Huybrechts ends eight-year title drought to win Players Championship 3
Kim Huybrechts was victorious on Saturday, after demolishing Gabriel Clemens 8-1 in the final of Players Championship 3, as the second weekend of the 2023 PDC Pro Tour season commenced at the Barnsley Metrodome.
Huybrechts, who’s last PDC ranking final came back in 2017, reached the decider on Saturday, as he recorded victories over Devon Petersen, Dylan Slevin, Nathan Aspinall, Ricardo Pietreczko, Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price, to set up a clash with Clemens.
The Belgian star dominated the entirety of the final, as he raced into a 7-0 lead, with winning legs coming in 17,14,23,13,17,15 and 15 darts respectively, leaving Clemens needing to win eight on the spin to keep his title hopes alive. The German then denied a whitewash victory in the following leg, by pinning a 103 checkout to pick up his first and only leg of the final, as Huybrechts sealed the victory in Leg 9 with a 16 darter to pick up the £12,000 1st prize and a first PDC title since 2015.
Clemens’ run to the final saw him record victories over Jules Van Dongen, Jose Justicia, Kevin Doets, Ross Smith, Madars Razma and Matt Campbell, before being denied by Huybrechts and the German’s wait for a maiden PDC title continues.
Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for Andrew Gilding and Gian Van Veen, with the likes of Premier League star Dimitri Van den Bergh and Former World Champions in Gary Anderson and Raymond Van Barneveld among the names to suffer early exits.
The PDC Pro Tour weekend concludes on Sunday with Players Championship Four taking place in Barnsley, 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 Three
Last 16
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Jamie Hughes
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Ricardo Pietreczko
Josh Rock 6-3 Adam Warner
Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Ross Smith
Madars Razma 6-4 Danny Noppert
Matt Campbell 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Gian Van Veen 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Quarter Finals
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Andrew Gilding
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Josh Rock
Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Madars Razma
Matt Campbell 6-3 Gian Van Veen
Semi Finals
Kim Huybrechts 7-3 Gerwyn Price
Gabriel Clemens 7-4 Matt Campbell
Final
Kim Huybrechts 8-1 Gabriel Clemens
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
