Jeffrey de Graaf has finally done it. After years of near misses, the Dutch-born-but-Swedish-on-paper darting wanderer etched his name onto the PDC Players Championship roll of honour with a maiden title – and did it the hard way, nicking a dramatic last-leg decider against Stephen Bunting.
Officially, Jeff isn’t Swedish by birth, but he proudly represents the Scandinavian nation, and in doing so has given them something different to boast about other than ABBA and Ikea: a PDC title winner. A tiny asterisk may be required in the footnotes, but who cares? History is history.
It nearly didn’t happen at all. His campaign in Milton Keynes was frought with opening match jeopardy. Against Adam Paxton, Jeff was second best on the averages but somehow staggered through, perhaps guided by whoever the Scandinavian darting gods are. Things improved in round two when he dispatched an unusually flat Ryan Searle, before surviving another last-leg shootout against Jose de Sousa who continues his slow reluctant slide towards the abyss.
From there, de Graaf suddenly found his groove. Back-to-back 6–2 wins over Michael Smith and Alan Soutar gave him breathing space, before he absolutely flattened Scott Williams 7–1 in the semi-final – the sort of scoreline that gives you a real shot of adrenaline in the arm.
The final against Bunting, though, looked grim for a while. The Bullet stormed into a 4–1 lead and was firing in numbers that suggested the writing was on the wall. But De Graaf, on his third Players Championship final appearance, refused to play the bridesmaid role again. Ironically, he was facing a man knows all too well what it’s like to play Best Man over Groom in these floor events.
In the end, the finale was a belter. De Graaf roared back to pinch it, leaving Bunting staring at his 106.31 average in disbelief. It didn’t matter that Jeff’s stats were lower – in this game, it’s not about looking pretty on DartConnect, it’s about reaching eight legs first. And de Graaf did exactly that, giving Sweden its first PDC title winner, a result that will probably baffle future quiz contestants.
Elsewhere, Beau Greaves was once again doing Beau Greaves things. Fresh off her Women’s Series clean sweep, the Doncaster prodigy dismantled Dennie Olde Kalter 6–0 with a ridiculous 107.36 average, then casually took out Raymond van Barneveld. Only Luke Littler, and only just, was able to stop her run – needing a last-leg decider and another ton-plus average to get past her. The 21-year-old continues to make formidable look like an understatement.
And so, after a day of drama, history, and darting demolition, the players get some rest before returning for Players Championship 25. Same time, same place.
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
