Darts results: Ryan Searle beats Michael van Gerwen to win maiden PDC title as two more nine-darters are hit at Players Championship Three
Ryan Searle won his maiden PDC title with a dramatic 8-6 victory over Michael van Gerwen at Players Championship Three on a day which saw two more nine-dart finishes hit in Wigan.
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The 32-year-old was obviously a big underdog in his second ever Pro Tour final against van Gerwen, who was bidding to 'finally' open his account of titles for 2020 in the fourth tournament of the season.
But the former window cleaner had other ideas and despite seeing his early 3-0 lead turn into a 4-3 deficit, he showed tremendous character to win five of the next seven legs and achieve a landmark moment in his budding career.
Searle averaged 97.1 compared with MVG's 95.9 in the final and also hit one more maximum with five.
The Somerset thrower's success is even more incredible because he suffers from astigmatism - a condition that causes blurred vision so bad that he can't see where his darts land and frequently needs to check with the referee what score he's hit.
This hasn't stopped Searle, who was ranked 44 in the PDC's Order of Merit prior to this £10,000 windfall, qualifying for and impressing at the last two World Championships, including back in December when he gave Gary Anderson a real scare in the third round.
Now, an emotional 'Heavy Metal' wants to use this triumph as a platform to soar up the rankings like Nathan Aspinall, who beat him in his only other Pro Tour final back in September 2018.
He told www.pdc.tv: "I just can't believe it. It's extra special to beat Michael in the final, it's a dream. I've been practicing a lot in my little man cave back home and playing out scenarios in my head - playing Michael in a final was one of them.
"When you get these chances you just have to take the opportunity and thankfully I did today. I think I let myself down a bit at the World Championship when I lost to Gary Anderson.
"I still don't think I've played my best, but I know what I can do. Nathan Aspinall beat me in the final of his first Players Championship win and look what's happened to him since then. Maybe it will be the same for me."
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Searle, who earned his Tour Card back in January 2017, also claimed the notable scalps of Gerwyn Price (6-4), Michael Smith (6-4), Glen Durrant (6-5) and Jeffrey de Zwaan (7-5) to further underline his potential.
His only 100+ average of 101.3 came against de Zwaan but he was consistently recording marks in the mid to high 90s on a day in which he also defeated Michael Barnard (6-3) and Josh Payne (6-2).
MVG was not only eyeing for his opening PDC title of the season having failed to reach even the finals of the Masters and the opening three Players Championship events but also his first with his new set of darts.
However, despite this latest setback he did at least manage to get another small slice of revenge over world champion Peter Wright in the semi-finals having also beaten him on Premier League opening night.
MVG, who averaged 101.3 against Snakebite, also defeated Chris Dobey (6-5), Dirk van Duijvenbode (6-2), Ryan Joyce (6-5), William Borland (6-4) and Yordi Meeuwisse (6-1) in the first round thanks to a mark of 107.
Meanwhile, the season tally of perfect legs on the main PDC circuit moved up to seven after Mensur Suljovic and Danny Noppert both hit nine-darters in their respective victories over Jeff Smith and Andy Boulton.
Including the Challenge Tour and European Tour qualification events, there have now been nine which means last year's record of 47, which smashed the old mark by 18, is under real threat already.
Players Championship Three results: Saturday February 15 (Last 16 onwards)
- For all the Players Championship Three results and detailed stats, head to Dart Connect (tv.dartconnect.com/events/pdc)
Last 16
- Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Dirk van Dujvenbode
- Chris Dobey 6-2 Stephen Bunting
- Peter Wright 6-5 Adrian Lewis
- Joe Cullen 6-1 Ted Evetts
- Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-4 Vincent van der Voort
- Danny Noppert 6-4 Joe Murnan
- Ryan Searle 6-4 Michael Smith
- Glen Durrant 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Quarter-Finals
- Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Chris Dobey
- Peter Wright 6-3 Joe Cullen
- Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-3 Danny Noppert
- Ryan Searle 6-5 Glen Durrant
Semi-Finals
- Michael van Gerwen 7-3 Peter Wright
- Ryan Searle 7-5 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Final
- Ryan Searle 8-6 Michael van Gerwen