade
Semi Finals
Martin Schindler 7-2 Adrian Lewis
Michael Van Gerwen 7-5 Luke Humphries
Final
Michael Van Gerwen 8-4 Martin Schindler
