SUPER SMITH wins first title of the year with PC9 triumph:
Michael Smith picked up his first title of the year on Monday, as he defeated Ryan Joyce 8-6 in the final of Players Championship Nine, as the PDC Pro Tour double header commenced at Halle 39, Hildesheim.
Premier League Star, Smith, who’s last ranking title came back in June last year, reached the final firstly by recording victories against Oskar Lukasiak, Adam Hunt, Jonny Clayton, Richard Veenstra, Luke Woodhouse and Krzysztof Ratajski, to set up a clash with Joyce.
The final began with three straight holds of throw between the pair, before the first break came from Smith in Leg Four with a 17 darter to move 3-1 ahead in a race to eight. Joyce then stormed in front by rattling off four successive legs to lead 5-3.
Smith then won back-to-back legs in a total of 33 darts to square the tie up at 5apiece. ‘Bully Boy’ then dominated the remainder of the final by winning three of the following four legs, which saw him seal an 8-6 victory in Leg 14 with a 14-dart break of throw to pick up the £15,000 top prize and yet another PDC ranking title.
Joyce’s run to the final saw the Northeast star record victories on the day against Keegan Brown, Nick Kenny, Raymond Van Barneveld, Dave Chisnall, Chris Dobey and Ritchie Edhouse, before being denied the chance by Smith to pick up a third PDC title of his career.
Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for Masters Champion Stephen Bunting and 3x ranking title winner Callan Rydz, whilst the likes of Michael Van Gerwen, Peter Wright and Joe Cullen were amongst the high profile first round casualties.
The PDC Pro Tour double header concludes on Tuesday with Players Championship Ten taking place in Hildesheim, with the 128 players returning to compete for a further £125,000 in prize money, with play beginning at 13:00 CET (12:00 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.
Players Championship Nine
Last 16
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Chris Dobey 6-2 Robert Grundy
Callan Rydz 6-3 Scott Williams
Ritchie Edhouse 6-0 Andrew Gilding
Michael Smith 6-0 Richard Veenstra
Luke Woodhouse 6-1 Patrick Geeraets
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Kevin Doets
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Gian Van Veen
Quarter Finals
Ryan Joyce 6-4 Chris Dobey
Ritchie Edhouse 6-5 Callan Rydz
Michael Smith 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Semi Finals
Ryan Joyce 7-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Michael Smith 7-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
Final
Michael Smith 8-6 Ryan Joyce
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
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