Karel Sedlacek etched his name into the record books on Wednesday night, becoming the first Czech player to claim a PDC ranking title with a thrilling 8-7 victory over Scott Williams in the Players Championship 30 final in Den Bosch.
The 47-year-old produced a display of remarkable resilience, surviving nine maximums from a fired-up Williams and missing seven match darts before finally sealing a famous win in a breathless last-leg shootout.
Sedlacek had looked virtually untouchable earlier in the day. He dropped just two legs in emphatic wins over Tavis Dudeney, Daniel Klose and Damon Heta, posting a near-106 average in his demolition of Australia’s number one.
A 6-3 victory over former World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall followed, before the Czech star staged a dramatic recovery from 3-0 and 4-1 down to stun Chris Dobey in the quarter-finals. A clinical 7-2 success against Niels Zonneveld then booked his place in a maiden PDC ranking final.
In the showpiece, Williams’ relentless scoring power saw him establish a 4-2 lead. Sedlacek responded in style, landing successive 123, 80 and 164 checkouts to edge 5-4 in front.
The pendulum swung again when the Czech missed five darts to wrap up an 8-5 victory, only for Williams to miss a match-winning 112 himself. Sedlacek held his nerve in the incredible finale to claim the title.
“For me it’s a really special time,” said a visibly emotional Sedlacek afterwards. “I have been waiting for this for more than ten years and now it’s a reality. It’s crazy.
“I missed five match darts and thought what could I do more. I went step-by-step and I said ‘you can do it!’
“It still sounds like a dream. I’m really happy… It means everything. I have played more than 30 years, and now I’ve done it. I don’t know what to say. For me, I think that’s the top moment of my career.
“Darts is growing in Czech Republic day by day. There are more and more players and good players. I think this is one of the best points of my career.”
Williams was magnificent throughout the day despite falling at the final hurdle. The 36-year-old averaged 99.36 across seven matches and crashed in an astonishing 33 maximums, collecting the £10,000 runner-up cheque and significantly boosting his World Championship qualification hopes.
He had arrived in Den Bosch £6,000 adrift of the provisional cut-off.
His route to the final included victories over Mensur Suljovic and Danny Noppert, a monster 110.41 average against Richard Veenstra, a 103 average against Tommy Lishman, and impressive wins over Dutch pair Michael van Gerwen and Jermaine Wattimena – his first ProTour final appearance since last June.
Elsewhere, Wattimena reached the semi-finals with high averages and deciding-leg wins over Martin Schindler and Steve Lennon, while Zonneveld also impressed on his way to a first Players Championship semi-final of 2026, posting a 106.47 average early on and seeing off Sebastian Bialecki, Luke Woodhouse and Raymond van Barneveld.
Dutch legends Van Barneveld and Van Gerwen both featured in the last eight. Barney claimed four successive 6-2 wins to reach his first ranking quarter-final of the season and move into the provisional World Championship places, while Van Gerwen avenged Tuesday’s defeat to Benjamin Pratnemer before averaging 107.47 in a pulsating all-Dutch battle with Jimmy van Schie.
Steve Lennon (first ranking quarter-final since February 2024) and Chris Dobey completed the last-eight line-up. Tuesday’s champion Cameron Menzies saw his bid for back-to-back titles ended by Callan Rydz, who recovered from 5-1 down, while Josh Rock suffered a 6-1 reverse to Mario Vandenbogaerde that leaves his Players Championship Finals hopes in serious doubt.
The year’s penultimate Players Championship double-header returns to Den Bosch on October 28-29 for events 31 and 32.
Images: PDC
