By Alex Moss
2 APRIL 2017 • 8:39PM
Michael van Gerwen won his first Players Championship title of the year after beating Peter Wright 6-1 in the final of Players Championship 6 in Milton Keynes today.
The world number one lost out to Wright in the HappyBet German Darts Championship final last weekend, and was also the runner-up in Players Championship 5 yesterday to Adrian Lewis.
However, the world champion went all the way today to scoop the £10,000 top prize, with wins over Mickey Mansell, Andy Jenkins, Ron Meulenkamp and Cristo Reyes moving him into the quarter-finals, where he got the better of Kim Huybrechts 6-2.
The Dutchman then dropped only one leg in a comfortable semi-final victory against Mervyn King, before repeating the scoreline in the final against Wright.
Wright’s only leg of the final came in the fifth leg with a 136 checkout, but the world number three had no answer as van Gerwen powered home finishes of 129 and 153 in the next two legs to wrap up a 6-1 win in the final.
Speaking to PDCTV-HD after winning the final, van Gerwen said: “I was really glad (to win this tournament).
“We didn’t perform fantastic, especially in the beginning of this game, but a win is a win.
“It was a long day today and I made it and I played well today in patches, and I’m happy with my performance.
“You always want to win, it doesn’t matter who it is (against), and I want to perform always 200 per cent.
“I was quite dominant all day today and to be fair Cristo had a small chance, but I had a fantastic 90 finish, 18, double 18, double 18, same as what I did in the final, treble 19, double 18, double 18.
“That’s a strong point for me and I know I can do things at the right moments and I’m really glad.
“It’s also really nice because it’s my mum’s birthday and it’s a nice present for her.”
Wright pocketed £6,000 as runner-up as he continued his impressive start to the year, defeating Terry Roach, Jimmy Hendriks and David Pallett in his early games, before whitewashing Steve Beaton 6-0 in the last 16.
The Scot then overcame both Richard North and Mensur Suljovic with 6-2 wins to book his place in the final, before coming unstuck against van Gerwen in the decider.
Suljovic’s run to the semi-finals was the Austrian’s best performance since he was runner-up in the Unibet European Championship last October, as he knocked out world number two Gary Anderson and in-form Australian Simon Whitlock on the day.
He was joined in the last four by King, a Players Championship runner-up last month, who overcame Raymond van Barneveld, Kevin Painter and Darren Webster on his route to the semi-finals.
Hampshire-born North, a PDC tour card winner at Q-School in January, reached his second successive Players Championship quarter-final to cap a superb weekend, before losing out to Wright.
North was joined in the quarter-finals by Whitlock, van Barneveld and Huybrechts, who returned to competition in Milton Keynes after missing Thursday’s Betway Premier League swansong to be with his mother during her final hours.
Sunday’s tournament also saw Ricky Williams land his first competitive nine darter, although the achievement came during a first round defeat to Jeffrey de Graaf.
