Steve Beaton reignited his campaign for a final Ally Pally appearance as Damon Heta picked up his second PDC title of the year on Wednesday as the Pro Tour double header commenced at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
Heta, who was victorious at PC4 back in February, defeated Ryan Searle 8-3 in the final of Players Championship Eighteen. The Heat reached the final firstly by recording victories against Rowby-John Rodriguez, Keegan Brown, Niels Zonneveld, Callum Goffin, Danny Noppert and Cameron Menzies, to set up a clash with Searle.
The final began with Heta racing into a 3-0 lead, with winning legs coming in 16,11 and 13 darts respectively, before Searle ended the Aussie’s run in Leg Four with a 15 dart hold of throw to pick up his first leg of the tie. ‘Heavy Metal’ went on to win back-to-back legs to square up the tie at 3apiece, which included legs in 14 and 16 darts respectively. Heta then dominated the remainder of the final, as ‘The Heat’ rattled off five successive legs, which saw him seal an 8-3 victory in Leg 11 with a 14 darter to pick up a second Players Championship title of the year and a tenth title within the PDC.
Searle, the winner of Players Championship Three earlier in the year, reached his fourth final of the season, as he recorded victories on the day against Berry Van Peer, Kai Gotthardt, Andrew Gilding, Danny Lauby, Ross Smith and Steve Beaton, before being denied by Heta.
Meanwhile 60-year-old Beaton , who is scheduled to retire from elite competition at the end of the season, produced a run to remind his fans that his remarkable ability remains. The Bronzed Adonis avergaed over 94 for 5 games in succession and gained wins over Adam Gawlas, Robert Owen, Jermaine Wattimena and Stephen Burton to reach the Quarter finals. The former World Champion then defeated Michael Van Gerwen with a battling performance before running out of steam against Ryan Searle in the final four.
Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for 3x World Champion Michael Van Gerwen and Welshman Jim Williams, whilst the likes of Dimitri Van den Bergh, Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney were amongst the high profile first round casualties. The day also saw a nine-dart leg hit by Ross Smith on his run to the Last Eight.
The PDC Pro Tour double header concludes on Thursday with Players Championship Nineteen taking place in Milton Keynes, with the 128 players returning to compete for a further £125,000 in prize money, with play beginning at 13:00 BST.
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.
Players Championship 18
Last 16
Jim Williams 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Cameron Menzies 6-5 James Wade
Danny Noppert 6-4 Chris Landman
Damon Heta 6-1 Callum Goffin
Ross Smith 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Ryan Searle 6-2 Danny Lauby
Steve Beaton 6-2 Stephen Burton
Michael Van Gerwen 6-1 Scott Williams
Quarter Finals
Cameron Menzies 6-0 Jim Williams
Damon Heta 6-1 Danny Noppert
Ryan Searle 6-5 Ross Smith
Steve Beaton 6-4 Michael Van Gerwen
Semi Finals
Damon Heta 7-6 Cameron Menzies
Ryan Searle 7-4 Steve Beaton
Final
Damon Heta 8-3 Ryan Searle
——ENDS—–
Images: PDC
