Kist Fairytale Denied By Noppert

Christian Kist’s remarkable turnaround in form fell just short of a fairytale ending at yesterday PDC Pro Tour event.

Kist’s run to a second PDC ranking final saw ‘The Lipstick’ record victories on the day against Simon Whitlock, Jonny Clayton, Mickey Mansell, Stephen Bunting, Kevin Doets and Damon Heta, before being narrowly denied the chance by Noppert to become just the fourth player to win a PDC ranking title without holding a Tour Card.

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Danny Noppert picked up his second title of the year on Wednesday, after a narrow 8-7 victory over former the Lakeside Champion in the final of Players Championship 22, as the midweek Pro Tour triple header commenced at the Barnsley Metrodome.

Noppert, who was victorious at Players Championship Two back in February, reached the final firstly by recording victories against Alan Soutar, Lee Evans, Chris Dobey, Steve Lennon, James Wade and Michael Smith, to set up a clash with fellow compatriot, Kist, in the final.

Nothing separated the pair in the opening stages of the tie, with five straight holds of throw ending with the first break coming from Noppert in Leg Six with a 12 darter to move 4-2 ahead and halfway to victory. Kist then charged in front by winning four straight legs in 15,15,14 and 18 darts respectively to move 6-4 ahead, before Noppert won back-to-back legs in a total of 31 darts to square the tie up at 6 apiece and make it a best of three contest.

The advantage of throwing first proved to be vital, as the tie then saw the remaining three legs all being won on throw, as Noppert sealed the victory in the decider with an 11 darter to pick up a 2^nd title of the year and a 5^th of his PDC career.

Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for two icons of the sport in the form of Gary Anderson and Raymond Van Barneveld, with the likes of Josh Rock, Joe Cullen and Ryan Searle amongst the high profile first round casualties. The day also saw a Nine Dart Leg hit by Canada’s Jeff Smith during his first-round victory against Ross Montgomery.

The PDC Pro Tour triple header continues on Thursday with Players Championship Twenty-Three taking place in Barnsley, with the 128 players returning to compete for a further £100,000 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.