Noppert’s Fifer As Midults Dominate

Danny Noppert picked up his fifth PDC Pro Tour title of his career on Tuesday, after defeating World Champion Luke Humphries 8-6 in the final of Players Championship Eight, as the Pro Tour double header concluded in Leicester.

Former UK Open Champion, Noppert, who picked up two Players Championship titles during his 2023 campaign, went all the way once again, as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Robert Owen, Jim Williams, Stephen Burton, Gerwyn Price, Kevin Doets and Radek Szaganski, to set up a clash with Humphries.

The Dutchman’s win capped off a strong double header for the generation dubbed the ‘Midults’, as both the ‘old guard’ and the ‘young guns’ fell short in the Mattioli Arena, Leicester. One glorious exception was of course the 9 dart leg from 60-year-old Steve Beaton. But, despite a smattering of quarter and semi final places for the elder and junior generations, it was the ‘30ish‘ brigade who dominated.

The final began with Humphries racing into a 2-0 lead by hitting back-to-back 17 dart legs, which was then followed by back-to-back 12 dart holds of throw between the pair. Noppert then stormed in front by rattling off three consecutive legs in 14,13 and 18 darts respectively, before Humphries levelled up the tie at 4apiece with an 18 dart hold of throw in Leg Eight.

The tie then saw five successive holds of throw, which was ended by Noppert in Leg 14 and saw the Dutchman seal an 8-6 victory in 15 darts to deny the World Champion and pick up a sixth PDC title of his career.

Humphries’ run to the final saw the World Number One record victories on the day against Paul Krohne, Jeffrey De Zwaan, Brendan Dolan, Monday’s PC7 Winner Chris Dobey, Gary Anderson and Gian Van Veen, before being denied by Noppert.

Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for Andrew Gilding and Stefan Bellmont, with Bellmont creating history by becoming the first Swiss player to reach the Last Eight of a PDC Ranked Event, whilst the likes of Peter Wright, Dave Chisnall and Dimitri Van den Bergh were amongst the high profile first round casualties.

The PDC Pro Tour returns on May 6-7 in Hildesheim as Players Championship Nine & Ten takes place, with 128 players competing for £125,000 in prize money on each day, with play beginning at 13:00 CEST.

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.