James Wade picked up his first PDC title in over two years on Thursday, after an 8-3 victory over Scott Williams in the final of Players Championship 19, as the Pro Tour triple header concluded at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester.
In addition to the bounce back of, former Ally Pally semi finalist Williams, there were Quarter Final runs for Australia’s Premier player Damon Heta and Scotsman Alan Soutar, who continued their strong efforts this week.
Bradly Brooks added to the efforts of Gian van Veen to boost the younger stars representation while Brandon Dolan put in his customary shift for the iconic generation.
11x TV title winner, Wade, reached the final firstly by recording victories against Brett Claydon, Joshua Richardson, Peter Wright, Kevin Doets, Gian Van Veen and Andrew Gilding, to set up a clash with compatriot Williams.
The final began with five straight holds of throw between the pair, before the first break came from Wade in Leg Six with a 15 darter to move 4-2 ahead in a race to eight. ‘The Machine’ went on to dominate the remainder of the final, as he won four of the following five legs and sealed the victory in Leg 11 with an 18 darter to pick up a 19th career Players Championship title and a first PDC title since November 2022.
Williams’ run to the final saw the Former World Championship Semi Finalist record victories on the day against Gerwyn Price, Adam Hunt, Tommy Lishman, William O’Connor, Bradley Brooks and Wessel Nijman, before being denied by Wade.
The likes of Premier League Stars in Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting were amongst the high profile first round casualties.
The PDC Pro Tour returns on 8-9th July in Leicester with Players Championship Twenty & Twenty-One taking place and the race for the Betfred World Matchplay continuing, with 128 players competing for £125,000 in prize money each day.
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.
2025 Players Championship 19
Last 16
James Wade 6-4 Kevin Doets
Gian Van Veen 6-5 Ricky Evans
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Ross Smith
Damon Heta 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Scott Williams 6-5 William O’Connor
Bradley Brooks 6-0 Brendan Dolan
Alan Soutar 6-5 Marvin Van Velzen
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Quarter Finals
James Wade 6-4 Gian Van Veen
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Damon Heta
Scott Williams 6-2 Bradley Brooks
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Alan Soutar
Semi Finals
James Wade 7-3 Andrew Gilding
Scott Williams 7-6 Wessel Nijman
Final
James Wade 8-3 Scott Williams
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