The next Players Championship double-header will be held next weekend (April 8-9) at the Barnsley Metrodome, where a further £150,000 in prize money will be on offer across the two days,
Players Championship 6
Sunday April 2, Arena MK, Milton Keynes
First Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Andy Jenkins 6-1 Mark Barilli
Robert Thornton 6-2 John Henderson
Ron Meulenkamp 6-2 Jim Brown
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Dennis Smith
Max Hopp 6-4 Shaun Griffiths
Cristo Reyes 6-5 Ryan Palmer
Keegan Brown 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Ian White 6-1 Aden Kirk
Andy Boulton 6-4 Matthew Dennant
Jan Dekker 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Stephen Burton 6-5 William O’Connor
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Brian Woods
Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 John Part
Mark Webster 6-3 Chris Dobey
Wes Newton 6-5 Steve Lennon
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Benito van de Pas
Zoran Lerchbacher 6-4 Darren Johnson
Ronny Huybrechts 6-4 Matt Clark
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-0 Ronnie Baxter
Jelle Klaasen 6-1 Simon Stevenson
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Ryan Searle
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Antonio Alcinas
Jamie Lewis 6-3 Darron Brown
Richie Burnett 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Matthew Edgar 6-2 Scott Taylor
Darren Webster 6-1 Simon Preston
Jamie Bain 6-0 Peter Jacques
Peter Hudson 6-4 Michael Smith
Sven Groen 6-2 Ross Twell
Mervyn King 6-2 Vincent Kamphuis
Kevin Painter 6-1 Maik Langendorf
Peter Wright 6-1 Terry Roach
Jimmy Hendriks 6-5 Terry Temple
Josh Payne 6-1 Prakash Jiwa
David Pallett 6-2 Devon Petersen
Joe Cullen 6-5 Paul Nicholson
Steve Hine 6-2 Paul Harvey
Steve Beaton 6-2 Mike de Dekker
John Bowles 6-5 Joe Murnan
Alan Norris 6-4 Andrew Gilding
James Richardson 6-0 Martin Schindler
Christian Kist 6-1 Robert Owen
Richie Corner 6-3 Yordi Meeuwisse
Richard North 6-5 James Wade
Mick McGowan 6-0 Ray Campbell
Mick Todd 6-3 James Wilson
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Berry van Peer
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Harry Robinson
Dimitri van den Bergh 6-2 Lee Bryant
Robbie Green 6-5 Colin Roelofs
Warrick Scheffer 6-0 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Paul Rowley
Jonny Clayton 6-0 Ricky Evans
Kyle Anderson 6-2 Jamie Caven
Rob Cross 6-5 Jonathan Worsley
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
John Jnr Norman 6-4 Madars Razma
Andy Hamilton 6-4 Justin Pipe
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Ricky Williams – Ricky Williams hits nine-dart finish
Gary Anderson 6-2 Haruki Muramatsu
Ted Evetts 6-5 Tony Newell
Steve West 6-5 Chris Quantock
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Adam Hunt
Second Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Robert Thornton
Max Hopp 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Keegan Brown
Ian White 6-3 Andy Boulton
Jan Dekker 6-0 Stephen Burton
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Ritchie Edhouse
Mark Webter 6-1 Wes Newton
Ryan Meikle 6-5 Zoran Lerchbacher
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-4 Ronny Huybrechts
Raymond van Barneveld 6-0 Jelle Klaasen
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Jamie Lewis
Richie Burnett 6-5 Matthew Edgar
Darren Webster 6-3 Jamie Bain
Peter Hudson 6-2 Sven Groen
Mervyn King 6-5 Kevin Painter
Peter Wright 6-4 Jimmy Hendriks
David Pallett 6-1 Josh Payne
Steve Hine 6-2 Joe Cullen
Steve Beaton 6-1 John Bowles
James Richardson 6-4 Alan Norris
Christian Kist 6-2 Richie Corner
Richard North 6-3 Mick McGowan
Mick Todd 6-5 Brendan Dolan
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Dimitri van den Bergh
Warrick Scheffer 6-4 Robbie Green
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Rob Cross 6-2 Kyle Anderson
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 John Jnr Norman
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-2 Andy Hamilton
Gary Anderson 6-2 Ted Evetts
Steve West 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Max Hopp
Jan Dekker 6-4 Ian White
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Mark Webster
Ryan Meikle 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Darren Webster 6-1 Richie Burnett
Mervyn King 6-3 Peter Hudson
Peter Wright 6-1 David Pallett
Steve Beaton 6-3 Steve Hine
James Richardson 6-5 Christian Kist
Richard North 6-1 Mick Todd
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Warrick Scheffer
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Rob Cross
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf
Gary Anderson 6-5 Steve West
Fourth Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Kim Huybrechts 6-2 Jan Dekker
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Ryan Meikle
Mervyn King 6-4 Darren Webster
Peter Wright 6-0 Steve Beaton
Richard North 6-5 James Richardson
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Gary Anderson
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Kim Huybrechts
Mervyn King 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright 6-2 Richard North
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Simon Whitlock
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Mervyn King
Peter Wright 6-2 Mensur Suljovic
Final
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Peter Wright
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