Jamie Caven secured his second PDC title of 2009 by defeating Steve Beaton 6-2 in the final of the Austrian Open Players Championship in Salzburg. The Derby thrower, who earlier claimed the Blue Square UK Open Welsh Regional Final in May, added another £6,000 to his tally and further cemented his place in the world’s top 32 on the PDC Order of Merit with a solid performance throughout the event.
Caven opened his campaign in style, whitewashing Christoph Stehmann and Felix Losan 6-0 in his opening two matches. He was pushed to a deciding 11th leg by Andy Smith in the last 32 before responding emphatically with another 6-0 victory over Tony Eccles.
In the quarter-finals, Caven dismantled World Championship finalist Kevin Painter 6-1, then followed up with a 6-2 win over Brendan Dolan — the same player who had beaten him the previous day — to reach the final.Two early breaks of throw and a 103 checkout helped Caven race into a 4-0 lead.
Beaton briefly threatened a fightback, breaking throw in the fifth leg and taking out 117, but missed doubles proved costly. Caven restored control to lead 5-2 and sealed the title on double top.
It marked Beaton’s first PDC Pro Tour final and his strongest run since reaching a Players Championship semi-final in January. The former World Champion’s path included a 6-2 win over Vincent van der Voort and a dominant 6-1 victory over Saturday’s winner and nine-dart hero Adrian Lewis.
World Grand Prix Qualification Update
Brendan Dolan’s semi-final appearance confirmed his place at next month’s Sky Bet World Grand Prix in Dublin. He will be joined by fellow Ireland and Northern Ireland qualifiers John MaGowan, Mick McGowan and Jacko Barry, who edged out Ray Farrell for the final spot with his weekend performances.
Kirk Shepherd mounted a late push for one of the 12 Players Championship qualifying places but fell short after a narrow quarter-final defeat to Dolan. Wes Newton’s run to the last eight, ending in a deciding-leg loss to van der Voort, secured his own World Grand Prix berth.
Images: PDC – UK Open
