Dave Chisnall claimed his second ProTour title of September in Leicester on Wednesday, defeating Chris Dobey 8-4 in the Players Championship 23 final. Stephen Burton and Martin Lukeman were among the lower ranked players to impress.
Having racked up his second European Tour title of 2024 at the Flanders Darts Trophy earlier this month, Chisnall came out on top of the 128-player field at the Mattioli Arena to double his Players Championship title tally for the year.
Chisnall was at his free-flowing best en route to the final, producing averages of 108.72 and 107.19 in victories over Mervyn King and Madars Razma respectively.
“The final was a tough battle, it wasn’t a good game but I’m just happy to get over the line,” said Chisnall, whose £15,000 prize sees him regain his place as world number five.
“I think my game is up there with the best in the world at the moment; I’m playing really well and my confidence is high.
“Six months ago I was losing first and second round matches but then I started to battle and I’ve won some big titles.
“There are some big events coming up and I normally have a good end to the year; I just need to get my TV form going now.
“I’m looking forward to the World Grand Prix; I’ve been hitting my doubles well so it should be a good one for me.”
Chisnall began the day with comfortable victories over Callan Rydz, Dylan Slevin and Jeffrey Sparidaans before coming back from 5-3 down to defeat Razma 6-5 in their last 16 tie.
The six-time TV event finalist then overcame King 6-2 in the quarter-finals and Stephen Burton 7-4 in the semi-finals to set up a showdown with Dobey.
A scrappy contest saw both players struggle to replicate the form shown in the previous rounds, with a four-leg mid-match winning streak from Chisnall proving pivotal.
Dobey’s 7-2 semi-final win over Martin Schindler saw him hit a nine-dart finish in the opening leg of a scintillating display which saw him post his fifth ton-plus average of the tournament.
That was the second perfect leg of the day, following Adam Warner’s nine-darter in his second round defeat to Jurjen van der Velde.
Other performances of note include another improved run for Ian White as well as more good form from Martin Lukeman.
The 2024 PDC ProTour season continues with Players Championship events 24-26 from October 1-3, with coverage to be broadcast live through PDCTV and bookmakers’ websites worldwide.
2024 Players Championship 23
Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Wednesday September 25
Last 16
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Madars Razma
Mervyn King 6-3 Luke Humphries
Damon Heta 6-3 Ian White
Stephen Burton 6-5 Rob Cross
Martin Lukeman 6-5 Wessel Nijman
Martin Schindler 6-4 Lee Evans
Jonny Clayton 6-2 Gary Anderson
Chris Dobey 6-1 Mike De Decker
Quarter-Finals
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Mervyn King
Stephen Burton 6-5 Damon Heta
Martin Schindler 6-3 Martin Lukeman
Chris Dobey 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Semi-Finals
Dave Chisnall 7-4 Stephen Burton
Chris Dobey 7-2 Martin Schindler
Final
Dave Chisnall 8-4 Chris Dobey
——ENDS—–
Images: PDC
