Chris Dobey picked up his second PDC title of the year on Tuesday, after defeating Dirk Van Duijvenbode 8-7 in the final of Players Championship Seventeen, as the Pro Tour triple header commenced at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester.
Dobey, who was victorious at PC3 back in February, went all the way once again, as he reached the final firstly by recording victories against Adam Mould, Adam Warner, Jack Tweddell, Josh Rock, James Wade and Gian Van Veen, to set up a clash with Van Duijvenbode.
The final began with back-to-back 14 darters between the pair, before there was a run of five straight holds of throw ending with Dobey breaking Van Duijvenbode’s throw in Leg Eight with a 13 darter to move 5-3 ahead, before ‘Hollywood’ followed it up with back-to-back legs in a total of 29 darts to go 7-3 up and within one of victory.
Van Duijvenbode went on to produce a remarkable fight back with the Dutchman winning four successive legs in 14,13,18 and 18 darts respectively to send the tie to a 15th and deciding leg, of which Dobey would have the advantage of throwing first. This proved to be vital as the Former Masters Champion sealed the victory with a 15 darter to clinch an eighth PDC title of his career as well as the £15,000 top prize.
Van Duijvenbode’s run to the final saw ‘The Titan’ record victories on the day against Jitse Van der Wal, Keane Barry, Danny Noppert, William O’Connor, Michael Smith and Damon Heta, before being denied by Dobey.
Elsewhere, there were Quarter Final runs for Dutchman Richard Veenstra and Frenchman Thibault Tricole, whilst the likes of 2x World Champion Gary Anderson, Former Premier League Champion Jonny Clayton and Top Seed Dave Chisnall were amongst the high profile first round casualties.
The PDC Pro Tour triple header continues on Thursday with Players Championship Eighteen taking place in Leicester, 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 17
Last 16
Dirk Van Duijvenbode 6-4 William O’Connor
Michael Smith 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Richard Veenstra 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Damon Heta 6-1 Wessel Nijman
James Wade 6-2 Carl Sneyd
Chris Dobey 6-3 Josh Rock
Thibault Tricole 6-3 Darren Beveridge
Gian Van Veen 6-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Quarter Finals
Dirk Van Duijvenbode 6-1 Michael Smith
Damon Heta 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Chris Dobey 6-3 James Wade
Gian Van Veen 6-3 Thibault Tricole
Semi Finals
Dirk Van Duijvenbode 7-6 Damon Heta
Chris Dobey 7-5 Gian Van Veen
Final
Chris Dobey 8-7 Dirk Van Duijvenbode
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
