Darts results: Dave Chisnall beats Glen Durrant in the Players Championship Two final
Dave Chisnall won his first PDC title since 2017 as he defeated Pro Tour newcomer Glen Durrant in a thrilling Players Championship Two final on a day which saw four nine-darters hit.
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Chizzy held his nerve from 40 in a deciding leg - with his opponent waiting to come back on 16 - to triumph 8-7 and clinch the 13th PDC tournament of his career.
He'd previously missed four match darts in a dramatic 13th leg as Durrant brilliantly hit a 170 checkout to stay alive and while he also won the next to take it down to the wire, Chisnall finally got over the line to collect the £10,000 first prize.
It capped an superb day for the St Helens man, who defeated Nathan Aspinall (6-2), Luke Humphries (6-5), Rowby-John Rodriquez (6-2), Rob Cross (6-3) and James Wade (6-5) en route to the semi-finals, where he edged out Michael van Gerwen's conqueror Jonny Clayton 7-5.
Chisnall fired in a nine-darter during his victory over Rodriguez while there were three other perfect legs on a record-breaking day by Van Gerwen, Chris Dobey and Geert Nentjes.
Chizzy, who averaged just 88.7 in the final compared to Durrant's 92.5, told www.pdc.tv: "I played well today and I think I deserved it because I'm one of those players who never gives up. I beat James Wade and Jonny Clayton in good games and followed it up with a win over a three-time Lakeside Champion in Glen, who is obviously a great player.
"Of course, you need a bit of luck to win these tournaments but today I thought I made the most of my chances when I got them and that's what won me this title."
His success in the final prevented what would have been an incredible maiden PDC title for Durrant in just his second event since earning his Tour Card last month.
The 48-year-old, who won a third successive BDO World Championship at the Lakeside in January before scraping through the Qualifying School under immense pressure, suffered a first-round defeat on his PDC debut on Saturday only to bounce back in fine style 24 hours later.
That said, Duzza could have gone home early again but after edging out Madars Razma 6-5, he defeated Peter Wright (6-3), Zoran Lerchacher (6-4), Robert Thornton (6-4) and John Henderson (6-4) before an impressive 7-4 triumph over Joe Cullen in the last four.
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Chizzy has been showing signs of a return to his top form in recent months, including a fine run at the World Championship until running into Gary Anderson in the quarter-finals and then by reaching the Masters semi-finals last weekend, so this success is hardly a surprise despite being left out of the Premier League for the second year in a row.
Durrant will of course be getting a taste of the PDC's lucrative 17-week long road show in Glasgow on Thursday night when he takes on Daryl Gurney.
Dutch youngster Nentjes hit his perfect leg in a 6-0 demolition of Mervyn King in round two, before rising star Dobey followed up his eye-catching Premier League debut with a nine-darter in a deciding leg against Dave Prins.
However, MVG's came in his astonishing quarter-final defeat to Clayton, who ended the world champion's 22-match winning run by averaging 106.5 in a 6-3 win.
Van Gerwen, who won his third title in a row on Saturday, had posted a mark of 104 himself but it wasn't enough to beat the Ferret for the second day running.
Another eye-catching match earlier in the day was James Wade managing an average of 107.9 in a 6-3 win over Krzysztof Ratajski, who posted 102.7.
Premier League regulars Daryl Gurney, Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price and Raymond van Barneveld all exited before the last 16 stage.
The next Players Championship events will be held across the weekend of February 16-17 at Wigan's Robin Park Tennis Centre.
Players Championship Two Results (Last 16 onwards)
Last 16
- Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
- Johnny Clayton 6-3 Chris Dobey
- Dave Chisnall 6-3 Rob Cross
- James Wade 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Ryan Searle 6-2 Steve West
- Joe Cullen 6-5 Alan Tabern
- John Henderson 6-3 Steve Lennon
- Glen Durrant 6-4 Robert Thornton
Quarter-Finals
- Jonny Clayton 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
- Dave Chisnall 6-5 James Wade
- Joe Cullen 6-5 Ryan Searle
- Glen Durrant 6-4 John Henderson
Semi-Finals
- Dave Chisnall 7-5 Jonny Clayton
- Glen Durrant 7-4 Joe Cullen
Final
- Dave Chisnall 8-7 Glen Durrant