Krzysztof Ratajski issued a firm reminder of his title-winning credentials as picked up his 1st title of the year on Saturday.
The Polish Eagle defeated Chris Landman 8-1 in the final of Players Championship 9, as the PDC Pro Tour doubleheader commenced at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan.
Ratajski, whose last PDC title came in November 2021, reached the final on Saturday by recording victories against Matt Campbell, Darius Labanauskas, Boris Krcmar, Dave Chisnall, Josh Rock and Jonny Clayton, to set up a clash with Landman.
The final began with Ratajski racing into a 5-0 lead, with winning legs coming in a total of 72 darts, before Landman picked up his 1st leg of the tie in 19 darts, which turned out to be his only leg won, as ‘The Polish Eagle’ rattled off three straight legs, sealing the victory in 18 darts to pick up an 8th Pro Tour title of his career.
Landman’s run to a 1st ranking final saw the Dutchman record victories against Ron Meulenkamp, Mickey Mansell, Luke Humphries, Mike De Decker, Martin Schindler and Brendan Dolan, before being denied by Ratajski.
Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for Gary Anderson and James Wade, with the likes of UK Open winner Andrew Gilding and Former European Champion Simon Whitlock among the names to suffer early exits.
The PDC Pro Tour double header concludes on Sunday with Players Championship Ten taking place in Wigan, with the 128 players returning to compete for a further £100,000 in prize money, with play beginning at 13:00 BST. Play will be broadcasted across two streaming boards on PDC.TV and various bookmaker websites worldwide, with all live scores and results on tv.dartconnect.com.
Players Championship 9
Last 16
Chris Landman 6-1 Mike De Decker
Martin Schindler 6-3 Joe Cullen
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Connor Scutt
James Wade 6-1 Daryl Gurney
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Josh Rock 6-0 Ryan Searle
Gary Anderson 6-5 Dirk Van Duijvenbode
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Keane Barry
Quarter Finals
Chris Landman 6-5 Martin Schindler
Brendan Dolan 6-5 James Wade
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Josh Rock
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Gary Anderson
Semi Finals
Chris Landman 7-5 Brendan Dolan
Krzysztof Ratajski 7-6 Jonny Clayton
Final
Krzysztof Ratajski 8-1 Chris Landman
—–ENDS—–
Images: (Main) PDC, ( In text) Chris Sargeant
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