Perfect Treble in Leicester

ON a day of three 9-darters Cameron Menzies finally picked up his first PDC title on Wednesday, after defeating Stephen Bunting 8-4 in the final of Players Championship 29. The Scott also united the two strands of our Pro Tour reports.

The final Pro Tour double-header of the year, at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester, brought together some back stories: improving from from lower ranked players who have been around a while, those who have struggled to adapt but are improving rapidly and moments from others recapturing their best.

Menzies, a runner-up at PC19 back in August, went a step further on Wednesday by clinching the £15,000 top prize, as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Jose De Sousa, Jacques Labre, Rob Cross, Krzysztof Ratajski, James Wade and Danny Noppert, to set up a clash with Bunting.

The final began with Menzies racing into a 2-0 lead, with the Scotsman pinning back-to-back 15 darters, before there was a run of three straight holds of throw between the pair, ending with Bunting breaking Menzies’ throw in Leg Six with a 12 darter to square the tie up at 3apiece.

The quick firing Scot went on to dominate the remainder of the tie by winning five of the following six legs and sealed an 8-4 victory in Leg 12 with a 17 darter to pick up a maiden ranking title and move provisionally into the World’s Top 40.

Bunting, a Players Championship finalist on five previous occasions during 2024, was denied once again in a tournament finale, as he reached the final by recording victories against Danny Lauby, Darryl Pilgrim, Connor Scutt, Mike De Decker, Damon Heta and Chris Landman, before being denied by Menzies.

Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for Former World Champion Michael Smith and Austria’s Number One Mensur Suljovic, whilst the likes of Peter Wright, Dave Chisnall and Jonny Clayton were amongst the high profile first round casualties.

Nine-Darters!
Callan Rydz hit a nine-darter in his first round tie against Keane Barry.
Ricardo Pietreczko hit a nine-darter in his second round tie against Radek Szaganski.
Chris Landman hit a nine-darter in his fourth round tie against Ross Smith.

The PDC Pro Tour season concludes on Thursday with Players Championship Thirty taking place in Leicester, with 128 players returning to compete for a further £125,000 in prize money, with play beginning at 13:00 GMT.

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.